Prokofiev in Chicago

Synopsis

In the spring and summer of 1921, the Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev was living the good life in a quiet village on the coast of Brittany. He wrote: “I get up at 8:30, put on a collarless shirt, white pants, and sandals. After drinking hot chocolate, I look to see if the garden is still where it’s supposed to be. Then I sit down to work. I’m writing my Third Piano Concerto.”

On today’s date in 1921, Prokofiev was the soloist in the premiere of the work, which took place in America, with the Chicago Symphony under Frederick Stock.

In a letter to conductor Serge Koussevitzky just a few days before the premiere, Prokofiev wrote: “My Third Concerto has turned out to be devilishly difficult. I’m nervous and practicing hard three hours a day. But let the maestro be calm. This is not a Stravinsky symphony—there are no complicated meters, no dirty tricks. It can be conducted without special preparation—it is difficult for the orchestra, but not for the conductor.”

Chicago audiences and newspaper critics gave the new Concerto a warm, if not overly enthusiastic, reception at its first performance in America, and in time, the Third—despite its difficulty—became one of Prokofiev’s most popular works with performers as well as audiences around the world.

Music Played in Today's Program

Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953) Piano Concerto No. 3 Alexander Toradze, piano; Kirov Orchestra; Valery Gergiev, cond. Philips 462 048

On This Day

Births

• 1770 - German composer Ludwig van Beethoven, in Bonn; The date is not certain, but his birthday has been traditionally celebrated on this date; Beethoven was baptized the following day (Dec. 17, 1770);

• 1775 - French opera composer François Boieldieu, in Rouen;

• 1847 - French composer (of Irish parentage) Augusta Holmès (Holmes), in Paris;

• 1882 - Hungarian composer Zoltán Kódaly, in Kecskemét;

• 1899 - British playwright and songwriter Sir Noel Coward, in Teddington (Middlesex);

• 1932 - Russian composer Rodion Shchedrin, in Moscow;

Deaths

• 1921 - French composer and pianist Camille Saint-Saëns, age 86, in Algiers;

Premieres

• 1877 - Bruckner: Symphony No. 3 (2nd version), in Vienna, with the composer conducting;

• 1893 - Dvorák: Symphony No. 9 ("From the New World"), at Carnegie Hall, by the New York Philharmonic, Anton Seidl conducting; This was the "official " premiere (a public dress rehearsal had taken place the previous afternoon);

• 1894 - Emil von Reznicek: opera "Donna Diana," in Prague;

• 1921 - Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3, by the Chicago Symphony conducted by Frederick Stock, with the composer as soloist;

• 1938 - Copland: "An Outdoor Overture," in New York City;

• 1946 - Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 3, in Moscow, by the Beethoven Quartet;

Others

• 1718 - J.S. Bach examines the organ at the Paulinerkirche in Leipzig;

• 1944 - American bandleader and trombonist Glenn Miller, age 40, dies in an air crash near England;