Listening Guide: Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kijé

[@rubenseam]

Many well-deserved compliments! Whoever shares knowledge in such a beautiful and willing spirited way is more than entitled to be called grand! Many thanks to Prokofiev's endless world of creativity; many thanks to you guys for putting up such a kind-hearted presentation! Cheers from Brazil!

[@philharmonia_orchestra]

Many thanks for your kind words, Rubens! We're really pleased you enjoyed it. Greetings back to you from London!

[@cstotts1]

Thank you very much for sharing this knowledge with kindness, patience and humor.

[@ProfessorSyndicateFranklai]

I have spent over a month transcribing and playing the piece, but I never realized 1:56, thank you so much!

[@philharmonia_orchestra]

You're welcome!

[@jondonom]

Great video, very informative. Love the sound if the double bass playing as high as a violin.

[@philharmonia_orchestra]

jondonom Thank you! Glad you liked it!

[@PointyTailofSatan]

BTW: the 1934 Soviet movie is So funny! The best part for me is when Lieutenant Kijé is exiled to Siberia "on foot". So three soldiers spend weeks escorting the non-existent Kijé all the way. When they get to the camp, they show the empty space between them to the camp commander, and tell him that Lieutenant Kijé needs some vodka. lol

[@plonplon243]

Thank you so much for your work, I'm so happy that this kind of video exist! Greetings from France!

[@joalexsg9741]

Thank you ever so much for this utterly educational video which truly enriches us culturally! A must download!

[@AlvaSudden]

I wondered about all these things, especially the saxophone. thanks.

[@philharmonia_orchestra]

You're most welcome.

[@artofclass]

Just found this beautiful presentation by Paul. Brilliant!

[@grumpycyclistdubai]

I really enjoyed this listening guide.

[@philharmonia_orchestra]

Thank you very much Yan, we're really pleased!

[@sawdustcaesar6853]

Nicely illustrated. I find this music in the romantic comedy, CROSSING DELANCEY, quite fitting.

[@kathyhu7167]

Brilliantly Hugely Intelligent Entertaining and Fun Thanks'

[@philharmonia_orchestra]

Thank you Kathy, great to hear you enjoyed it!

[@scottmelton8414]

I enjoyed this. I noticed that the Kingston Trio used the "romance" bit (plus celesta) to expand their version of "Coventry Carol." It works well, I think.

[@seanflanagan1068]

Brilliant guide

[@rossella70]

wonderful video, thank you very much....and has aroused in me the desire of wathching the 1934 movie....;)

[@rascalndear]

Delightful!

[@MsTokies]

enjoyed it explain a lot. thank you i hope you do this for everything

[@philharmonia_orchestra]

Thanks for the feedback! We enjoyed making it. Do you have any special requests for listening guides?

[@MsTokies]

Philharmonia Orchestra (London, UK) nope i just like understanding music more then i did before. i just got into classical music couple years ago

[@philharmonia_orchestra]

Nice! Well, if you ever have suggestions, please do let us know. In the meantime, enjoy the music!

[@philharmonia_orchestra]

We have a whole playlist devoted to listening guides if you want to explore further: kzbin.info/aero/PLqR22EoucCye7fJ9gvf9WcEfYaW2FrY-p

[@ivyssauro123]

Philharmonia Orchestra (London, UK) Is there one for symphonie fantastique? Awesome listening guide by the way! i loved it! this is one of the best channels on youtube!

[@TariqKhan-np2wx]

just brilliant!!!

[@philharmonia_orchestra]

Thank you very much, Tariq - we're pleased you enjoyed it!

[@bricology]

It's good to see Roy from "The IT Crowd" getting some more work...

[@elderlypoodle9181]

I wanted to know! I'm not a musician however I get this.!

[@mikemuller545]

great video!

[@philharmonia_orchestra]

Thanks very much, Mike - we're glad you enjoyed it!

[@tasmedic]

I seriously doubt that this guy has actually watched the film. :-( Otherwise, he'd have related the version of the story used in the film, which is not what is described in this video. This is programmatic music. How the music is used in the film is a big part of Prokofiev's art. To not watch the film and then make pronouncements regarding the music's meaning is a bit poor, in my opinion.

[@paulwl3159]

Are you able to elaborate on how Prokofiev used the music in the film, as I am sure most of us haven’t seen the movie? Thanks

[@mschmidt62]

@@paulwl3159 Movie is available on KZbin. Watch it! Perhaps the real plot was too complicated to relate in an eight-minute video designed to focus on Prokofiev's music, and the plot was simplified to have the whole bureaucracy of the tsar's palace detail simplified into the character of the secretary (who in the film played a tiny role). But the movie itself is a clever and complex farce and is worth watching.

[@mschmidt62]

Did you even watch the movie, bro?

[@coolcat1813]

really unique sounds

[@mitchyoung93]

Great info but I'm thinking the 'j' is not hard but soft, more like 'zh' or the 's' in vision.

[@jakubstruzynski8124]

It is actually pronounced the French way: key-zhe or something like [kiʒe] in IPA

[@blackcyril]

Nice video. I also heard that originaly Romance was sung. Is that true ? I try to find lyrics online, but seems hard to find. I would like to sing it, if you have any idea where I can find it :)

[@philharmonia_orchestra]

That's true! It's an optional part for baritone voice. We've found the lyrics for Romance and Troika on page 28 of this CD booklet accompanying a recording by the Bergen Philharmonic: www.chandos.net/chanimages/Booklets/BI1994.pdf

[@blackcyril]

@@philharmonia_orchestra Thank you so much :)

[@ReverendPop]

Пору́чик Киже́ is "Parzheek Kee-ZHEY" with the ending just like Farbegé. No other pronunciation is acceptable.

[@tasmedic]

I don't think the guy in this video has seen the film. He's miles off with the story, pronunciation, and how the music is used in the film.

[@iconicshrubbery]

Da,(?) He was pronouncing it like DJ ,dee-jay. Still, a visually interesting and didactic video, illustrating the history and instruments. I've loved this suite since I was a child.

[@michaelmcdonagh5104]

The greatest composer of the twentieth century who refused to wallow in his own problems, unlike his friend and fellow composer...

[@bargainbassist]

How could you talk about Dimitri Shostakovich like that? (I love his music and that of Prokofiev, btw.)

[@slateflash]

Prokofiev manages to give a dumb story some ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLY MOVING MUSIC

[@themise1416]

not so dumb. the movie is hilarious.

[@Sshooter444]

dumb? maybe you're not smart enough to understand?

[@grantshalks7338]

Confused … this isn’t the plot of the film. Where does this plot exist outside of the score?

[@tasmedic]

@@grantshalks7338 Too right! I don't think he watched the film, as the themes are used very cleverly, in different ways, to emphasize different aspects of the script.

[@andro7862]

@@grantshalks7338 This story was first written down in 1870 by Vladirmir Dahl based on his father recounting an anecdote from the time of Paul I.

[@allwinds3786]

I heard that the movie was never made.

[@vincevoro]

Love and Death movie - Woody Allen

[@tacizettinkocabulluk]

Lots of false informations.. Can't even begin to debunk all of them. Utterly ridiculous video. Go watch the film instead. It's on KZbin.

[@meganluke444]

Sadly for Prokofiev, this piece, along with others, was seen as glorifying Czarist Russia. Stalin called him back to the USSR and had him killed.