Prokofiev on film

Rare films of the composer taken in 1927, 1943, 1946 and 1948, as well as musical extracts from the following Prokofiev works:
Sonata no.4 Op.29 extract (1927 silent film, audio of Sviatoslav Richter)
Concerto no.3 Op.26 extract (1932 recording, audio only)
Waltz from Op.110 no.1 extract (1946 sound recording)
Symphony no.7 Op.131 (1st movement, conducted by Rozhdestvensky, 1969)
Waltz Suite Op.110 no.1 (extract, conducted by Theodore Kuchar, 1995)
as well as a recorded film interview (1946)
CORRECTION: please note that at 7:32 the caption should read:
"Natalie & Nicolas Nabokov, with Lina & Sergei Prokofiev, June, 1930" (i.e. not Vladimir Nabokov, Nicolas' cousin).
For more information visit www.jackgibbons.com/
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This man has written one of the most important musical works to me, his 2nd Piano Concerto. It's meaningful to see him as a man who have stepped on the same Earth as I did.

[@mairaleikarte43]

My favourite recording of it is by Yakov Zak

[@spacevspitch4028]

I just finished listening to the 2nd for the millionth time. Favorite piano concerto of all time ❤

[@macdondb]

It's my favorite too, literally brings me to tears most times hearing it. The Trifonov version is great btw creepy, expressive, not too fast

[@6695John13]

I'm so happy to see that there are more people in this world besides me that really appreciate this monumental masterpiece. I'm kinda obsessed with this concerto, I probably have listened to it a hundred times!

[@didon8460]

@@6695John13 i Am a big fan of first and third and i did not know thé second. Heard it once once month ago. I am litteraly obsessed with it every day since thé first ear. It seems fascinating for a lot of people. Do you have an explanation? Now i have to play even if it’s still to difficulte for me.

[@thejils1669]

Prokofiev wrote such incredibly difficult music, especially for piano, yet he carries himself so nonchalant yet confident, as if to say: "What's the big deal here. Just play it!"

[@kaleidoscopio5]

Love to see such giant musician playing the piano, talking, walking, see him as a human and not only in pictures. Thanks, Jack. :-)

[@user-pq6ij1iv5f]

That page turn in 2:18 was so smooth.

[@Discrimination_is_not_a_right]

And while sitting in a wicker chair.

[@audenisarat8179]

KYAAA YES PROKOFIEV TURNING THE PAGE 😸😸😸

[@aldoringo439]

One of the last of a great generation of musical greats, captured on camera.

[@jackwilmoresongs]

His orchestration was so crystal clear. What a craftsman of the orchestra, especially woodwinds.

[@DynastieArtistique]

Him, Mahler, and Beethoven yes

[@gregoryroscow5846]

Thanks for this. Prokofiev was my first musical hero when I discovered classical music at the age of 14. Half a century later my hero is Schubert but my head is still full of Prokofiev's enduring compositions, which I often absentmindedly whistle or hum, to the consternation of family. If only KZbin had been around when I was a teenager!

[@1940limited]

Mine was Rachmaninoff at about the same age.

[@theodoregrenier7468]

An inestimable treat for those of us who love Prokofiev.

[@javipuente7079]

One of the greatests musicians of twentieth century. Thank you very much!

[@calcmandan]

When he's at the piano, his technical brilliance is so top level that it's as if he's at the bench of a player piano and merely watching. As if there was no effort in playing his works. Brilliant.

[@dablb]

I like his expressions while playing. He is not doing those spastic twitches - how I would call them - like other pianists when they play a demanding piece. His body and face are calm and steadfast. He is evidently dominating his piano.

[@LiLi-uj9qg]

Absolutely right, Prokofiev is so genius! I think no one would doubt when told he is now playing Czery op.599...

[@ericross5048]

That might just be a Russian thing too..

[@monscarmeli]

Couldn't agree more, what intense focus and determination! Perhaps I just don't "get" the purpose of such gestures, but I simply can't watch a pianist who is constantly making faces like he's about to cry over the piano.

[@Discrimination_is_not_a_right]

Gillian Anderson had the same expression on the X-Files.

[@VepiumOfficial]

@@monscarmeli this is kind of an ignorant thing to say. the best pianist are the ones who aren't afraid to let their emotion overflow. just take seong jin-cho and yuja wang for example

[@sophiatalksmusic3588]

He looks so composed and relaxed compared to how Shostakovich appears in footage; it's interesting to see how each of them carry themselves, both while performing and while speaking.

[@michaelmcdonagh5104]

I don't think Shostakovich like people , or dogs, you can see footage of him walking his dog, and it looks like torture to him.

[@falamimire]

Fantastic-many thanks for up loading this treasure.

[@pianofan1000]

Thanks very much for this fascinating and moving upload.

[@ClassicalRaritiesChannel]

This is an incredible upload. Thank you so much. There couldn't be a better choice for the background music than his 7th symphony!

[@MrFredpiano]

Thank you so much Jack for that beautiful work. Those pictures and films seem so close to us. A delightful moment of re-discovering the great artist. What a surprise!!!!Thanks again and again.

[@vxla]

The footage of him with Eisenstein is incredible!

[@peters2276]

He was incredible what a piano master.

[@TzadikTheManic]

What a sublime share - I cannot thank you enough. Prokofiev remains one of my favorite composers - I cannot imagine this life without his auditory wit, spikiness and warmth. My introduction to and love of “classical” music began long ago when my father played for me the suite from “Lt. Kije”, which soon after I heard in Woody Allen’s “Love and Death” - it’s used quite effectively (Allen apparently wanted to use a few works by Stravinsky but copyright problems came up.... for the better, I think 😌)

[@groovermctoober4508]

Thank you. Very tastefully done.

[@Discrimination_is_not_a_right]

When I think I used to play his third sonata, I can't imagine how I did it.

[@evetsotibac]

Wow! Thank you, Mr. Gibbons. Prokofiev has been one of my heroes since high school, some 50 years ago.

[@pljms]

Nicely put together montage of film and images. It's a shame there appears to be so little film footage of Prokofiev available which makes that interview from 1946 so priceless. No other composer's music has given me greater pleasure.

[@leonardodelyrarodrigues3752]

Nona sinfonia Bethoven, Daniel Barenboim.

[@1940limited]

Fascinating video. Thanks for posting.

[@ipermetro]

Films of inestimable historical value. Thanks so much for posting them. Stefano Coculo Filmati di inestimabile valore storico. Grazie davvero per averli pubblicati. Stefano Coculo

[@doGreatartistsgrowontrees]

Simply fantastic. Thank you for this treasure.

[@Kalen1457]

Incredible, he plays such violent music yet is so stoic whilst playing it. I recall that many of the Liszt disciples were like that too. So much unlike Lang Lang's unnecessary histrionics.

[@agamaz5650]

hell yeah, to be fair it's better to not move while playing the piano and focus on the music

[@williamnelson792]

@Marquis De Sade well, hes playing the same piece so his point still stands

[@nunyabusiness8538]

it shows absolute control of his instrument and of his music. the ideas of creativity flow like rain through his fingertips. lang lang on the other hand cannot control himself

[@NoferTrunions]

It's nice to hear others feel the same way I do. Horowitz was like that too. I'll bet Rach too. The Russian Soul is unique, their Heritage being Suffering. Russian music from that era is grave and monumental: Rach, Prok, Tchaikovsky, Shost, Scriabin, Strav, R-K, etc.

[@erickakudry]

Your used term "violent" made me laugh while the video played from 0:14 to 0:58. More than violent it is also virtuosic and active. Although the master is playing all that "violent" passage calm a.f, without even a face gesture that shows effort lolol!!!!

[@noemiamaria1430]

THANKS FOR UPLOADING ❤❤❤

[@barney6888]

Truly one of the most brilliant, artistic geniuses of music.

[@JohanHerrenberg]

Very moving. Great composer!

[@nboldewskul]

TY for this fascinating compilation of video and audio clips of Prokofiev. There's a typo @ 7:30 which should read Natalie and Nicolas Nabokov. Nicolas was Vladimir's cousin and a composer in his own right although there's a dearth of recordings of his music. He's better known as a cultural ambassador. Your uploads are simply the best!

[@JackGibbonsHQ]

Thank you for the important correction!

[@user-pq6ij1iv5f]

I adore Prokovief. I also like the fact that he's soo relaxed when he plays the piano in this video. For example he plays his pieces like they're so easy for him even thought they are difficult for other musicians, I mean when you see him he isn't like "OMG THAT'S SOO HARD!" and I love him.

[@randomprimate]

Very imrpessive work matching the richter audio to the footage!

[@jimyoung9262]

I love Prokofiev. Thanks for sharing

[@raul8445]

Beautiful video

[@Bakawhite17]

One of the best!

[@sneddypie]

woah he's good

[@princeandrey]

I also was interested, as I watched this, that when he is interviewed he feels under no obligation to be charming or to have any particular presence. He is, after all, not an actor; he's a composer. In contemporary Western culture, being filmed or being televised seems to require presence, charm, self-assurance.

[@mauritiusdunfagel9473]

He was great under political constraints by the Trump-like dictator Stalin whom he detested.

[@diminishedclothes3163]

​@@mauritiusdunfagel9473 Did Trump have Gulags in USA with millions left dead? Your comparison is so ridiculuos

[@diminishedclothes3163]

​​@@chadjensen2027in 1949 his later works were banned in Soviet Russia, Prokofiev was accused of the so-called formalism, so the Soviet government did contributed to his early death aged 61

[@fericy1]

Très émouvant! merci!

[@HerodiasM]

Wise choice to use Richter for the audio accompaniment

[@jmjpaton]

thxs so much

[@davebartlett2236]

I’m really happy to see this. I just can’t believe that this exists. Thanks for posting. Any idea if there are videos of Rachmaninoff playing? I know that there are some videos of him speaking briefly.

[@princeandrey]

I have always loved Prokofiev's music. Poor fellow. Didn't get to outlive Stalin by even one day!

[@vxla]

But he did outlive Stalin even if for a moment.

[@juliee593]

Oh they died on the same day??

[@sevenoranges]

Prokofiev was my first musical love!

[@srothbardt]

Never saw this. Thank you for sharing this! Prokofiev was called the new Liszt for his virtuoso playing. Pity he had to go back to Russia. He died same day as Stalin, I believe. Strange.

[@liltick102]

Shockingly good

[@user-ev9ws9dt7w]

Wow!너무 잘치셔서 깜짝 놀랬어요!

[@MorbidMayem]

8:52 Rheinhold Glière in between Shosti & Proko

[@vivvpprof]

I played his songs years ago as a student :) Noch pechalna kak mechty moi :D

[@opale1572]

La manía idiota de mutilar las palabras. Como si quien lo hace se estuviera refiriendo a amiguetes con los que se reúne cada día en el bar.

[@angelobonacci461]

Sicuramente ha avuto moltissima importantanza come compositore e anche pianista, innovativo come stile,dalle mosse prese dagli etude etableau di rach,ha creato un proprio e originale stile, sicuramente devo ammettere che io non sento la sua scrittura pianista come quella di chopin list scriabin e rach primo periodo etc... quindi non studio i suoi pezzi nonostante sicuramente sarebbe utile e di soddisfazione..

[@brynbstn]

regarding, Sonata no.4 Op.29 extract (1927 silent film, audio of Sviatoslav Richter) - - his face is so calm/relaxed, even though what he's doing with this hands is quite intense ... interesting!

[@princeandrey]

I found myself, as I listened and watched this, in a day-dreamy sort of way, imagining that I was, or wishing that I had been Prokofieff, and then I thought (predictably) that if I had been Prokofieff, I would not be me, myself--and then I thought, "strange, but that's how it works"...and THEN I thought, Prokofieff knows this, and that's what this music (the 7th Symphony) is about, the tragedy of our mutual isolation and the beauty of being who we are, despite that.

[@Aaron-hq4bu]

take your meds

[@constantreader8760]

@@Aaron-hq4bu booo!

[@SeigneurReefShark]

@@Aaron-hq4bu stfu

[@mairaleikarte43]

😊😊😊😊😊🕹️🍀❤️💙💜💚👌

[@mairaleikarte43]

@@Aaron-hq4bu He is very close to truth as much as you can be describing music without words. Otherwise, you're just not hearing it.

[@NoferTrunions]

Prok sure was quite the virtuoso. I'm fooling around with bits of his 3rd Concerto and the patterns are diabolical - fingers used to Back, Beethoven, Chopin _do not_ want to comply! I also have to listen to his 7th Sym, that sounds so weighty!

[@agamaz5650]

0:21 - 0:30 cant stop watching ahaha

[@joeldjdiaz]

Genius.

[@dinikalovemusic6749]

He was edigeness with music!!

[@eva_pax7923]

Спасибо, Сергей Сергеевич моя непреходящая любовь.

[@user-ho4mn9zm2g]

Гений!

[@beshepman7963]

11:35 is there a translation to English for this letter?

[@mmahlerite348]

Ne güzel !!!

[@user-ls3zi3fp1q]

woah

[@esfeinsguezli7192]

This music is to crazy for me

[@ozoshah]

Eisenstein: " play it again , Sergej Sergejevic, that one moved me really!"

[@MorganWasHere3]

Great composer

[@user-ev1um2ry6g]

7:38 On the photo is Nikolay Nabokov, music critic and Vladimir's Nabokov cousin

[@JackGibbonsHQ]

Thanks for your comment. Yes this error was spotted a while ago and is corrected in the note accompanying the video.

[@emilyhutjes]

Dear Jack, I have a question about the 3rd piano concerto by that wild, merry Mr. Prokofiev: Somewhere in the middle of no:3, I hear the sound of peacocks. The orchestra: 2x loud, then 2x soft, after which it is taken over by the piano. Can you hear that too or is there something wrong with my ears? 🙂 (Holland) 🌷🌷🌷

[@tedruncie]

The photo is with Nicholas Nabokov the composer, not his cousin Vladimir Nabokov the author.

[@JackGibbonsHQ]

Thanks for your comment. Yes this error was spotted a while ago and is corrected in the note accompanying the video.

[@tscholent]

When discussing Prokofiev’s music one needs to completely separate his music from his family life .

[@lyolevrich]

At 2:05 he is playing the Moderato section from opus 96 !

[@JackGibbonsHQ]

Yes, both Op.96 no.1 and Op.110 no.1 are arrangements of the same scene from his opera War and Peace, Op.91

[@spartybob1]

Imagine playing in a wicker chair

[@kaleidoscopio5]

Suiti!

[@OE1FEU]

Where is the rest??? I can't imagine Soviet television just taping 10 seconds of him playing his own music in a public recital and then pulling the cameras off stage.

[@ShaunakDesaiPiano]

How is the quality so good?!

[@mitzimiau6969]

Real film not video. Maybe even 32 mm film.

[@nevermindidontknow]

11:34 очень странно пишет. Кто знает русский попробуйте прочитать

[@Queeen7q]

Он часто пропускал гласные, когда писал. "Многоув." такой-то, в конце "Сердечный привет", подписывался "Пркфв".

[@kal.9114]

8:30 Just to know, Who won that match?

[@JackGibbonsHQ]

It was a draw but they only completed 7 of 10 days matches planned and according to one source Oistrakh was about to lose and cancelled the remaining matches in order to prepare for an up-coming concert tour! (N.B. After the first 5 matches there were 4 draws and one win for Oistrakh). More information, and a detailed look at one of the Prokofiev-Oistrakh matches can be seen at this website: en.chessbase.com/post/the-1937-prokofiev-oistrakh-match

[@JackGibbonsHQ]

As a follow up to my earlier response: in 1914 Prokofiev defeated world chess champion Jose Raul Capablanca in an exhibition match. World chess champion Mikhail Botvinnik described Prokofiev's chess playing tactics as follows: "I played chess with Prokofiev several times. He played a very vigorous, forthright game. His usual method was to launch an attack which he conducted cleverly and ingeniously. He obviously did not care for defence tactics." (!)

[@jazzstandardman]

@vtrevlyn39 awesome!

[@opale1572]

@@JackGibbonsHQ ¿Le importará esto a alguien?

[@Wkkbooks]

Strangely creepy.

[@MorganWasHere3]

That’s just because film is so much better now. Back in the days if Sergei Prokofiev, this was pretty good.

[@alanbash2921]

Prokofiev was 6 feet 3 inches Tall and had a 13 note Stretch of the Hand ( Rachmaninov was 6’ 6 “ and also stretched 13 notes: From C to A !!!!!!!! ) I guess it was that Fresh Russian Air !

[@tyler-qr5jn]

The Russians of that century were really are hitting the gene jacketpot weren't they

[@alanbash2921]

@@tyler-qr5jn Thee Sure Did !………… and The Greatest Pianist EVER..VLADIMIR HOROWITZ was born in 1903 !!!!

[@cardboardconnoisseur9155]

Wow. I assumed he just liked torturing pianists with his insanely difficult pieces. I didn't know he could also "walk the walk".

[@kellykim0226]

아니 처음 인간인가 진짜..

[@jacquelinesalvin7158]

très belle vidéo pour un mer-veil-leux compositeur, pour moi le plus grand de la musique dite "classique"

[@Jomtek]

Je suis absolument d'accord avec vous. Je suis accro (y a pas d'autre mot) à sa musique depuis quelques mois. Écoutez ses symphonies, vous me remercirez plus tard lol

[@opale1572]

Hay que procurar no caer en la exageración al dejarse llevar por el entusiasmo. Prokoviev fue sin duda un gran compositor, pero ponerlo por delante de Beethoven y Bach (por ejemplo) me parece demasiado.

[@jacquelinesalvin7158]

@@Jomtek je l'ai admiré dès ma lointaine adolescence, j'ai voulu tout connaître... Symphonies, operas, concertos, cantates... Les deux de violon continuent à me clouer, comme la cadence du 2ème concerto de piano.

[@jacquelinesalvin7158]

@@opale1572 je ne sais pas si je comprends bien tout ce que vous dites. Mais chaque fois que j'entends (et regarde) ne serait-ce que la cadence soliste du 2eme concerto de piano, l'inventivité, la mise en place, le développement, les idées mélodiques et harmoniques, la technique - j'avoue qu'il m'est difficile de trouver tant de trésors, si bien composés, chez les maîtres antérieurs. .. La virtuosité n'est pas que dans les doigts, elle est virtuosité d'invention.

[@livincent552]

0:49 what is this piece?

[@duqueadriano0081]

Prokofiev Sonata No.4 3rd movement

[@livincent552]

@@duqueadriano0081 Thanks!!

[@NelsonPinheirojr]

The audio was "mounted" by a record of Sviatoslav Richter.

[@tobiedavis8841]

His looks like he's playing Mozart k.545... just build different. 💀

[@jacquelinesalvin7158]

Maison de Prokofiev à Paris v=Yf9uqXVQjFE

[@BWV846]

하.

[@bboyo8307]

is there no video like that of rachmaninoff? 😓

[@JackGibbonsHQ]

Sadly Rachmaninoff was paranoid about being filmed, or recorded live (he turned down all live recorded broadcasts), so no there are none, though recently an audio recording of him in rehearsal has emerged, secretly recorded by the conductor Eugene Ormandy in 1940.

[@bboyo8307]

@@JackGibbonsHQ imagine a lost secret recording of him playing the piano. Real footage. That would be a thing....

[@yowzephyr]

Ahh, the dacha life. Beautiful! I think Trump may learn to adapt to it and appreciate it to some degree. Not as spacious as his mansions of course.

[@Zhaniararampianist]

ستۆیک

[@marcoscorsolini8803]

I don't know, there is something about him that freaks me out.

[@mairaleikarte43]

Yes, to really hear some of classical music you must go through actual fear to let yourself realise how insane, insanely good and meaningful it is.

[@opale1572]

@@mairaleikarte43 Ni Cantinflas hubiera superado este comentario.

[@anonymousdude1010]

A match made in heaven: 0:59 and kzbin.info/www/bejne/oJymmoWJebV8sM0

[@JackGibbonsHQ]

😂

[@WalyB01]

why did people stop playing like this....

[@jamesmiller4184]

The rein of Modernism took it's final death-grip hold, just as it is doing now in terms of the Global sociopolitical? (Wreckage-total and absolute, to be it's final productive goal. Their Plan is now well underway but by their marks, to be DENIED day-after-day -- part of The New Catechism Of Hell as-taught.) Help some? . : .

[@opale1572]

@@jamesmiller4184 Ya salió el garrulo perorante apocalíptico.

[@VaghoPianist]

looks and speaks like Putin a little,without the glasses :)

[@alexanderbrunet6551]

Sound Russian dmitri

[@philbarone4603]

Got lawnmower?

[@opale1572]

Cortadora de huevos.

[@mr.p5446]

With all respect to his memory and talent but what kind of music is that ? It seems that after Rachmaninov the quality of compositions declined even though the technical aspect remained sharp . That’s in my view just a bunch of notes without much order or sense .

[@jonathanDstrand]

if by “quality” you mean tonality, sure in my view, you have a very narrow view of harmony

[@mr.p5446]

Jonathan Strand I respect your view but I don’t think my harmonic senses are narrow. I just can’t compare the harmonic quality of Rachmaninov or Chopin with Prokofiev . It does not make much sense . It does not follow a line of reasoning . It does not attract the public unless you are a pianist it really does not sound pleasant to the ears . I have seen a lot of musicians share the same thoughts .

[@Samuel-kc1pg]

@@mr.p5446 Did you just say Prokofiev doesn't sound pleasant to the ears? I'm deceased

[@mr.p5446]

Kyoma yes I said it. You can’t compare all that with ballade n 4 in F minor by Chopin . You can’t compare this with the aisle of the dead by Rachmaninov. Or even Rachmaninov concertos for piano. Yes . Prokofiev was incredible . A genius. But not enough genius if compared to the immortal Chopin for instance .

[@jonathanDstrand]

Mr. Kramer to say the harmonies Prokofiev uses don’t follow a line of reasoning is baseless. Prokofiev’s line of reasoning as far as harmony goes is in the spirit of the scherzo. he uses harsh dissonances to accentuate the rhythmic motifs he uses, and we can discuss the “harmonic quality” of those dissonances if you’d like. sure, he doesn’t appeal to the public, but of what value is that statement if the public only knows the song “Nocturne” by Chopin. Prokofiev is well loved by most every musician I know, who has played his music. as it seems that you haven’t listened to much Prokofiev, I would suggest listening to the 2nd and 3rd piano concertos, 5th and 7th symphonies, and 3rd and 7th sonatas - before comparing a snippet of his piece to masterworks by composers aiming to achieve a completely different aesthetic.