Symphony No. 5 (Prokofiev)

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External audio
Performed by the Berlin Philharmonic under Seiji Ozawa
	I. Andante
	II. Allegro marcato
	III. Adagio
	IV. Allegro giocoso

Symphony No. 5
Symphony No. 5
by Sergei Prokofiev
	Prokofiev, photographed in 1936 by Pierre Choumoff
Key	B-flat major
Opus	100
Composed	1944
Duration	40 min
Movements	Four
Premiere
Date	January 13, 1945
Location	Moscow Conservatory
Conductor	Prokofiev
Performers	USSR State Symphony Orchestra

Sergei Prokofiev wrote his Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, Op. 100, in the Soviet Union in one month^{[citation needed]} in the summer of 1944.^[1]

Background

From 1925 onward, Prokofiev’s status as a composer grew, with his 1942 Piano Sonata No. 7 receiving the Stalin Prize (Second Class). Prior to composing his Fifth Symphony, Prokofiev relocated to Moscow as a result of his increasing reliance on financial support from the Soviet Union and their threat of revoking their contributions.^[2]

The creation of the Fifth Symphony can be traced to musical ideas explored during the composition of Prokofiev's earlier work, particularly the Symphony No. 4 in C major composed fourteen years prior.^[3] Prokofiev incorporated these musical motifs into a piano score over less than a month during his stay at The Composers' House in Ivanovo, under the background of the Soviet Union’s involvement in World War II.

He gave out in a statement at the time of the work's premiere that he intended it as "a hymn to free and happy Man, to his mighty powers, his pure and noble spirit."^[4] He added, "I cannot say that I deliberately chose this theme. It was born in me and clamoured for expression. The music matured within me. It filled my soul."^[5]

Movements

The piece is in four movements, lasting 40–45 minutes:

Movement I

The first movement is in a tightly argued sonata form: its exposition presents two themes, one calm and sustained, the other soaring with tremolo accompaniment from strings, which are then involved in an elaborate and climactic development section. The movement is wrapped up with an electrifying coda punctuated by a roaring tam-tam and low piano tremolos.^{[citation needed]}

1st theme, mm. 1–7: $\relative c' { \clef treble \time 3/4 \key bes \major \tempo "Andante" 4 = 48 f4(\p^"Flute/Bassoon" g a8. f16 | c'8. bes16 f'4 bes | d,8. ees16 f4.) g8( | f ees d c bes c | ees4 d4.) bes8( | c[ ees d] bes'4 g8) | g8.( a16 f2~ | f4) }$
mm. 8–10: $\relative c' { \clef treble \time 3/4 \key bes \major \tempo 4 = 48 << { \times 2/3 {g'8(^"Clarinet"\p ees' d} c2) } \\ { s4 r8. <bes ges>16_"Horns" <bes ges>4-> } >> }$
mm. 29–30: $\relative c { \clef bass \time 4/4 \key bes \major \tempo 4 = 48 f,\mp bes8( d) cis\< g'4( a8)\! | bes( a) e-- a16-- g-- f8.\> d16 bes4\! }$
2nd theme, mm. 54–64: $\relative c'' { \clef treble \time 4/4 \key bes \major \tempo "Poco più mosso" c2.(\p^"Flute/Oboe"_"dolce" bes8 a | c4) e( d cis | c8. bes16 a4~ a8) g( f e | \key c \major dis2) e4( fis | gis--) gis-- gis-- fis-- | a8.( cis16 b2 a4) | cis-- cis-- cis--( b8 a | gis fis fisis gis dis' cis fis,4~ | fis8.) g16\mp gis2(_"cresc." a4) | a8.--\mf_"cresc." ais16-- b2-- b8.( c16 | c,2.\f) }$
mm. 74–77: $\relative c'' { \clef treble \time 4/4 \key c \major \tempo "Tempo I" e'2~->(\ff e8. d16--) c8.( f16--) | c8. d16 c4~( c8. d16--) c8.( bes16--) | a8.->( bes16--) c8.->( des16--) d8.->( e16--) f8.->( g16--) | f8.->( g16) a4 f c }$
Closing theme, mm. 83–86: $\relative c'' { \clef treble \time 4/4 \key c \major r4 b'8.(\f_"animato" gis16) a( f') b,-. b-. b-. b-. b-- des-- | gis,( b) f-. a-. c,2.->~ | c4 r16 b'( aes des) a( f') b,-. b-. b( des) aes-. b-. | f( a) c,-. c-. c2._>~ | c4 }$

Movement II

The second movement is an insistent scherzo in Prokofiev's typical toccata mode, framing a central theme in triple time.

mm. 3–10: $\relative c'' { \clef treble \time 4/4 \key d \minor \tempo "Allegro marcato" 4 = 132 r8 bes(^"Clarinet"\mp a gis bes a d a | e' a,-- cis-- e-- a2->) | r8 a(\< aes g c4--) a--\! | f8.->(\f c16) c8-. c-. c-. c-. c-. c16^"Oboe/Viola"( d | b4-> bes16)[ r bes( c] a4->) aes-- | g8.->( c,16) c8-.\> c-. c-. c-. c-. c-.\! | \clef bass c(->\mf^"Cello"[ des)] bes(\>->[ c)] aes->([ bes)] g(-.[ aes->)\!] | f\mp-> }$
mm. 56–58
$\relative c'' { \clef treble \time 4/4 \key d \minor \tempo 4 = 132 bes\p->~(^"Violin (con sord.)" bes16 c bes a) d4->~( d16 c bes a) | gis4->~( gis16 c bes a) d( c bes a) d( c bes a) | bes( ees,) g g bes2.-> }$
mm. 112–115: $\relative c'' { \clef treble \time 4/4 \key d \major \tempo "Meno mosso" a'4->\f~(^"Oboe/Clarinet" a16 g fis e d4->~ d16 e f g | a8 d) gis,-- eis-- eis->~( \times 2/3 {eis16 fis g} fis4) | fis->~( fis16 e d cis c2~ | c4.)\> a8--\! d2->\mf }$
mm. 120–127: $\relative c' { \clef treble \time 3/4 \key d \major \tempo "Più mosso (un poco più animato ch'el tempo I)" 4 = 132 a2.->\p^"Clarinet/Viola"(~ | a8 b a fis g gis | a gis a4) d,-- | e4.-- g4( fis8 | a2.) | c2-- \times 2/3 {c8( b bes} | a2.->) }$
mm. 154–157: ${ \new PianoStaff << \new Staff \relative c'' { \clef treble \time 3/4 \key d \major \tempo 4 = 132 a'8(\p^"Piano" d16 fis a8) a a a | a( gis,) gis g g fis | \key c \major fis(\p f16 des aes8 f) f f | f( aes') aes f, f f' | f4 } \new Staff \relative c' { \clef bass \key d \major \time 3/4 a,8( d16 fis a8) a a a | a( bes) bes b b c | \key c \major c( des16 aes f8 des8) des des | des( des') des des, des a' | f4 } >> }$

Movement III

The third movement is a dreamy slow movement, full of nostalgia, which nevertheless builds up to a tortured climax before receding to a quiet end.

mm. 4–8: $\relative c'' { \clef treble \time 3/4 \key f \major \tempo "Adagio" 4 = 60 f\p(_"espress." e) f8( e | d c d b c4~ | \time 4/4 c8] f([ a c] e a b, g' | \time 3/4 bes,4-- f'-- a,--~ | a8) }$
mm. 55–62: $\relative c { \clef bass \time 3/4 \key c \major \tempo 4 = 60 c,4.->\f ais8 c b | e c'( b) g' e( e') | d c16 a e'8 a,4 b16( g) | b4 \clef treble b'4. b8 | ais8.-> fis16 g8.-> e16 fis8.-> b16 | ais8.-> fis16 g8.-> e16 fis8.-> bis16 | cis8.->\dim gis16 a8.-> fis16 g8.-> e16 | fis4\mf }$
mm. 82–84: $\relative c'' { \clef treble \time 3/4 \key c \minor \tempo "a tempo" 4 = 60 \partial 8*2 g8.--\p fis16 | g4( c,) d\trill( | ees8.--) d16-- f4( ees) | g,8.( c16 f4) d-- | ees-- }$
"tortured climax" mm. 125–131: ${ \new PianoStaff << \new Staff \relative c' { \clef treble \time 3/4 \key fis \minor \tempo 4 = 60 <cis' fis, b,>8.-> <fis fis,>16 <eis a,>8.-> <cis a>16 <d bes>8.-> 16 | <cis fis, b,>8.-> <fis fis,>16 <eis a,>8.-> <cis a>16 <d bes>8.-> 16 | <cis fis, b,>8.-> <fis fis,>16 <eis a,>8.-> <cis a>16 <d bes>8.-> 16 | \time 9/8 \key a \minor c'8.->(\ff[ bes16)] aes64([ g f ees d c b aes)] g4-> fis8-> f4.-> | c''8.->(\ff[ bes16)] aes64([ g f ees d c b aes)] g4-> fis8-> f4.-> } \new Staff \relative c { \clef bass \time 3/4 \key fis \minor <fis, b,>8. 16 8. <d' bes f>16 <d bes f>8. <fis,, b,>16 | <fis b,>8. 16 8. <d' bes f>16 <d bes f>8. <fis,, b,>16 | <fis b,>8. 16 8. <d' bes f>16 <d bes f>8. <d, d,>16 | \time 9/8 \key a \minor << { aes'8 c d g, b <d fis,> f, bes d | aes8 c cis d b fis eis b' cis } \\ { aes,4. b cis | aes4. b cis } >> } >> }$

Movement IV

The finale starts with a cello choir playing a slow introduction recalling the first theme of the first movement, which then launches into the movement proper, a rondo. The playful ("giocoso") main theme is contrasted with two calmer episodes, one introduced by the flute, the other a chorale in the strings. Just as the movement is striving to end with a victorious tone, the music degenerates into a frenzy (rehearsal mark 111), which is stripped down to a string quartet playing staccato "wrong notes" (rehearsal mark 113) with rude interjections from low trumpets, making the ultimate orchestral unison on B-flat sound all the more ironic.

mm. 3–6: $\relative c'' { \clef treble \time 2/2 \key bes \major \tempo "Allegro giocoso" 2 = 72 \partial 4*1 f'(\p a, bes2~ bes8) cis( | d4 e, f bes) | bes,4.( ees8 b2 | c1) }$
Theme from first movement, mm. 15–22: ${ \new PianoStaff << \new Staff \relative c' { \clef treble \time 3/2 \key bes \major \tempo "Poco più tranquillo" 2 = 72 c2(\mf d) e4.( c8)-- << { \stemUp g'4.(\< f8--) c'2\! f\f | a,4.( bes8) c2.( d4--) | c\dim bes( a) g( f) g | bes2 a2.\p } \\ { \stemDown b,4.( c8--) e4.( f8) gis2 | f2.. e8( f2) | e4 d( cis) d( c) d | des2 c2. } >> f4 | g(\< bes) a\! f'2\mf\> d,4\! | d4.(\mp e8 c1\> | c1.\!\fermata\p } \new Staff \relative c { \clef bass \time 3/2 \key bes \major << { <e c>2 <f b,> fis4.( e8--) | <d gis,>4.( <dis a>8) <gis b,>4.( <a c,>8) <bes d,>4.( 8) | c2.. gis8( a2) | aes4 ges( e) d( c) d | <ees ges,>4.( <e g,>8) <f a,>2. <a c,>4 | ( <des ges,>) <c e,> aes'2 f,4 | <f c,>4.( <g g,>8 <e c>2( <f d>) | g1.\fermata } \\ { c,,1 <bes' c,>2 | c,1. | d'4.( des8) c1~ | c2 cis4 g( aes) g | s1 c,2->~ | c1 b2 | c1 s2 | d'2( e1)\fermata } >> } >> }$
mm. 29–36: $\relative c'' { \clef treble \time 2/2 \key bes \major \tempo "Tempo I" 2 = 72 \partial 8*1 f8\p(^"Clarinet" bes,4.-- c8-- d4.-- a'8-- | bes2.--) a16( g f g | a4.) bes16( c bes4.) d,8 | d2..-> e16( fis | g4.-> fis16 e d cis b a g8)[ r16 ges-.] | ges8-> aes'2.-- ges,8( | f4.-- ees8-- f'4.--) c16( ees | d8) bes'2.-- }$
mm. 37–38: $\relative c'' { \clef treble \time 2/2 \key bes \major \tempo 2 = 72 \partial 8*1 d'16( f) | e,->[ e-. e-. e-.] e-.[ e-. f-. e-.] ees-.[ d-. des-. c-.] ces-.[ bes-. a-. cis-.] | aes,2.. }$
mm. 54–55: $\relative c'' { \clef treble \time 2/2 \key c \major \tempo 2 = 72 \partial 4*1 aes16( bes b g | c8) g'16 g g8-. c-. b-. fis-. fis-. g-. | dis-. dis-. dis-. e-. c4-> }$
mm. 83–90: $\relative c'' { \clef treble \time 2/2 \key f \major \tempo 2 = 72 \partial 2*1 f'4.(^"Flute"\p e8 | f4 a,2.) | f'4( c,2 a'4) | a2.( c4 | a8 g e g a2) | a4(^"Clarinet" e2) e8.( a16 | e4 c2) c8.( f16 | c8 d, g bes cis4. d8 | \times 2/3 {g a g} g2) }$
mm. 164–172: $\relative c { \clef bass \time 2/2 \key des \major \tempo 2 = 72 r4 f(\pp ees) aes, | des( ees) f2~ | f4 ges aes2 | f' ees4( c) | des f8-- des-- c4( aes) | bes2 f4( ges) | aes2 ees4( f) | ges bes8 ges f4( ges) | aes bes c2 }$

Instrumentation

The work is scored for the following:

Woodwind

Brass

Percussion

Keyboard

Piano

Strings

Premiere

The symphony was premiered on January 13, 1945, in the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory by the USSR State Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Prokofiev himself.^[7]

As he took the stage, artillery fired. He paused until it finished. This left a great impression upon the audience, who upon leaving the Great Hall learned the gunfire marked the Red Army's crossing of the Vistula into Germany.^[7] The premiere was very well-received, and the symphony has remained one of the composer's most popular works.^{[citation needed]}

Then, in November of that year, Serge Koussevitzky and the Boston Symphony Orchestra introduced the score to America and recorded it in Boston's Symphony Hall on February 6 and 7, 1946, for RCA Victor, using an optical sound film process introduced by RCA in 1941; it was initially issued on 78-rpm discs and later on LP and CD. The symphony's rapid insertion into the repertoire was referenced by Dennis Dobson in his review of the 1951 Edinburgh Festival for Music Survey, where he panned the work as "noisy, uncouth" and a "falling off in maturity" from works such as Chout and the Piano Concerto No. 3 and went on to say, "that this work is well thought of and much played in both America and the Soviet Union speaks sociological and cultural volumes".^[8]

Notable recordings

Orchestra	Conductor	Record company	Year of recording	Format
Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra of New York	Artur Rodziński	Columbia Records	1946	LP/CD
Boston Symphony Orchestra	Sergei Koussevitzky	RCA, Dutton	1946	LP/CD
Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra	Erik Tuxen	Decca	1952	LP/CD
Philadelphia Orchestra	Eugene Ormandy	Columbia	1958	LP
Philharmonia Orchestra	Thomas Schippers	Angel, Medici Masters	1957	LP/CD
Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire	Jean Martinon	RCA	1959	LP
Cleveland Orchestra	George Szell	Sony	1959	LP/CD
Boston Symphony Orchestra	Erich Leinsdorf	RCA	1963	LP/CD
New York Philharmonic	Leonard Bernstein	Sony	1966	LP/CD
Berlin Philharmonic	Herbert von Karajan	Deutsche Grammophon	1968	LP/CD
Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra	Evgeny Mravinsky	Russian Disc, Leningrad Masters	1968	CD
Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra	Gennadi Rozhdestvensky	BBC	1971	CD
Concerts Colonne Orchestra	Jascha Horenstein	Vox	1972	CD/LP
Orchestre National de France	Jean Martinon	Vox	1974	LP/CD
Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra	Gennadi Rozhdestvensky	Melodiya	1975	LP
Philadelphia Orchestra	Eugene Ormandy	RCA	1975	CD (Japan only)
London Symphony Orchestra	Walter Weller	Decca	1976	CD
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra	Zdeněk Košler	Supraphon	1979	CD
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra	Leonard Bernstein	CBS Masterworks	1980	CD
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra	Leonard Slatkin	RCA	1984	LP/CD
Concertgebouw Orchestra	Vladimir Ashkenazy	Decca	1985	CD
Scottish National Orchestra	Neeme Järvi	Chandos	1985	CD
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra	André Previn	Philips	1986	CD
Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra	Mariss Jansons	Chandos	1987	CD
Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra	Dmitri Kitajenko	RCA	1987	CD
Orchestre National de France	Mstislav Rostropovich	Erato	1988	CD
Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra	Stephen Gunzenhauser	Naxos	1989	CD
Berlin Philharmonic	Seiji Ozawa	Deutsche Grammophon	1990	CD
Philadelphia Orchestra	Riccardo Muti	Philips	1990	CD
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra	Yoel Levi	Telarc	1991	CD
St. Petersburg Philharmonic	Yuri Temirkanov	RCA	1991	CD
London Symphony Orchestra	Michael Tilson Thomas	Sony Classical	1991	CD
Chicago Symphony Orchestra	James Levine	Deutsche Grammophon	1992	CD
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra	Simon Rattle	EMI	1992	CD
National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine	Theodore Kuchar	Naxos	1995	CD
London Symphony Orchestra	Valery Gergiev	Philips	2004	CD
São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra	Marin Alsop	Naxos	2011	CD
Bergen Symphony Orchestra	Andrew Litton	BIS Records	2014	SACD
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra	Kirill Karabits	Onyx Records	2014	SACD
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra	Mariss Jansons	RCO Live	2014	SACD
The Cleveland Orchestra	Franz Welser-Möst	The Cleveland Orchestra	2023	SACD

References

^ "Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, Op. 100 (Sergei Prokofiev)". LA Phil. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
^ "Music At War: A Guide to Prokofiev's Symphony No. 5". Houston Symphony. 2017-10-16. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
^ "Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5". Utah Symphony. 2019-08-20. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
^ Schwarz, Music and Musical Life in Soviet Russia, p.196, cited in Preston Stedman, The Symphony, p.290
^ Prokofiev, Sergey (1960). Autobiography, Articles, Reminiscences. Honolulu, Ha: University Press of the Pacific. pp. 134–135. ISBN 9780898751499.
^ "Symphony No.5, Op.100 (Prokofiev, Sergey)". IMSLP. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Prokofiev's Symphony No. 5 Reflects Drama of World War II". Evanston Symphony Orchestra. 13 October 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
^ Edinburgh Festival, 1951, Dennis Dobson. Music Survey, vol. IV, no. 2, February 1952, p. 425.

External links

Symphony No. 5 (Prokofiev): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project

[1] "Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, Op. 100 (Sergei Prokofiev)". LA Phil. Retrieved 2021-06-30.

[2] "Music At War: A Guide to Prokofiev's Symphony No. 5". Houston Symphony. 2017-10-16. Retrieved 2024-03-06.

[3] "Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5". Utah Symphony. 2019-08-20. Retrieved 2021-06-30.

[4] Schwarz, Music and Musical Life in Soviet Russia, p.196, cited in Preston Stedman, The Symphony, p.290

[5] Prokofiev, Sergey (1960). Autobiography, Articles, Reminiscences. Honolulu, Ha: University Press of the Pacific. pp. 134–135. ISBN 9780898751499.

[6] "Symphony No.5, Op.100 (Prokofiev, Sergey)". IMSLP. Retrieved November 9, 2024.

[ESO-7] "Prokofiev's Symphony No. 5 Reflects Drama of World War II". Evanston Symphony Orchestra. 13 October 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2019.

[8] Edinburgh Festival, 1951, Dennis Dobson. Music Survey, vol. IV, no. 2, February 1952, p. 425.

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