Kian Soltani plays Prokofiev

A musical voyage of discovery through the vast, dreamy winter landscapes of Tsarist Russia. In his mature years, Tchaikovsky called his symphonic debut of 1869 a ‘sin of sweet youth’; nevertheless, he was devoted to the work throughout his life: “Although it is in many ways immature,” he said, “fundamentally it has more substance and is better composed than many of my other more mature works.” He found a model principally in Mendelssohn’s ‘Scottish’ and ‘Italian’ symphonies, and it was these programmatic names that encouraged him in his idea of composing the symphonic ‘Winter Dreams’. Completely different, more ‘realistic’ sounds from the Soviet Union: Prokofiev’s large-scale Sinfonia Concertante was composed in 1950-52, a late work completed shortly before his death. It is dedicated to the famous cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, who had offered the composer helpful advice during its composition, then giving the work a successful premiere in Moscow on 18 February 1952.

Tsarist Russia; Soviet realism inspired by Stalin – two worlds collide here that seem to have nothing to do with each other, but ultimately draw on the same cultural influences.