Sergei Prokofiev’s Toccata, Op. 11 for solo piano is music of the Machine Age.
Launched into motion with a volley of repeated D’s, the brief and blazing piece hurtles forward as an indomitable, perpetual motor. Edgy and seemingly demonic, it takes us on an exhilarating, increasingly terrifying ride, punctuated with quirky melodic leaps, jarring dissonances, and torrents of chromaticism.
Composed in 1912, this is music of the 23-year-old Prokofiev. Shocking, previously unimaginable music such as the Toccata earned the young composer a reputation as an enfant terrible. The technical challenges of the piece are so vast that the composer, himself, struggled to play it.
Here is Martha Argerich’s performance, recorded in 1960:
If Argerich’s approach accentuates the piece’s edgy sense of “rock and roll,” Yuja Wang achieves a spectacular control, focused energy, and precision. After performing Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto, she returned to the stage at the 2018 Lucerne Festival for this encore:
Recordings
- Prokofiev: Toccata, Op. 11, Martha Argerich Amazon