Symphony No. 7 (Prokofiev)


's Symphony No. 7 in C-sharp minor, Op. 131, was completed in 1952, the year before his death. It is his last symphony.

Background

Most of the symphony is emotionally restrained, nostalgic and melancholy in mood, including the ending of the Vivace final movement. However, Prokofiev was later convinced to add an energetic and optimistic coda, so as to win the Stalin Prize of 100,000 rubles. Before he died, Prokofiev indicated that the original quiet ending was to be preferred.
The premiere was well-received, and in 1957, four years after Prokofiev's death, the symphony was awarded the Lenin Prize.

Movements

The symphony is in four movements, lasting 30–35 minutes:
  1. Moderato
  2. Allegretto
  3. Andante espressivo
  4. Vivace
The first movement, in sonata form, opens with a melancholic first theme on violins, which contrasts with the warm and lyrical second theme on winds. After a brief development section, the recapitulation of the two themes follows, and the movement ends in a reflective mood with the clock-ticking sounds on glockenspiel and xylophone.
The second movement is an autumnal waltz, reminiscent of Prokofiev's ballet Cinderella, while the third movement is an expressive and singing slow movement.
The finale, in D-flat major, contains an innocent cheerfulness. There is a slowing of pace and the return of the warm wind theme from the first movement, and the symphony ends with the same tinkling sounds from the tuned percussion as the first movement.

Instrumentation

The work scores for the following:
Woodwinds
Brass
Percussion
Keyboard
Strings
conducted the premiere performance ; he recorded it with the same orchestra, using the original slow ending, in 1953 The first recording with the new assertive ending was by Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra, from sessions on 26 April 1953. Nikolai Malko and the Philharmonia Orchestra were the first to record the music in stereo, in 1955. Recordings using the original slow ending are marked by an asterisk.
OrchestraConductorRecord CompanyYear of RecordingFormat
Philadelphia OrchestraEugene OrmandyColumbia1953 LP
All-Union Radio Orchestra, USSRSamuil Samosud*Melodiya1953 LP
Philharmonia OrchestraNikolai MalkoEMI1955CD
Paris Conservatoire OrchestraJean MartinonRCA Victor1959LP
Moscow Radio Symphony OrchestraGennady Rozhdestvensky*Melodiya1968LP
London Symphony OrchestraWalter WellerDecca1974LP/CD
Czech Philharmonic OrchestraZdeněk KošlerSupraphon1977LP
Scottish National OrchestraNeeme JärviChandos1986CD
Orchestre National de FranceMstislav Rostropovich*Erato1988CD
Berlin Philharmonic OrchestraSeiji Ozawa*Deutsche Grammophon1989CD
Los Angeles Philharmonic OrchestraAndré PrevinPhilips1989CD
Cleveland OrchestraVladimir Ashkenazy*Decca1995CD
National Symphony Orchestra of UkraineTheodore KucharNaxos1994CD
London Symphony OrchestraValery Gergiev*Philips2004CD
Bergen Philharmonic OrchestraAndrew LittonBIS2016CD
Netherlands Radio Philharmonic OrchestraJames GaffiganNorthstar Recordings2016SACD
National Orchestra of the O.R.T.F.Jean MartinonVox/Turnabout1974LP/CD
USSR Ministry of Culture State Symphony OrchestraGennady RozhdestvenskyLP/CD