Symphony No. 1 (Prokofiev)


began work on his Symphony No. 1 in D major in 1916, but wrote most of it in 1917, finishing work on September 10. It is written in loose imitation of the style of Haydn, and is widely known as the Classical Symphony, a name given to it by the composer. It premiered on April 21, 1918 in Petrograd, conducted by Prokofiev himself, and has become one of his most popular works.

Background

The symphony is composed in a style based on that of Joseph Haydn, but does not follow Haydn strictly, and it does not contain any quotations from Haydn. Thus it can be considered to be one of the first neoclassical compositions. The work was partly inspired by his conducting studies at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, where the instructor, Nikolai Tcherepnin, taught his students about conducting Haydn, among other composers.
Prokofiev wrote the symphony on holiday in the country, using it as an exercise in composing away from the piano.

Movements

The symphony is in four movements and lasts about ten to sixteen minutes:
  1. Allegro
  2. Larghetto
  3. Gavotte: Non troppo allegro
  4. Finale: Molto vivace

    Prokofiev's comments on his Op.25 / Symphony No. 1 in D Major ("Classical" Symphony)

On 18 December 1916, Prokofiev wrote in his diary, "...I look forward with joyous anticipation to the Piano Concerto No. 3, the Violin Concerto and the 'Classical' Symphony."
In May 1917, Prokofiev wrote in his diary, "Musically I took an important decision: to do without a piano. For some time, I contemplated composing my 'Classical' Symphony away from the piano, and all the work I had so far done on it I had done in my head. Now I resolved to finish it. It seemed to me that composing with or without a piano was purely a matter of habit, and it would be good to gain more experience with a work as uncomplicated as this symphony."
Continuing in May 1917, Prokofiev wrote in his diary, "...I walked through the fields, composing the 'Classical' Symphony. I wrote down what I had already composed, but not yet in the form of a score. When our classically inclined musicians and professors hear this symphony, they will be bound to scream in protest at this new example of Prokofiev's insolence, look how he will not let Mozart lie quiet in his grave but must come prodding at him with his grubby hands, contaminating the pure classical pearls with horrible Prokofievish dissonances. But my true friends will see that the style of my symphony is precisely Mozartian classicism and will value it accordingly, while the public will no doubt just be content to hear happy and uncomplicated music which it will, of course, applaud."
In June 1917, Prokofiev wrote in his diary, "I scrapped the finale of my Symphony, which now seemed to me too ponderous and not characterful enough for a classical symphony. Asafyev put into my mind an idea he was developing, that there is no true joyfulness to be found in Russian music. Thinking about this, I composed a new finale, lively and blithe enough for there to be a complete absence of minor triads in the whole movement, only major ones. From my original finale I salvaged only the second subject." "...this kind of finale is quite appropriate to Mozartian style."
In August 1917, Prokofiev wrote in his diary, "Once I had fully thought through the sketches of the Symphony from the orchestration point of view I finally embarked on the score, which went easily, pleasantly and classically, if a little slowly at first owing to the need to be accustomed to the style."
Originally, the 'Classical' Symphony was expected to premiere in Petrograd on 4 November 1917 with the Violin Concerto. however, this was postponed. On 18 January 1918, Russia adopted the Gregorian Calendar bringing it into line with many other countries particularly those that made up Europe and the Western World. - this meant that Prokofiev's diary entry for 5 April was actually 18 April under the new calendar, which is now the date accepted as the premiere for the 'Classical' Symphony. On 18 April, Prokofiev wrote in his diary: "Rehearsal of the 'Classical' Symphony with the State Orchestra, I conducted it myself, completely improvising, having forgotten the score and never indeed having studied it from a conducting perspective. I thought it might be a complete debacle, but nothing happened and in any case the parts has so many mistakes in them that the session turned mainly into one for making corrections. In Kislovodsk, I had worried that there would be some antagonism from a 'Revolutionary Orchestra' playing my new works, but the opposite was the case: the State Orchestra, infused with much new young blood, was flexible and attentive, and played the Symphony with evident enjoyment."

Instrumentation

The symphony is scored for a Classical period-sized orchestra consisting of two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, and strings.

Recordings

Prokofiev himself recorded a piano arrangement of the Gavotte movement in 1935.
Complete recordings of this symphony include:
OrchestraConductorRecord CompanyYear of RecordingFormat
Boston Symphony OrchestraSerge KoussevitzkyRCA Victor1929CD
NBC Symphony OrchestraArturo ToscaniniRCA Victor1951CD
The Paris Conservatory OrchestraErnest AnsermetLondon Records1964LP
New York PhilharmonicLeonard BernsteinColumbia1968CD
London Symphony OrchestraWalter WellerDecca1974CD
London Symphony OrchestraVladimir AshkenazyDecca1974CD
London Symphony OrchestraAndré PrevinEMI Classics1978CD
Berliner PhilharmonikerHerbert von KarajanDeutsche Grammophon1981CD
Chicago Symphony OrchestraSir Georg SoltiDecca1982CD
Scottish National OrchestraNeeme JärviChandos1985CD
Orchestre National de FranceLorin MaazelCBS Masterworks1985CD
Orpheus Chamber OrchestraDeutsche Grammophon1987CD
Orchestre National de FranceMstislav RostropovichErato1988CD
Berliner PhilharmonikerSeiji OzawaDeutsche Grammophon1989CD
Slovak Philharmonic OrchestraStephen GunzenhauserNaxos1989CD
Soviet State OrchestraNikolay TiomkinDiscover The Classics1990CD
Philadelphia OrchestraRiccardo MutiPhilips Classics Records1990CD
Chicago Symphony OrchestraJames LevineDeutsche Grammophon1994CD
St. Petersburg State Symphony OrchestraRavil MartynovSony1994CD
London Symphony OrchestraValery GergievPhilips2004CD
National Symphony Orchestra of UkraineTheodore KucharNaxosCD
National Orchestra of the O.R.T.F.Jean MartinonVoxCD
Czech Philharmonic OrchestraZdeněk KošlerSupraphonCD
USSR Ministry of Culture State Symphony OrchestraGennadi RozhdestvenskyCD/LP
Moscow Radio Symphony OrchestraGennadi RozhdestvenskyMelodiya/QuintessenceLP
Bournemouth Symphony OrchestraKirill KarabitsOnyx Classics2014CD