Sergei Prokofiev

This is the third of the so-called trilogy of works dubbed the "War Sonatas." Its approximately five-year gestation was a period during which the exceedingly busy Prokofiev also wrote the Piano Sonatas No. 6 and No. 7, the first version of his opera War and Peace, the ballet Cinderella, and other works. Cast in three movements, the Eighth is at once the gentlest and most tortured of the "War Sonatas." The outer panels are the longest in any Prokofiev sonata, with the first his largest by far. Marked Andante dolce -- Allegro Moderato, it features two main themes, the first lyrical and mysterious in its wandering sense of melancholy and suppressed suffering, and the second conveying a feeling of desolation, its melody beginning quietly in the bass and concluding in a surreal mood in the upper register. The development section defies convention: rather than working toward greater complexity, the music develops backward, reducing its expressive character to its rudimentary and most violent aspects. A melancholy reprise closes out this profound movement. For the middle panel, also marked Andante dolce, Prokofiev uses a charming, bright theme from his abandoned orchestral score Eugene Onegin. This brief, playful minuet provides deft contrast to the more serious outer panels. The finale (Vivace) opens with a driving theme, but quickly turns heroic and majestic. The middle section builds to a weirdly powerful climax from seemingly insignificant rhythmic leftovers. The main material is reprised and the music ends ambivalently, with a rhythmic motif thrashing about before suddenly running short of energy.

-- Robert Cummings