Symphony No. 5 (Prokofiev)

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Sergei Prokofiev wrote his Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major (Op. 100) in 1944.

Contents 1 Background 2 Movements 3 Instrumentation 4 Premiere 5 Notable Recordings 6 External links

[edit] Background

Fourteen years had passed since Prokofiev's last symphony.

World War II was still raging during the symphony's gestation, and Prokofiev composed the symphony in a safe haven run by the Soviet Union.

[edit] Movements

The piece is in four movements, lasting 40-45 minutes:

1. Andante (in B-flat major)
2. Allegro marcato (in D minor)
3. Adagio (in F major)
4. Allegro giocoso (in B-flat major)

[edit] Instrumentation

The work is scored for the following:

Woodwind

• Piccolo
• 2 Flutes
• 2 Oboes
• Cor Anglais
• 2 Clarinets
• E-flat Clarinet
• Bass Clarinet
• 2 Bassoons
• Contrabassoon

Brass

• 4 French Horns
• 3 Trumpets
• 3 Trombones
• Tuba

Percussion

• Timpani
• Bass Drum
• Snare Drum
• Cymbals
• Triangle
• Tambourine
• Tam-tam
• Wood block

Keyboard

• Piano

Strings

• Violins (1st and 2nd)
• Violas
• Cellos
• Double Basses
• Harp

[edit] Premiere

The symphony was premiered on January 13, 1945 in the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory by the USSR State Symphony Orchestra conducted by Prokofiev himself. The premiere was very well received, and the symphony has remained one of the composer's most popular works.

[edit] Notable Recordings

Orchestra	Conductor	Record Company	Year of Recording	Format
Concertgebouw Orchestra	Vladimir Ashkenazy	Decca	1985	CD
New York Philharmonic	Leonard Bernstein	Sony	1966	CD
London Symphony Orchestra	Valery Gergiev	Philips	2004	CD
Concerts Colonne Orchestra	Jascha Horenstein	Vox		CD/LP
Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra	Mariss Jansons	Chandos	1987	CD
Scottish National Orchestra	Neeme Järvi	Chandos	1985	CD
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra	Herbert von Karajan	Deutsche Grammophon	1965	CD
Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra	Dmitri Kitaenko	RCA	1987	CD
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra	Zdenek Kosler	Supraphon		CD
Boston Symphony Orchestra	Sergei Koussevitzky	RCA, Dutton	1946	CD
National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine	Theodore Kuchar	Naxos	1995	CD
Boston Symphony Orchestra	Erich Leinsdorf	RCA	1963	CD
Chicago Symphony Orchestra	James Levine	Deutsche Grammophon	1992	CD
National Orchestra of the O.R.T.F.	Jean Martinon	Vox		CD
Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra	Evgeny Mravinsky	Russian Disc, Leningrad Masters	1968	CD
Philadelphia Orchestra	Riccardo Muti	Philips	1990	CD
Philadelphia Orchestra	Eugene Ormandy	Sony	1957	CD
Philadelphia Orchestra	Eugene Ormandy	RCA	1975	CD (Japan only)
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra	Seiji Ozawa	Deutsche Grammophon	1990	CD
Orchestre National de France	Mstislav Rostropovich	Erato	1988	CD
USSR Ministry of Culture State Symphony Orchestra	Gennadi Rozhdestvensky		?	CD/LP
Cleveland Orchestra	George Szell	Sony	1959	CD/LP
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra	Simon Rattle	EMI	1992	CD
St. Petersburg Philharmonic	Yuri Temirkanov	RCA	1991	CD
London Philharmonic Orchestra	Walter Weller	Decca	?	CD

[edit] External links

• Programme notes by Jason Sundram

v • d • e Symphonies by Sergei Prokofiev No. 1 in D major (Classical) · No. 2 in D minor · No. 3 in C minor · No. 4 in C major · No. 5 in B flat major · No. 6 in E flat minor · No. 7 in C sharp minor List of compositions by Sergei Prokofiev