Sergei Prokofiev’s Waltz Suite, Op. 110 for orchestra is a magical musical potpourri. Composed and compiled in 1946 in the wake of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in the Great Patriotic War, it is a collection of six waltz excerpts from three of Prokofiev’s dramatic works. At times, the music is hauntingly atmospheric. It is filled with quirky, sardonic harmonic turns, dreamy tonal colors, and the graceful airborne motion inherent in the waltz.
The Suite opens with Since We Met from Scene 4 of Prokofiev’s Tolstoy-inspired opera, War and Peace. The second waltz, In the Palace, is taken from the second act of the ballet, Cinderella. Evoking the glistening ballroom scene, it begins with shimmering divided strings, and soon erupts with swirling, delirious motion. Next comes the diabolical Mephisto Waltz from the 1943 Soviet film, Lermontov. The fourth waltz, End of the Fairy Tale from the concluding moments of Cinderella, is slow and hypnotic. In the final, surreal moments, its melodic line descends into the lowest registers, as if the music is sinking underwater. The fifth waltz, New Year’s Waltz, is from War and Peace. The Suite concludes with Happiness, the ominous, climactic music which precedes the clock striking midnight in Cinderella.
Recordings
- Prokofiev: Waltz Suite, Op. 110, Neeme Järvi, Scottish National Orchestra Naxos