Prokofiev: Toccata in D minor Op.11

Author

Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953: Russian)
  • wrote first piano compositions at age 5
  • composed his first opera at age 9
  • graduated top of his class from the St. Petersburg Conservatory
  • wife was arrested in 1948 for "espionage"
  • died on March 5, 1953, the same day as Stalin
  • Wikipedia Article

About the Piece

  • Genre is piano toccata
  • as title indicates, piece possesses minor key tonality throughout
  • theme throughout involves alternating of two low D's
  • piece is very tense throughout
  • lots of fast movement throughout piece
  • no clear melody is ever established
  • strong use of dissonance
  • huge range: parts of the piece are played with one hand in the highest register of the piano and the other in the lowest
  • theme returns at the end, slows down, fades, then transitions to dramatic Coda including a glissando
  • YouTube Video

Purpose

  • entertainment
  • virtuosity

Reflections

I love this piece. The amount of hand movement and the shear number of notes is incredible. I especially like seeing the pianist playing notes inside one hand with the other (the two hands superimposed). As for the musical quality of the piece, I love the tension built throughout the piece that finally bursts into a dramatic glissando in the Coda.