Prokofiev, Piano Sonata No. 7, Op. 83, III. Precipitato

Precipitato: impetuously. Impetuous can mean reckless, foolhardy, acting quickly without care. But that meaning of impetuous doesn’t quite capture what follows. These synonyms work better: powerful, vigorous, relentless.

Prokofiev’s Sonata No. 7 is one of the “war sonatas” (numbers 6, 7, and8), so called because they were written during World War II. Toward the end of 1942, Stalingrad was under siege. The German army’s advance in 1941 had stalled in the Moscow suburbs, and the next year’s efforts were focused on cutting Russia’s industrial capacity further south. It was a disaster for the Germans and the turning point of the war. Hitler’s actions were reckless and foolhardy. The Russians were relentless.

The Ukrainian pianist Valentina Lisitsa left some comments in her YouTube posting below. She disputes the New York Times critic who labeled this movement “pure Jerry Lee Lewis, an explosive burst of rock ‘n’ roll with a chromatic edge.” Well, Jerry Lee Lewis did have a relentless rhythm, but the analogy is surely misplaced. Lewis conveyed the first kind of impetuous—without a care. Prokofiev is anything but. Lisitsa writes:

This movement, when premiered, was aptly christened “Tank Attack”. The time it was written explains it. 1942. The midst of war, countless dead, wounded, missing. Immense suffering of people in hands of occupiers. The tide of war was not yet turning, Stalingrad battle had just began and German army was in full offence mode rolling forward. Stalingrad, that sleepy provincial Southern town that was cursed with bearing Stalin’s name and thus made into the last stand — was being destroyed to the last brick in street battles. Two million would perish in short few month right at that spot. Nothing could lift the defenders’ spirits more than a piece of music that showed the path to victory, a tank attack, unstoppable. A prophesy of sorts.

If you don’t remember Valentina Lisitsa from a couple of previous Performance Picks, you should read Professor Carol’s account of her.