Prokofiev's Second Piano Concerto: Its Genesis, Form, and Narrative Structure

Abstract

This monograph on Prokofiev's Second Piano Concerto fills the regrettable gap in scholarly research. By using recently published materials from the Russian archives, it clarifies the contradictory records and opinions on the concerto's genesis and history as well as identifies Prokofiev's sources of inspiration in the categories of form, style, and expressiveness. The second part of the monograph contains an analysis of the dramatic and narrative content of the Second Piano Concerto, inspired by musical hermeneutics, semiotics, and narrative theory. The analysis uncovers the means used by Prokofiev in creation of the unusually dramatic tone, and intertextual sublayers contributing to the puzzling and often ambiguous nature of the piece. Furthermore, the analysis of the contextual and intertextual meaning reveals how performance tradition has influenced the reading of the piece's ambiguities, and how occasionally it contradicts the score's semiotic content and the composer's indications. Most importantly, it shows how Prokofiev's tendency toward irony and mockery is reflected in musical form.