Sergei Prokofiev

Sergei Prokofiev is one of the great creative figures of the 20th century, both a virtuoso pianist and a composer. Trained in Saint Petersburg, he wrote for orchestra, theatre, ballet, film and children. His music combines strongly asserted rhythmic energy, often biting irony, and broad lyricism. After an international career begun in 1918, he returned to live in the Soviet Union in the 1930s. The Classical Symphony, Romeo and Juliet and Peter and the Wolf provide a luminous entry point to a body of work of striking contrasts. His concertos and musical theatre reveal the same incisive imagination.