Sergei Prokofiev - 4 Etudes Op. 2 (audio + sheet music)

Despite being commented by one of his teachers as "talented but immature", and graduating composition class in St. Petersburg Conservatory with a passing grade, this never stopped the then-18-year-old Sergei Prokofiev to pursue his studies, and eventually establish his reputation as a pianist and composer who has figured out his own individual style, even outside the Conservatory. While his Piano Sonata Op. 1 in F minor of 1909 displays his lyrical post-romanticism with the help of influence from his own favorite composers, this next opus, his Four Etudes, composed the same year as the previous, show perhaps the other side of his coin -- brutal, futuristic, mechanical, and definitely never for the faint of heart. The Op. 2 set was dedicated to his teacher, composer Alexander Winkler, who by the way was not the teacher who made the mixed comment earlier on (spoiler alert: it was actually Rimsky-Korsakov). Alongside the Op. 1, Prokofiev performed the etudes in concert a year later.

No. 1 in D minor is indeed very unforgiving, judging by the score, as it demands the chords to be played as if effortlessly up and down the keyboard. The C major middle section offers a temporary calm before going back to the storm, concluding the entirety in D minor chords hammering at the low register. No. 2 in E minor, much mellower than the rest of the set, is a juggling act, if you will. One hand plays an 18/16 wave of demisemiquavers, the other plays the 4/4 bassline, the melody being passed on by both hands. No. 3 in C minor starts out in a macabre mood in Andante. However, this is just a smokescreen, as the piece slowly but surely spirals out of control, the performer having to play out the thirds and sixths that snake throughout the score. Holding out the inner melody that needs to be shared by both hands is an additional challenge here. Surprisingly, Prokofiev skipped this etude back in his 1910 concert. No. 4 in C minor is definitely a tour de force, one hand supplying the very sarcastic melody, and the other hand playing ostinatos -- at one point, one section of that resembles a boogie rhythm -- in Presto. For a fitting finale of the entire set, the end of the piece is marked in broken octaves up across the piano.

Please take note that the audio AND sheet music ARE NOT mine. Change the quality to a minimum of 480p if the video is blurry.

Original audio: I forgot where exactly, sorry...
(Performance by: Frederic Chiu)

[OneConcertante]

0:15 Etude No.1 in D minor
2:40 Etude No.2 in E minor
5:37 Etude No.3 in C minor
9:30 Etude No.4 in C minor

[benrolfe]

Prokofiev is a phenomenal example of someone who was faced with the monster of the piano, and not only tamed its known technical behemoths, but made it his trusted partner through all of his sonic fuckery, while also creating entirely original technical fuckery in the process.

[TomCL-vbxc]

Prokofiev wrote some beautifully monstrous music. Truly a master composer.

[LukeFaulkner]

0:15 Whilst I love the Dm etude, I've never felt brave enough to attempt it. It's like the dance of the Devil...

[itsthejews]

No.1 is such an exquisite work. One of his finest short form piano composition imo. Dramatic toccata enery but with some light almost touching moments (the tranquillo theme).

[김진우-ie]

I'm obsessed with nr.2.
It's so beautiful omg..

[essencejoyclairv]

There's something hair-raisingly alive about Prokofiev's choice of rhythms, harmonies and melodic lines. Even the very loud passages get away with it as sounding full of excitement and organic content rather than mere loud notes thrown together.

[bardha]

I don't hear anyone talking about how fantastically eerie and sporadic the fourth etude is. That's what makes it my favorite of the etudes. It just has a whole entire different tone about it. Relating to the caption, I feel as though the comment "talented but immature" rings quite true for this one. Its just a crazy movement, and its all over the place, but that's what makes it a mood.

[TomKotarba]

What a great tableau, no. 2 is still my personal favorite. How he weaves that secondary melody in so simply is gorgeous but of course like all of Prokofiev's piano music, crazy difficult to actually play.

[HowardTse]

Simply piano after a week: *able to play etude no. 3*
(5:37 - 5:44)

[le_jaivan]

The best prokofiev's D minor etude i have ever listened to in my life.
What an amount of ideas and colors, such control of the sound is astounding...
Marvelous!

[peterkovacs]

For me no. 1 has this very ominous apocalyptic atmosphere to it like the world is going to be over in those 2 minutes

[ВикторияБоежова]

Мне кажется, все этюды абсолютно гениальны. Играл d и c moll))

[ericwang]

This has to be one of the best recordings of these masterpieces! Keep up the good work!

[Sujkhgfrwqqnvf]

2:17 prokofiev second piano concerto after cadenza in first movement

[davidloveday]

10:32 how on earth does he get the sound of a heavy pizzicato violin chord out of this piano. Twice! Incredible playing throughout.

[assante]

A vorcha would yell "BIG MACHIIIINES!!" . Prokofiev was fascinated by them. Those etudes are hard, but not as hard as Bartok's 3 etudes op 18. I'm having fight sessions with both . Chiu masters the 4 .

[seiteom]

Mesmerising, genius music, crazy difficult to play.

[Jojo-bdjg]

Etude No. 4 is incredible. Reminded me of Dragon Quest dungeons.

[Luke]

D Minor one is just insane. Currently learning it and it's mjndbreaking 😅