Prokofiev - Sonata no. 6 in A Major
I first heard this sonata in high school and honestly it was THE angsty bangy piano piece that my rebellious self could relate to. Of course, that was me focusing on the more garish parts and the unstable tonality. I haven’t listened to that sonata in forever, and it recently came up in my “recommended videos” on YouTube. I listened through again, following the score, amazed how much I remembered it. Like, with every passing bar, I could only recall what happens right after, and this strange recollection of memory, in patches, made it feel surreal. I know more about music now and about Prokofiev’s overall style, and I was captivated by all of the small details coming through that I hadn’t known before. The sonatas nos. 6, 7, and 8 were written between 1940-44, and so are known as the “War Sonatas”. No.7 is the most popular, but I’ve always had a soft spot for no. 6. Because of current political trends, the threat from the Nazis, the fear under Stalin, loss of his close friend to the regime [Vsevolod Meyerhold was an opera director and was arrested by secret police and shot. A month later, Meyerhold’s wife was found murdered under “mysterious circumstances”], and being basically forced to write an obnoxious and saccharine cantata for Stalin’s 60th birthday, Prokofiev had to channel his true anger and pain in these sonatas. The sixth opens with an unstable main theme, that rides forward like a grotesque and cold machine. The second melody has a thinner texture and is almost dreamlike, before the machinery of the opening takes over in a grotesque march. The second movement is kind of like a march, built of staccato chords throughout. The third is like a very slow waltz, lushly written and elongated, full of longing. The final is a rushed speed through hell, as dark as you’d expect a Soviet toccata to be.
Movements:
1. Allegro moderato
2. Allegretto
3. Tempo di valzer lentissimo
4. Vivace
