Sergei Prokofiev surrounded by scores, piano, ballet and orchestra — facets of a body of work extending from symphonies and concertos to theatre and film. Sergei Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) is one of those composers whose musical personality is recognizable almost at once. Sharp rhythmic energy, unexpected harmonic turns, clarity of line, irony and a deep lyrical impulse coexist in a body of work that stretches from piano and chamber music to symphony, opera, ballet and film. The variety of media does not fragment his musical language; it reveals different facets of the same creative mind. In his autobiography, Prokofiev identified five principal “lines” in his music: the classical, the modern, the toccata or motoric, the lyrical, and the one his contemporaries often perceived as grotesque. These were not successive periods. They frequently coexist within a single work: a strict classical form may be filled with biting harmonies, insistent rhythmic motion may suddenly gi...