Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Prokofiev flute sonata, op. 94

I've just been assigned this piece for my summer chamber workshop, in late May.

Anybody have experience playing it? It seems to have a lot of challenges for me, but the assigning faculty member has had direct experience hearing me play, and working with me. She also has begun to give me lessons, so I suppose I ought to trust that she is coming from a position of knowledge about me and that she believes it is manageable.

On the other hand, I'm fairly sure the performance will not be the entire sonata. Last year, each group was given a maximum of 10-15 minutes, which relegated everybody to mostly one movement, two at most.

I'll still have to prepare it all, I guess, unless the flutist and I agree ahead of time to limit ourselves to a particular movement. This might be ok to do given that we are only two. Last year, I was in a trio and it wasn't obvious which movement was best for all of us until we'd played it through together.

Anyway, I'm curious to hear from anybody who has played this!

I had not heard it until being assigned it, so it's all new to me!

I have been wondering how you've been. I am not familiar with Prokofiev's Op. 94 but I suspect that you will do fine with it.

Terrific piece, at or near the pinnacle of the flute & piano rep.

I learned the piano part when I was a late teen (for a flutist who went on to bigger things), and it has been my pleasure to have performed it twice since. Several years back it was on a programme with the Bach B minor and the Milhaud Sonatine.

The piano writing is typical Prokofiev, very athletic, especially so in the finale!

This piece is better known in its transcribed form as Violin Sonata 2. I've always thought that flutists resent this transcription. I remember, many years ago, visiting Oberlin College with my Dad as a prospective student (not for the music school), and we were standing around looking at a concert announcement for Prokofiev's 2nd Violin Sonata, and my father remarked what a great work this is for piano and violin, and a woman standing next to us, previously unseen, rolls her eyes and says "you mean for piano and flute, don't you?" and walks off.

Anyway, I've seen it performed, and even turned pages for a performance, all in its violin incarnation.

But it's a great piece either way. I love the way the second theme of the last movement sounds like a child's exercise at the piano.

As for its technical difficulties, I think that, as with a lot of Prokofiev, passages that initially seem tricky become much more manageable as the ear gets used to them. The hands too, but, with Prokofiev, it sometimes takes some time specifically for the ear.

-J

^ No violinist has ever asked me for it.

I've worked with four or five flutists, but alas only one violinist, and I don't think she had studied the Prokofiev.

Oh good grief, there's a conceit about which instrument got it first?

The response could have been, "flute, violin...whatever. They both need a pianist."



I'm working through the first and third movement now. The scherzo seems a little wicked for me right now, and the fourth movement also seems a bit intimidating. Depending on how far I get in the next week or so, I will aim to get the whole thing done, or just those two movements. But if I want to do all four, I can't wait very long to start the other two.

I guess there's also the option of simplifying, but for right now my primary teacher does not want me to simplify. My idea was first maybe get it under the fingers in a simplified way, so that it's done and at tempo, even if it's not fully filled in. But she's of the opinion that first we see if we can get it done as written in the time allotted and use simplification only if we get behind. Otherwise, she points out, filling it in requires relearning it in a way that simplifying if necessary doesn't make me do. (In other words, it's not relearning to simplify, but it IS relearning to un-simplify.)

I see the logic, but I can see myself getting panicky if I don't have a rough draft of at least one movement in a few weeks.

First: it's one of the best flute-sonatas, together with Poulenc and Reinecke. Second: it's much easier for the pianist than most of the solo-pieces, esp the sonatas. Third: as in all his music, the first impression might be: gosh how impossible, but later one discovers that the music was indeed written by an accomplished pianist/composer who knew what he was writing and asking from his interpreters, its kind for the fingers and very pleasing for the ear.

Glad you are doing the workshop again TwoSnowflakes

Good news--the flutist has elected to only prepare one movement, and she picked the first one, which makes sense if you're only going to pick one.

On the other hand, I'm not entirely certain how I feel about the fact that she didn't ask me what I wanted to do, but rather she was letting me and the workshop faculty know that she will be performing the first movement. It makes me wonder what role she thinks I'm playing here. Worst case scenario, she knows I'm a participant and somehow thinks it's all about her. But I don't know her and it's just as easy to assume she either chose the wrong words or simply isn't aware that the pianists aren't assigned accompanists. There's no reason to really find out which one it is now, especially since the choice she made for us does happen to be fine by me.

Anyway, I'm working through and it is, indeed, rather well-planned from a pianistic standpoint. With only one movement to fully prepare, I think I can do this, and do it competently. It's also nice that it has a violin counterpart because it's something I can do with others going forward. (I know a heck of a lot more violinists than flutists.)

This year I have decided to lift the ban I imposed last year on anybody I know coming to the recital. Last year's decision was rather dimly received by my parents, husband, and my children. And my piano teacher. But, I got my just desserts because one of the other participants last year happened to be a teacher at the very school I graduated from, and had invited her work colleagues to attend, so despite all my efforts to play anonymously, the audience was filled with plenty of my old teachers. So, in the end, out there was my elementary school principal. My high school science teacher. All of whom know exactly who I am.

*sigh, facepalm*

Annnyhoo, so that's what's going on. Onwards and upwards. I will follow the dulcet tones of the flute. I just hope the piper is not pied. If I don't come back, call missing persons.

Just as long as she doesn't preface the performance by announcing "I am going to play the first movement of the Prokofiev flute sonata". In which case someone should be primed to call out: "and what is the pianist going to play?"

If you are lucky, her flute will break between now and then.

No, we don't want that . . .

You could just tell her that you are sorry, but you thought this was for a chamber music workshop.

No, I love Prokofiev's MUSIC!

I am sure it will be fine even though, if pappa Mozart is watching from somewhere afar, he might be none too pleased.

"The pianist will be playing the first movement of Prokofiev's Sonata for Piano with Flute obbligato, and she will be accompanied by a flute player......er, what's her name?"

Very funny. I needed a little humour as I sit here entering a massive tone poem for piano out of my mind and into Finale on the other computer. The computer for that is a Linux system and air gapped - and, yes, one can get Finale to work in a Linux o.s. - the monitor and keyboard for it are on the desk beside this laptop which is used for the internet. Presently at 3869 notes, 12 pages and 131 measures. Nikolas will be happy to know that regardless of the density of any texture it has been entirely compressed into two staves throughout.