PROKOFIEV Serge (1891 - 1953) - Lot 159

Lot 159
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Estimation :
1500 - 2000 EUR
Result with fees
Result : 8 060EUR
PROKOFIEV Serge (1891 - 1953) - Lot 159
PROKOFIEV Serge (1891 - 1953) 3 L.S. and 2 L.A.S. "Serge Prokofieff", March-August 1931, to Paul WITTGENSTEIN; 3 pages in-4, 1 page in-12 (on the back of a card), and a postcard with address (wet.) Interesting set on his 4th Piano Concerto for the left hand. [The pianist Paul WITTGENSTEIN (1887-1961) had lost his right arm in the war. He commissioned works for the left hand from many composers, including Ravel and Prokofiev; he refused, however, to play Prokofiev's Concerto, which was not premiered until 1956] Paris March 17. He will be in Vienna on March 29, where he plays on April 1. Paris July 8. He has just "finished the sketches of your concerto. Now I intend to put it aside for a week or so, in order to be able to work on the details with a fresh mind. The concerto is in B-flat major, in four movements. The first - vivace et véloce - is a kind of Perpetuum mobile. The movement is mostly in piano, though at times it shifts to the orchestra. The second movement is an Andante, with two singing themes. The third movement is similar to a sonata Allegro, although it is written in a freer form and with several slowing down of the movement. The fourth is very similar to the first movement; it begins exactly like the first, but is much shorter and more like a Coda than a Finale. There is no Cadenza in this concerto, if one does not consider as such the two or three moments, where the piano plays without accompaniment for about ten bars"... Paris July 26. He advances: "I have finished the first two movements (in keyboard, but the orchestration will not take much time)". He moves to Saint-Jean de Luz where he will work. "As you asked, I tried to add some piano solo in the slow movement. I succeeded in making you play alone for 18 bars"... Ciboure August 24. "I have finished the keyboard [...] The orchestration is progressing rapidly [...] I have taken 8 woodwinds, 2 horns, 1 trumpet, 1 trombone, gr. Caisse and Quartet". He expects Wittgenstein to come and see RAVEL. Ciboure, September 16. On the Basque Coast, he was able to finish what remained unfinished. "As for the orchestration, it went quickly because it was almost all in my head when I composed the Concerto. All I had to do was think about the details and put the notes on paper. He is waiting for the check for $2,250. He warns: "From the first page you will come across an unpleasant theme (for your taste) in the 9th bar. Don't pay attention and jump over it. Later it will seem, if not nice, at least tolerable"...
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