vii, 303 l. music. 28 cm. Vita. Bibliography: leaves 302-303.
Serge Prokofiev wrote five concertos for piano and orchestra. Of these five, only the Third Concerto has been performed with any degree of frequency, while the others remain less well-known. Despite the prominent position occupied by Prokofiev's music in the current repertory, no comprehensive study, to the knowledge of the author, has yet been made of these works. Such a study would seem to be very much in order and, indeed, long overdue. It is the purpose of this thesis to undertake this task. Chapter i presents a biographical sketch of Prokofiev, its primary purpose being to give historical and chronological perspective to the concertos in relation to the composer's life and other works. Chapter ii contains a detailed formal analysis of each of the five works. Chapter iii draws from the analyses of chapter ii some of the general stylistic characteristics of the concertos in such areas as form, thematic materials, contrapuntal devices, tonality, and harmonic vocabulary. Chapter iv takes up Prokofiev's unique treatment of the piano and the disposition of the piano against the orchestra, and chapter v offers a brief summary. Because of the intricacies of the analyses in chapter ii, measures are numbered consecutively by movement to facilitate reference to the scores, while in chapters iii and iv, the normal method of numbering measures consecutively by page is employed. References are to the following editions of the concertos: Concerto No. 1, C. F. Peters Corporation, N. Y. Concerto No. 2, Boosey and Hawkes, London. Concerto No. 3, Boosey and Hawkes, London. Concerto No. 4, State Music Publishers, Moscow,(Leeds Music Corporation, Sole Selling Agent). Concerto No. 5, Boosey and Hawkes, London. The author hopes that this study will afford a keener understanding of Prokofiev's treatment of the piano concerto form and of his style in general; more especially he hopes it will contribute to a greater enjoyment of the works themselves.
