Prokofiev considered it the culminating accomplishment of his career, conceived “as glorifying the grandeur of the human spirit … praising the free and happy man-his strength, his generosity, and the purity of his soul.” Others had even higher praise: After the U.S. premiere by Serge Koussevitzky and the Boston Symphony, Prokofiev was pictured on the cover of Time magazine, and Koussevitzky called the work “the greatest musical event in many, many years. The greatest since Brahms and Tchaikovsky! It is magnificent! It is yesterday, it is today, it is tomorrow.”
Hear this masterpiece alongside works by Debussy and Connesson March 21-23. www.philorch.org/prokofiev-5