Type: Classical Music
Location: The Moscow Conservatory Great Hall
Orchestra: The Mariinsky Orchestra
Conductor: Valery Gergiev
Soloist: Alexander Toradze
Composer: Sergei Prokofiev
Program: Piano Concertos No. 1 and No. 2
Year: 2012

The first concert of the “Absolute Prokofiev” cycle, held during the Easter season, juxtaposes the elegance of the Classical Symphony with the explosiveness of Piano Concerto No. 1 and the far more turbulent Piano Concerto No. 2, performed by Alexander Toradze. This highlights the young Sergei Prokofiev at his most provocative and inventive. He deliberately challenged audiences with sharp rhythms, biting harmonies, and a kind of musical sarcasm that sets him apart from his contemporaries.