Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev's music bridges the neoclassical with the modern, mirroring Russia's transformation in the early 20th century. Born in Sontzovka, Russia in 1891, Prokofiev exhibited an early aptitude for musical composition and studied piano from an early age. In 1904 he moved with his mother to St. Petersburg and enrolled at the Conservatory there, studying under Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Within a few short years Prokofiev became a renowned musician and composer, performing throughout Russia, and then in Europe. In 1918, he decided to pursue his career in the United States (following in the footsteps of Rachmaninov), and performed in a string of U.S. cities. His opera The Love for Three Oranges, from the Carlo Gozzi play, premiered in Chicago in 1921. Prokofiev then turned his sights again to Europe, eventually settling in Paris in the mid 1920s where he worked on a number of commissions, including "The Prodigal Son" for Diaghilev. In 1927, he performed in Russia and was greeted warmly by the public. In the mid 1930s, he moved his family back to the USSR and composed some of his best known works, including Peter and the Wolf and the ballet Romeo and Juliet. Prokofiev also wrote film scores to Alexander Nevsky (1938) and Ivan the Terrible (1945). While he had avoided many of the problems encountered by other artists living in Stalin's Russia, after the war some of his work was labeled "formalist" and banned from performance. With few outlets for his musical production remaining, Prokofiev withdrew, composing less and less, and declining rapidly in health. Sergei Prokofiev died on March 5, 1953 - the same day as Stalin.
