Sergei Prokofiev

Sergei Prokofiev

Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...

's Cello Concertino Op.

Opus number

An Opus number , pl. opera and opuses, abbreviated, sing. Op. and pl. Opp. refers to a number generally assigned by composers to an individual composition or set of compositions on publication, to help identify their works...

 132 was left incomplete at the composer's death in 1953. It was completed by Mstislav Rostropovich

Mstislav Rostropovich

Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, KBE , known to close friends as Slava, was a Soviet and Russian cellist and conductor. He was married to the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya. He is widely considered to have been the greatest cellist of the second half of the 20th century, and one of the greatest of...

 and Dmitri Kabalevsky

Dmitri Kabalevsky

Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky was a Russian composer.He helped to set up the Union of Soviet Composers in Moscow and remained one of its leading figures. He was a prolific composer of piano music and chamber music; many of his piano works have been performed by Vladimir Horowitz. He is probably...

.

History

Prokofiev had been impressed by Mstislav Rostropovich, after working with him for his Symphony-Concerto

Symphony-Concerto (Prokofiev)

Sergei Prokofiev's Symphony-Concerto in E minor, Op. 125 is a large-scale work for cello and orchestra. Prokofiev dedicated it to Mstislav Rostropovich, who premiered it on February 18, 1952 with Sviatoslav Richter conducting . After this first performance Sergei Prokofiev's Symphony-Concerto in E...

, so he undertook to write a number of other cello

Cello

The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...

 pieces for him. The Cello Concertino was such a piece, intended to be of a light nature.

Prokofiev's death in 1953 left the work unfinished, the finale in particular. However, the composer had indicated to Rostropovich what his intentions were, so he undertook to complete it. Dmitri Kabalevsky orchestrated the piece.

Movements

The concertino is approximately 19 minutes in duration.

1. Andante mosso
2. Andante
3. Allegretto