Symphony No. 3 (Prokofiev)
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The Symphony No. 3 in C minor, opus 44, by Sergei Prokofiev dates from 1928.
The music derives from that for Prokofiev's opera The Fiery Angel. This piece had been accepted for performance in the 1927-28 season at the Berlin State Opera by Bruno Walter, but this production never materialised (the work was never in fact staged in Prokofiev's lifetime). Prokofiev, who had been working on the opera for years, was reluctant to let the music languish unperformed, and after hearing a concert performance of its second act given by Serge Koussevitzky in June 1928, he adapted parts of the opera to make his third symphony (shortly afterwards, he drew on his ballet The Prodigal Son for his Symphony No. 4 in similar fashion). Though the music of the symphony is based on that of the opera, the symphony is an abstract piece, not telling any particular story.
The piece is scored for an orchestra including two flutes, piccolo, two oboes, cor anglais, two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, double bassoon, three trumpets, four French horns, three trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, tambourine, cymbals, castanets, bells, snare drum, tamtam, two harps, and the usual complement of strings (violins divided into two groups, violas, cellos and double basses). As is normal for symphonies, the piece is in four movements:
- Moderato
- Andante
- Allegro agitato - Allegretto
- Andante mosso - Allegro moderato
The piece was premirered in Paris on May 17, 1929, by the Orchestre Symphonique de Paris conducted by Pierre Monteux.
The music of the symphony is highly chromatic and dissonant, with an emotional intensity which reflects the neuroticism and hysterics of the opera. The piece occupies a middle ground among Prokofiev's seven symphonies in terms of popularity, not as well-known as the Symphony No. 1 (the Classical), but not so neglected as the Symphony No. 2 or first version of the Symphony No. 4.