Piano Sonata No.7 in B flat major, Op.83

Precipitato

All three of Prokofiev’s so-called “wartime” Sonatas - the Sixth, Seventh and Eighth - were conceived as a group in the summer of 1939, at about the same time as Stalin signed a non-aggression pact with Hitler. He worked on them simultaneously for several months and gave the first performance of the Sixth in April 1940 - a little over a year before Germany so unwisely broke its undertaking and invaded Russia. “The news astonished us,” said Prokofiev, who was already well into the Seventh by then.

Whatever the inspiration of the Seventh Sonata, it must have been impossible for those who heard Sviatoslav Richter give the first performance in Moscow in 1943 to dissociate it from the terrible events happening around them. The sound of wartime aggression can be heard at the beginning of the Allegro inquieto, even though at this stage in the work, after a relaxation of the tempo to an unhappy andantino, the percussive element is balanced by a vocal element. The Andante caloroso is concerned with the same problem, except that in this case the emphasis is reversed: the movement opens in romantic, even Schumannesque lyricism and it ends that way too. In the meantime the percussive element makes its presence unmistakably felt, striking against the melody in a persistent tolling across the beat.

Except very briefly, in a few legato phrases in the middle section, there is no hint of vocal melody in the last movement. It must be the most thorough example of percussive scoring in any piano sonata written so far, including Bartók’s, its menacingly uneven rhythms stamped out in a texture of heavy octaves in the left hand and bruisingly dissonant chord clusters in the right. If this movement was written before Russia got involved in the war, the composer’s subconscious perceptions were nearer to the truth of the situation than his actual knowledge of it.

Precipitato

Although the Seventh is one of Prokofiev’s so-called “wartime” Sonatas, it is no more directly inspired by the approaching war than the Sixth and Eighth. The fact is that he conceived the three works as a group in the summer of 1939, at about the same time as Stalin signed a non-aggression pact with Hitler, and worked on them simultaneously for several months. He gave the first performance of the Sixth in April 1940, a little over a years before Germany betrayed its undertaking and invaded Russia. “The news astonished us,” said Prokofiev, who was already well into the Seventh by then. Perhaps his subconscious perceptions were nearer to the truth of the situation.

Certainly, it must have been impossible for those who heard Sviatoslav Richter give the first performance of the Seventh Sonata in 1942 to dissociate it from the terrible events happening around them. The sound of wartime aggression can be heard at the beginning of the Allegro inquieto, particularly after the first crescendo, where the 6/8 rhythms assume a frighteningly mechanical quality and the main theme passes into a laceratingly metallic higher register. But, at least at this stage in the work, the percussive element is balanced by a vocal element, above all in the lyrical Andantino section. From a thematic point of view, however, the seeds of violence are here too, and the acceleration into the long Allegro inquieto seems inevitable.

The Andante caloroso is concerned with the same problem, except that in this case the emphasis is reversed: the movement opens in romantic, even Schumannesque E major lyricism far removed from the B flat reality of the outer movement. It ends that way too. In the meantime in the development, although the impulse is still vocal, the percussive element makes its presence felt at the biggest of the several climaxes, striking against the melody in a persistent tolling across the beat.

Except very briefly, in a few legato phrases in the middle section, there is no hint of vocal melody in the last movement. It must be the most thorough example of percussive scoring in any piano sonata written so far, including Bartók’s. Headed Precipitato, with a time signature of 7/8, it stamps out its menacing rhythms in uneven groups of quavers, rather in the manner of the additive rhythms discovered by Bartók in Bulgarian folk music. The cluster harmonies and the forceful use of the lower register, contrasted with the hard brilliance at the other end of the keyboard, produce a sound as aggressive as the rhythms.

Precipitato

Although the Seventh is one of Prokofiev’s so-called “wartime” Sonatas, it is no more directly inspired by the approaching war than the Sixth and Eighth. The fact is that he conceived the three works as a group in the summer of 1939, at about the same time as Stalin signed his non-aggression pact with Hitler, and worked on them simultaneously for several months. He gave the first performance of the Sixth in April 1940, a little over a years before Germany betrayed its undertaking and invaded Russia. “The news astonished us,” said Prokofiev, who was already well into the Seventh by then. Perhaps his subconscious perceptions were nearer to the truth of the situation.

Certainly, it must have been impossible for those who heard Sviatoslav Richter give the first performance of the Seventh Sonata in 1942 to dissociate it from the events happening around them. The sound of wartime aggression can be heard at the beginning of the Allegro inquieto, particularly after the first crescendo, where the 6/8 rhythms assume a frighteningly mechanical quality and the main theme passes into a laceratingly metallic higher register. But, at least at this stage in the work, the percussive element is balanced by a vocal element. The latter is introduced after a gradual softening of the texture and a relaxation of tempo in a lyrical Andantino. From a thematic point of view, however, the seeds of violence are here too, and the acceleration into the long Allegro inquieto seems inevitable.

The Andante caloroso is concerned with the same problem, except that in this case the emphasis is reversed: the movement opens in romantic, even Schumannesque E major lyricism far removed from the B flat reality of the outer movements. It ends that way too. In the meantime in the development, although the impulse is still vocal – in spite of the growing agitation and brilliant figuration which helps project the arching climaxes – the percussive element makes its presence felt at the biggest climax of all, striking against the melody in a persistent tolling across the beat. When the dynamic intensity is reduced the threatening syncopation is still there.

Except very briefly, in a few legato phrases in the middle section, there is no hint of vocal melody in the last movement. It must be the most thorough example of percussive scoring in any piano sonata written so far, including Bartók’s. Headed Precipitato, with a time signature of 7/8, it stamps out its menacing rhythms in uneven groups of quavers, rather in the manner of the additive rhythms discovered by Bartók in Bulgarian folk music. The cluster harmonies and the forceful use of the lower register, contrasted with the hard brilliance at the other end of the keyboard, produce a sound as aggressive as the rhythms.

Gerald Larner © 2018

Precipitato

The Seventh is one Prokofiev’s “wartime” Sonatas, started at the same time as the Sixth and Eighth in 1939 and completed in 1942. Sviatoslav Richter gave the first performance in 1943 and it was promptly awarded the Stalin Prize. Absurdly, five years later it was roundly condemned by General Zhdanov. What was offensive about it, apparently ,was that the forces of violence were seen to win through in the end.

It is true that it is difficult not to hear the sounds of wartime aggression at the beginning of the Allegro inquieto, particularly after the first crescendo: the 6/8 rhythms assume a frighteningly mechanical quality and the main theme passes into the metallic higher register. But, at least at this stage in the work, the percussive element is balanced by a vocal element. The latter is introduced after a gradual softening of the texture and a relaxation of tempo in a lyrical Andantino. However, from a thematic point of view, the seeds of violence are here too, and the acceleration into the long Allegro inquieto seems inevitable. During its course the Andantino voice is heard in augmentation and reinforced in octaves low in the left hand, and the lyrical section does in fact return - but only to be swept away in the last Allegro inquieto bars.

The Andante caloroso is concerned with the same problem, except that in this case the emphasis is reversed: the movement opens in romantic, even Schumannesque E major lyricism far removed from the B flat reality of the outer movement, and it ends that way. In the development, although the impulse is still vocal - in spite of the growing agitation and brilliant figuration which helps project the arching climaxes - the percussive element makes its presence felt at the biggest climax of all, striking against the melody in a persistent tolling across the beat. When the dynamic intensity is reduced, the threatening syncopation is still there. The memory of it makes the off-beat accompaniment of the E major melody sound rather different when it finally returns.

Except very briefly, in a few legato phrases in the middle section, there is no hint of vocal melody in the last movement. It must be the most thorough example of percussive writing in any piano sonata, including Bartók’s. Headed Precipitato, with time signature of 7/8, it stamps out its rhythm in units of 2+3+2 quavers per bar, rather in the manner of the additive rhythms discovered by Bartók in Bulgarian folk music. The cluster harmonies and the forceful use of the lower register, contrasted with the hard brilliance at the other end of the keyboard, produce a sound as aggressive as the rhythms.

In the middle section the left hand abandons its heavy ostinato to stab at a new motif, which actually begins to sound like Debussy at one point, and then gives way to a suspicion of legato melody in the right hand. Whether or not the return of the first section calls to mind - as the revised, post-zhdanov idealogy has it - “the boundless might of a great country wakened for victorious struggle” does not matter amid such exhilaration.