Sergei Prokofiev - Piano Sonata No. 8

[@flippert0]

I always think, if depression were a music piece it would be this sonata. There is nostalgia and melancholy, fruitless rumination, agitation and activism that leads to nowhere, all packed into a piece that's actually very much worth listening to. One of my favorite pieces of all of piano literature in fact.

[@sukrame5331]

Maybe, except for me its much too beautiful. To me depression has no colors or 'life'. I prefer some of the other adjectives you use, like nostalgia or melancholy which contain an element of longing. Perhaps depression is past hope or longing. Or not. Thanks for a thought provoking commentary anyway. I love Prokofiev and find his music often contradictory. On one hand romantic and lyrical, on the other crystal clear and objective.

[@ethansaltmere]

no no no, this piece was written as a love song to mira mendelsohn - he dedicated the melody to her, you misinterpret it. It's so sweet, and very dreamy, with lurking darkness of course, but not depressive at all.

[@wilh3lmmusic]

Shostakovich symphony 14 or string quartet 15 are the embodiment of depression

[@arnekorpen3143]

@@wilh3lmmusic 15th quartet has nothing to do with depression, it's about dying.

[@not2tees]

I listen again and again - Prokofiev has so much to tell you and teach you, and wondrous places to take you.

[@christianvennemann9008]

I can't believe I didn't really care for this amazing sonata at first. Now it's one of my favorite solo piano pieces ever!

[@PieInTheSky9]

Man this sonata great. The more I listen to it, the more captivating it becomes.

[@olla-vogala4090]

I think it's my favourite Prokofiev piano sonata!

[@teodorpeev1444]

! I had suicidal thoughts,but they of course disappeared,after I heard this recording !

[@MegaPianogenius]

haha disappeared proky mustve been a nutcase of the highest degree inbetween being the genius he was

[@teodorpeev1444]

?

[@johnphillips5993]

Yes!!! One criticism I have of some 20th century piano music is the brutal, almost irrational technical difficulties, but this is just such a perfect piece!!!

[@MrOlafJr]

The passage at 7:12 is heart-wrenching! I love all of Prokofiev's piano sonatas, but no.8 has a certain spiritual depth that sets it apart from the others...

[@rubenseam]

That is one of his sarcasms :)

[@florianroeseler2404]

This sonata takes me into a different dimension.

[@profhulk1]

Transports to an abyssal dimension of darkness akin to eating 92% Cacao dark chocolate. Prokofiev was a dark genius with immense talent.

[@leot7]

This sonata is incredible. Got to hear Daniil Trifonov play this live last week. Third movement is so exhilarating.

[@RyanRenteria]

Leo T he encored his rach 3 tonight with the second movement of this! Made me come look it up

[@alexmolt]

Hello. I would like you to rate another recording of this sonata that I posted on my channel. I think N. A. Petrov is the best performer of Prokofiev!

[@Martinkg05]

Leo T i Heard him play it in Norway!

[@christophera3330]

@@Martinkg05 Then we heard him together:) It was truly wonderful

[@MANS4ON-Ce137]

This has to be one of my favorite pieces of music written for the piano, it's just so captivating, the few seconds of complete beauty in this sonata are just so mesmerizing.. And it all sounds so sarcastic.

[@lovethepiano]

Funny, Yuja Wang says exactly the same about the sarcasm in his music.

[@オリバーオリバー-e4d]

@@lovethepiano Prokofiev himself said his music was sarcastic

[@samerabijumaa7989]

Thank you so much for all the information you've posted about this sonata. I'm currently practicing the 3rd movement, and it's amazing how a few words can give so much insight to better understand and perform this masterpiece!

[@dannymillington3015]

Amazingly I didn‘t know this sonata. At the first hearing I was reminded strongly of Scriabin‘s 6th sonata. Not necessary the musical similarity, though it is there in places, but the feeling of unease and impending madness that both pieces produce. Ashkenazy‘s Scriabin 6 is my go to interpretation. Thanks for the post

[@johnphillips5993]

People just need to appreciate 20th century music more, myself included.

[@kacemchawqi5787]

21:08 BEST PART OF THE SONATA !

[@owenkrahl7446]

27:30 seems so euphoric

[@elrichardo1337]

such a deep, profound piece

[@strangestmusic]

Probably Prokofiev's most profound, self-consistent sonata, composed in the autumn of his life. Gargantuan interpretation indeed. In my humble opinion, not the hardest technically speaking (the 6th is probably the apogee in that sense), but definitely the hardest to interpret.

[@nestorar]

Last movement is monstrous.

[@lucasdelliosiv7493]

25:12 reminds me alot of a section from the 3rd movement of his 2nd piano concerto

[@GLX-_-kym]

Ahhhhh true ! This is why it sounds so familiar. I think u can also find this motif in a part of sonata no 6 last mvmt

[@lucasdelliosiv7493]

@@GLX-_-kym I can't find it ;(

[@scriabinismydog2439]

Third Movement is so fantastic!

[@GUILLOM]

And the second is lovely

[@kacemchawqi5787]

The third movement of his sonatas are usually ecstatic for me

[@CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji]

I'm inclined to agree

[@gregc.7765]

This sonata is dream-like. Motifs that suddenly appear in a disjointed way, some stubbornly persistent, others careening off and or shapeshifting, and in the end you feel like it somehow there is a story embedded but you're not quite sure what it could be.

[@VanoArts]

6:57 14:00 15:12 (heart melts) 20:21 27:30

[@tatsuhelma]

I can't describe emotion when I first heard the fourth movement of this sonata. This is my favorite prokofiev sonata.

[@charlesbluett8195]

The what?

[@conorhughes1]

Did u mean 5th movement ?

[@charlesbluett8195]

@@conorhughes1 6th maybe?

[@tatsuhelma]

Oh I meant the third lmao

[@bassonvolant7097]

C'est ma préférée des sona nites de Prokofiev, elle est jouée avec beaucoup d'enthousiasme mais ... Trop de son, c'est presque écrasé L'équilibre, l'envergure et l'esprit parfait de cette musique sont rendus magistralement par Sviatoslav Richter qui me semble le meilleur interprète de cette sonate

[@VanoArts]

Andante sognando reminds me of christmas

[@kofiLjunggren]

2nd mvt is Lovely!!

[@Simon-ts9fu]

At 1:16 on beat 3 in the top voice, why does everyone play F instead of A as written?

[@Classic336]

What a finale!

[@Wosudhehqaxb9169]

22:21.. This just makes me happy.. It's a nice sound and theme that feels so playful, like he was just playing around on the piano and trying to humour Mira Mendelson

[@DariusMo]

Hmm I'd say it really is the opposite, the part before does sound playful and innocent, however it really becomes absolutely absurd (I guess reflecting on the Soviet Union)

[@Wosudhehqaxb9169]

@@DariusMo maybe I should have said from said timestamp till about 22:41, because I understand where you're coming from, but the theme as a whole seems very light and improvised, like a sudden burst of mirth to lighten the darker impending themes of the movement

[@DariusMo]

@@Wosudhehqaxb9169 I could definitely recommend you watching Gavrilov talk (and play) about this sonata, I think the title was 'Gavrilov plays and talks about Prokofiev'

[@Wosudhehqaxb9169]

@@DariusMo cool. Will do!

[@Wosudhehqaxb9169]

@@DariusMo okay so having watched it, I can see where you're coming from. The theme starts off March like, symbolizing the soviet machine, and the breaking down of the whole melody indicates the flaws in the machine and his hatred for it. The happiness of the theme is mainly sarcastic and absurdist in making fun of the politics

[@캔디슈-b7h]

Thank U👍 0:02 15:12 18:59

[@tarikeld11]

The second movement sounds pretty much like Beethoven! Also the passage beginning at 21:08. The bars at 22:55 are something late Beethoven would do (Hammerklavier, Diabelli Fugue)

[@imagod4796]

I‘d argue that the 2nd movement is way more disturbing than Beethoven

[@hurricane4912]

@@imagod4796 Disturbing? I thought is sounded quite sweet, especially near the beginning.

[@stravinskyfan]

​@@hurricane4912 it's both sweet and tragic, as if someone is reminiscing about a precious time that has long been passed.

[@kacemchawqi5787]

17:19 this is magic

[@TJMalana]

Oh my goodness the 19:00 mark all the way to the end is my most favorite part of the War Sonata. That third movement is so intense!! 😌

[@ursulaschlapbach311]

Beautiful!

[@slateflash]

Best piano sonata ever. 28:01 is genius

[@olla-vogala4090]

+slateflash Yes it took me a while, but I think this is my favorite Prokofiev sonata too.

[@TyronTention]

Definitely grew on me over time and is now my favorite piano sonata of his. The themes He uses in this piece are just absolutely intoxicating.

[@MauricioGarzaPianist]

Listen to Gavrilov's DG recording playing all that part til the end, orgasmic! I am not sure I've heard someone make the piano sound like that.

[@slateflash]

It's true Gavrilov's articulation at that moment is amazing; he makes it sound like a torrent of notes. Here, Ashkenazy chooses to bring out the notes forming the melody and keeps everything else underneath, which i don't like as much

[@ludwigs.538]

Andante sognando - als ob Schubert es komponiert hätte. Ashkenazy is wonderful.

[@MANS4ON-Ce137]

Love this!!!!!

[@steveegallo3384]

Imagine dissecting Prokofiev's myelinated brain cells to understand just How such a Giant is possible. Cheers from Mexico!

[@whitearrowgo255]

14:23 I love that shit

[@smileybrotherslawncare9599]

28:01

[@tselyakov]

Interesting that Prokofiev doesn't change keys from 7th sonata to 8th.......... in the first movement of 7th sonata he leaves out the key signature, on the 8th he puts it in. It's as if the chaotic tonality breaking/ thematic breaking 7th sonata has settled down on more solid ground with the 8th.

[@giorgiociomei5030]

È la prima suonata che ho conosciuto. Era il 1982

[@slateflash]

9:10 it's indicated "quasi Timpani" how interesting...

[@luketuke02]

I believe it means "like a Timpani". Very interesting...

[@francisovenden6993]

Yes. The same performance direction appears in No. 7 as well. All his sonatas are stunning but I have to agree with those above. This is my favourite. Prokofiev was a prodigiously creative guy

[@Bguitarney]

Yep that’s tight. The polytonality of the first part has a lean towards the minor side of things too it hears to be.. and wow now the mystic like magical sounding arpeggios with a lean into the major side wow that is incredible all that just within the first two minutes. One could take the inspiration and approach there and pull out many many interesting and moving pieces of music had they the need and want and ability to do

[@CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji]

20:02 Feinberg 3 fugue

[@at__xyz]

or taneyev fugue

[@KaikhosruShapurjiMedtner]

Yeah I noticed that

[@derby2510]

I went wild for this piano sonata.

[@OE1FEU]

With 1995 as the recording date, I really want to know where this recording comes from originally, since he only officially recorded it for Decca in the late 60s. I know he played that piece in the 90s because I heard him play it in Bremen either in 94 or 95. What's the source and how can I get it in better quality? The recorded sound is just so much better that he Decca one, just the transfer on youtube isn't really good. incredible playing.

[@alexmolt]

Hello. I would like you to rate another recording of this sonata that I posted on my channel. In my opinion, N. A. Petrov is the best performer of Prokofiev!

[@OE1FEU]

@@alexmolt I'd rather have answer to my question regarding the date and location of the Ashkenazy recording and the availability of the original source material.

[@alexmolt]

​@@OE1FEU Unfortunately, I do not have reliable information. On another source there is information that the recording was made in June 1993: classic-online.ru/en/performer/127?composer_sort=293&prod_sort=623 The recording is absolutely exactly that. If you want, I can send email the audio file. And here there is information about the disc with this record, I think that this is also that record: www.amazon.com/Prokofiev-Piano-Sonatas-Ashkenazy/dp/B000025TU4 This is strange ... In any case, I will be glad if you look at my channel. Thank you!

[@yvesrioslescure7418]

Hysterical and suffocating like many sonatas and others pieces of him

[@Dichweed]

Nice interpretation.

[@calebhu6383]

16:47

[@PianoSpeaks]

Are you going to do a 10 hardest Prokofiev?

[@davidneese5422]

I love this piece, and have listened to it many times, but for some reason I have only just noticed that 2:44 sounds extremely like the main theme of Satie's Vexations, even more interesting considering these were composed in a very close time (This finished in 1944, Vexations unknown, but first printed in 1949 according to Wikipedia).

[@barrykoron5315]

Satie died in 1925.

[@davidneese5422]

Suppose you're right - I missed that it was a posthumous work. Even so, rather interesting...

[@PaulVinonaama]

Isn't the second movement a bit hasty?

[@johnburniston6525]

Finding it difficult to learn this movement,now Askenazy steps up the pace,.very difficult..In fact too difficult for me!

[@georg3364]

Good performance, good recording, but the commercial bursts right into sensitive places, for example, the beginning of the 2nd movement. Who is the individual responsible for the placement of the commercial in that place? Is this person deaf, demented, or evil? I know one company I will never do business with, which is the car insurer Geico. They should not have allowed this stupid and awful placement of their commercial. It borders on being criminal!!

[@yufnihaenisch2164]

When the ads come in weird places like that, it's KZbin's fault. These ads are theirs and for their benefit, if it were otherwise, the uploader would have definitely placed them at beginning, between movements, or at the end. Especially olla-vogala, he knows his stuff. So yeah, blame it on YT and their automated systems

[@CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji]

Epic!

[@HermanIngram]

The coda contains a bugle, machine guns and bombs.

[@calebhu6383]

28:11

[@ansonwong5490]

I keep hearing Harry Porter in the first movement…

[@seandamusic]

16:48-17:20 😢

[@orb3796]

That whole section from 21:08 - 24:00 hnnnghfm.,...,

[@nasherkosm97]

I prefer Richter's DG recording

[@charlesbluett8195]

6:24 Peppa pig

[@charlesbluett8195]

22:22 Bananas in Pyjamas

[@goumigoumi9270]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@nannalaz]

HAHAHAHAVAHAAHHA

[@Edisonjesusedisdinho]

.

[@thedarknobody5769]

For hells sake, how can a human being be so cruel and add ads to the video? Stop it!

[@seanfogarty5559]

You are getting this content for free, and nobody owes it to you.

[@dimitrissideris4237]

Unfortunately KZbin puts the ads automatically and wherever they want

[@elrichardo1337]

a d b l o c k

[@maxgregorycompositions6216]

Download adblock and be quiet.

[@TJMalana]

I get no ads with YT premium

[@SCRIABINIST]

28:27