GB 2217 SP - PROKOFIEV, Serge (1891-1953)

40 box files and 6 boxes

The Serge Prokofiev Archive was set up by the Serge Prokofiev Foundation in 1994, and into it were deposited copies of all Prokofiev's correspondence from his 'Western period'. This material had been left by Prokofiev with friends and at his publisher's in Paris before he and his family returned to the Soviet Union in 1936. Some years after Prokofiev's death in 1953, his friends deposited the papers in the Bibliothèque Nationale in the hope that they would be reclaimed by his family at a later date; Lina Prokofiev regained them when she left the Soviet Union in 1974.
GB 2217 SP [1915]-1936 Subfonds of The Serge Prokofiev Archive 40 box files and 6 boxes Prokofiev , Serge , 1891-1953 , Russian composer and pianist
Serge Prokofiev was born in Sontsovka, in the Ukraine, in 1891. He played the piano and composed from an early age, and studied with Reinhold Gliere in the summers of 1902 and 1903. He attended the St Petersburg Conservatory from 1904 to 1914, and studied composition, conducting and piano, though his overwhelming desire to develop his own style often brought him into conflict with his teachers. He played his first public performance on 18 December 1908 in St Petersburg at one of the 'Evenings of Contemporary Music', premiered his first full compositions, and graduated in 1914, having won the coveted Anton Rubinstein Prize for the best student pianist. Following his graduation, Prokofiev travelled widely, performing his compositions in Paris, London and the USA. He composed in a wide range of musical genres, including symphonies, concertos, operas, ballets and film music, though the modern nature of his music often led to censure on the part of the music press of the time. He moved to Paris permanently in 1923, after his marriage to Lina Codina. Tours of Soviet Russia in 1927, 1929 and 1932 contributed towards Prokofiev's decision to return to his homeland permanently in 1936, joined by his wife and two children. He developed an intense interest in writing scores for film, beginning with Lieutenant Kizhe in 1933, and for the theatrical stage - Peter and the Wolf was written in 1936 and performed by the State Children's Theatre. He also composed ballets such as Romeo and Juliet, premiered in 1938. Though Prokofiev initially conformed to Soviet ideology, the limitations imposed upon his artistic freedom proved stifling, and he was soon forbidden permission to tour outside the Soviet Union. Following the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, all senior cultural figures were evacuated from Moscow, including Prokofiev, whose wife and children were left behind for the duration of the war. Lina Prokofiev, being Spanish by birth, was later arrested (1948) and sent to a labour camp for 8 years. In the same year her marriage to Prokofiev was annulled by the state, after which Prokofiev married Mira Mendelson. His composition remained prolific, and the works created during the War proved to be some of his most successful, notably War and Peace, Cinderella, and his Fifth Symphony. Suffering from increasing ill-health, Prokofiev died on 5 March 1953 and was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.

The Serge Prokofiev Archive was set up by the Serge Prokofiev Foundation in 1994, and into it were deposited copies of all Prokofiev's correspondence from his 'Western period'. This material had been left by Prokofiev with friends and at his publisher's in Paris before he and his family returned to the Soviet Union in 1936. Some years after Prokofiev's death in 1953, his friends deposited the papers in the Bibliothèque Nationale in the hope that they would be reclaimed by his family at a later date; Lina Prokofiev regained them when she left the Soviet Union in 1974.

Papers of Serge Prokofiev, [1915]-1936, mainly comprising private and business correspondence relating to the performance and publication of Prokofiev's compositions. Much of the collection consists of personal correspondence concerning his working relationship with other artists including conductors Albert Coates, Sir Henry Wood, Sergei Koussevitsky, Hermann Scherchen, and Ernest Ansermet; soloists Joseph Szigeti, Pablo Casals, Robert Soëtans and Fyodor Shalyapin; composers Igor Stravinsky, Nikolai Miaskovsky, Maurice Ravel and practically all French composers of the 1920s and 30s; theatre directors Vsevolod Meyerhold and Alexander Tairov; the Director of the Ballets Russes, Serge Diaghilev; poets and writers such as Konstantin Balmont and Vladimir Maiakovsky; and chess grandmaster José Capablanca. The papers also include financial material such as bills and accounts, legal papers and correspondence concerning concerts in the USA, France, Italy, Spain, England, the Soviet Union and Germany; and the publication and copyright of Prokofiev's work. Individuals and companies with which Prokofiev dealt in these matters included musical societies such as the Aeolian Company in the USA, Concerts Populaires de Bruxelles, and Concerts Pasdeloup in Paris; music publishers such as Breitkopf and Härtel in Leipzig, Russicher Musikverlag in Berlin and Edition Russe de Musique in Paris; and Soviet music publishing and arts authorities including the State Publishing House, the Moscow and Leningrad conservatories, and the Direction of State Theatres. There is also correspondence regarding the composition of ballets and operas, notably The Love for Three Oranges, Chout, the Fiery Angel and Le Pas d'Acier. The remainder of the collection consists of diaries, personal notes and press cuttings relating to Prokofiev's work.

The papers were arranged chronologically by Lina Prokofiev.

By appointment only. Some private correspondence is closed to the public. Please contact the Curator for details.

At the discretion of the Curator.
Russian, French, English, German

Unlisted.

The originals of some of the material are held at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris.

All material written in Russian is transcribed onto a computer database, and transcription of other languages is in progress.

The Serge Prokofiev Archive also holds the papers of Lina and Oleg Prokofiev and Christopher Palmer.

Compiled by Sarah Aitchison as part of the RSLP AIM25 Project. Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997. Feb 2002 Aeolian Company , USA , musical society Ansermet , Ernest , 1883-1969 , Swiss conductor Ballet Balmont , Konstantin Dmitryevitch , 1867-1943 , Russian poet, translator and essayist Breitkopf and Härtel , music publishers , Leipzig, Germany Capablanca , José Raúl , 1888-1942 , chess player Casals , Pablo , 1876-1973 , Catalan cellist, conductor, pianist and composer Chaliapin , Fyodor Ivanovich , 1873-1938 , Russian bass x Shalyapin , Fyodor Classical music Coates , Albert 1882-1953 , conductor and composer Concerts Pasdeloup , Paris, France Concerts Populaires de Bruxelles , Brussels, Belgium Dance Diaghilev , Sergei Pavlovich , 1872-1929 , Ballet impresario x Dyagilev , Sergei Eastern Europe Edition Russe de Musique , music publishers , Paris, France England Europe France Germany Italy Koussevitsky , Sergei Alexandrovich , 1874-1951 , Russian conductor Mayakovsky , Vladimir Vladimirovich , 1893-1930 , Soviet poet and playwright x Maiakovsky , Vladimir Meyerhold , Vsevolod Emilievich , d c 1940 , Russian theatre actor and director Music Musical performances Musical styles Myaskovsky , Nikolay Yakovlevich , 1881-1950 , Russian composer, critic and teacher x Miaskovsky , Nikolay North America Opera Orchestras Prokofiev , Serge Sergeevich , 1891-1953 , composer Ravel , Maurice , 1875-1937 , French musical composer Russicher Musikverlag , music publishers , Berlin, Germany Scherchen , Hermann , 1891-1966 , German conductor Soetans , Robert , fl early 20th century , French violinist Spain Stravinsky , Igor Fyodorovich , 1882-1971 , Russian composer Szigeti , Joseph , 1892-1973 , American violinist Tairov , Alexander Yakovlevich , 1885-1950 , Russian theatre actor and director x Kornblit , Alexander Theatre UK USA USSR Western Europe Wood , Sir , Henry Joseph , 1869-1944 , Knight , musical conductor Performing arts London Musical performers Performers Artists

Papers of Serge Prokofiev, [1915]-1936, mainly comprising private and business correspondence relating to the performance and publication of Prokofiev's compositions. Much of the collection consists of personal correspondence concerning his working relationship with other artists including conductors Albert Coates, Sir Henry Wood, Sergei Koussevitsky, Hermann Scherchen, and Ernest Ansermet; soloists Joseph Szigeti, Pablo Casals, Robert Soëtans and Fyodor Shalyapin; composers Igor Stravinsky, Nikolai Miaskovsky, Maurice Ravel and practically all French composers of the 1920s and 30s; theatre directors Vsevolod Meyerhold and Alexander Tairov; the Director of the Ballets Russes, Serge Diaghilev; poets and writers such as Konstantin Balmont and Vladimir Maiakovsky; and chess grandmaster José Capablanca. The papers also include financial material such as bills and accounts, legal papers and correspondence concerning concerts in the USA, France, Italy, Spain, England, the Soviet Union and Germany; and the publication and copyright of Prokofiev's work. Individuals and companies with which Prokofiev dealt in these matters included musical societies such as the Aeolian Company in the USA, Concerts Populaires de Bruxelles, and Concerts Pasdeloup in Paris; music publishers such as Breitkopf and Härtel in Leipzig, Russicher Musikverlag in Berlin and Edition Russe de Musique in Paris; and Soviet music publishing and arts authorities including the State Publishing House, the Moscow and Leningrad conservatories, and the Direction of State Theatres. There is also correspondence regarding the composition of ballets and operas, notably The Love for Three Oranges, Chout, the Fiery Angel and Le Pas d'Acier. The remainder of the collection consists of diaries, personal notes and press cuttings relating to Prokofiev's work.

The papers were arranged chronologically by Lina Prokofiev.

By appointment only. Some private correspondence is closed to the public. Please contact the Curator for details.

At the discretion of the Curator.

• English

• Latin

Russian, French, English, German

The Serge Prokofiev Archive also holds the papers of Lina and Oleg Prokofiev and Christopher Palmer.

Unlisted.

All material written in Russian is transcribed onto a computer database, and transcription of other languages is in progress.

Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

• English