New ideas cast in old molds. Structures of musical forms in the “Sinfonia Concertante for Cello and Orchestra, op. 125”, by Sergei Prokofiev

Abstract

Along with brilliant suggestive melody, harmony replete with surprising cadences, an elegant adventurous rhythm, colorful seductive orchestration, and sound intensity ranging from whisper to extreme loudness, Prokofiev uses the musical form as raw material imaginatively wrought. The same structure considered from various perspectives reveals various aspects; in the Sinfonia concertante for cello and orchestra, op. 125, there are ample opportunities to interpret form. The point of departure is, as almost always with the Russian composer, the classic and baroque forms and genres.