SUMMARY:
One of the great 20th Century composers, Serhij Prokofiev was born in 1891 in the village of Sontsivka within the Donetsk Oblast of Ukraine; while this land was then a part of Imperial Russia. He was raised within this Ukrainian region and surrounded by its unique customs and traditions that contribute to a person’s identity. Later, he became a cosmopolitan artist mentored by Diaghilev in Paris, where he composed several ballets for the Ballet Russes including Balanchine’s The Prodigal Son. He married an American woman, and while staying in the USA became a Christian Scientist, influencing his philosophical approach to composing music.

Prokofiev was infamously lured back to the USSR to become a Soviet celebrity, where he suffered artistic repression and censorship. However, he transcended these challenges, creating renowned masterpieces. Many people associate Tchaikovsky with ballet music, but Tchaikovsky only wrote three ballets, while Prokofiev created eight. This is an excerpt from his last ballet, a fairytale ballet, featuring a lyrical dance of a Roma girl, which becomes a wild frenzy.