Sergei Prokofiev
9. What are the dates and main characteristics of
PERIOD 2 of Prokofiev?
The dates for the second period of Prokofiev's output, encompassing his time in America, Paris, and Germany, were from 1918 to 1936.
During this "foreign period", Prokofiev lived in several locations:
America: He first arrived in New York in the autumn of 1918 and stayed until April 1920, though his time there was somewhat frustrating.
Paris: He moved to Paris in 1920 to work with Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, where his career found more success.
Germany: From mid-1922 to late 1923, he resided in the Bavarian town of Ettal to focus on composing his opera The Fiery Angel before settling back in Paris.
Tours: Throughout this time, he toured extensively in the United States and Europe as a pianist and conductor, premiering many of his works.
He began a transitional period around 1932 with frequent visits to the Soviet Union and eventually returned permanently in the spring of 1936.
The second period of Prokofiev’s output contains his most experimental, dissonant, and advanced music. Many works from this period are not among his most widely-performed works. His comment regarding this time:
“I was seduced by the effect of the Parisian atmosphere, and it occurred to me that I might be destined to become a 2nd rate composer.”
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Prokofiev (left) and Stravinsky (right) in Paris, 1920
As you can see in the photo of Prokofiev and Stravinsky above, Prokofiev was a tall man!
The opening of Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 2 (1925) — noisy!