- Composer: Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev (23 April 1891 -- 5 March 1953)
- Orchestra: Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra
- Conductor: Gennady Rozhdestvensky
- Year of recording: 1965-1967 (?)
Symphony No. 6 in E-flat minor, Op. 111, written between 1944-1947.
00:00 - I. Allegro moderato (E-flat minor)
13:14 - II. Largo (A-flat major)
27:33 - III. Vivace (E-flat major)
The symphony, written as an elegy of the tragedies of World War II, has often been regarded as the darker twin to the victorious Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major. Prokofiev said of the symphony, "Now we are rejoicing in our great victory, but each of us has wounds that cannot be healed. One has lost those dear to him, another has lost his health. These must not be forgotten."
In 1945, Prokofiev had an accident, a fall caused by a heart attack, resulting in a brain concussion. He later suffered a stroke and would be plagued with ill health for the remaining eight years of his life. Prokofiev was no longer able to conduct, and composing became increasingly difficult. He did, however, manage to continue working until his death, and began working on the Symphony No. 6 not long after the accident. The work was actually sketched out in the summer of 1945, but other projects demanded the composer's time, and the symphony was not orchestrated until two years later. The work shares an opus number with Beethoven's last piano sonata, and Prokofiev, profoundly influenced by Beethoven and specifically by the Op. 111 sonata, is said to have considered dedicating this symphony to Beethoven. The Symphony No. 6, though, owes more to Prokofiev's earlier symphonies than to Beethoven; it is especially close to the composer's own Fifth Symphony. The two works are almost identical in instrumentation, and are similar in texture and character.
The Symphony No. 6 is a work in three movements, instead of the usual four. The form suggests the pre-Classical sinfonia, a work with two fast outer movements and a slow middle one.
- The symphony begins with an Allegro moderato movement in sonata-allegro form. For an opening movement however, it is a little grim, with nostalgic themes and a recurring funeral procession. Nonetheless, the lyricism that one associates with some of Prokofiev's music is still present.
- The second movement is a Largo, and the mood of the opening movement is maintained through dark timbres, solemn thematic material, and subdued dynamics.
- In the third movement, a quick Vivace, the work brightens considerably as Prokofiev uses dance rhythms and a march to invigorate the final themes. Themes from the opening movement return recontextualized in a coda as the work draws to its conclusion. The composer himself commented on the austerity of the first movement and on the similarities between the third movement of this work and the style of the Symphony No. 5.
In 1948, the Central Commission of the Communist Party condemned of most of the leading Soviet composers, accusing them of decadence. Prokofiev, however, was lucky: due to his ill health and to his lack of involvement in any official organizations, he suffered less than his colleagues. Though the Symphony No. 6 was not among those singled out for condemnation in 1948, he was hardly in favor with the Party. Ten years later, however, Prokofiev was "posthumously vindicated," and his favorable evaluation restored.