PROKOFIEV, Sergey
Cello and Piano Sonata in C major, Op. 119
I. Andante grave
János Starker, guest professor
Helena Poggio, student
Miguel Ángel Ortega Chavaldas, accompanying pianist
Excerpts from an archival masterclass from 2000 with Hungarian-American cellist János Starker. The master discusses the character of the sonata and Prokofiev’s intention to create a composition that would pass the Soviet artistic “censorship” of the time. However, it should not be interpreted too seriously: it employs popular melodies and elements (as in the 2nd movement) and contains many jokes and burlesque connotations. He then plays and gives some indications for the phrasing of the beginning of the first movement. For the subsequent pizzicato arpeggios, he suggests the student move her fingers in a more circular motion and resonate with more vibrato. In the following excerpt, János Starker corrects the phrasing, and the large intervals require more time, so he recommends not playing metronomically but taking more time to execute those leaps. Later, there are indications regarding fingering, and he reviews the tempo for a passage that is like a mocking laugh, likening it to a Donald Duck race, thus not a marching tempo.
Language: English
