Serge PROKOFIEV

Overview

 Sonata No.1 in F minor *

Sonata No. 2 in D major

Five Melodies, Op. 35

Levon Ambartsumian, violin

Anatoly Sheludyakov, piano

Alexander Ardakov, piano *

Sergei Prokofiev’s works for violin and piano occupy a unique place in 20th‑century chamber music, reflecting both the turbulence of his era and the unmistakable clarity of his musical voice. The Violin Sonata No. 1 in F minor, begun in the late 1930s and completed during the Second World War, is one of Prokofiev’s darkest and most introspective creations—its whispered scales famously described by the composer as “like the wind in a graveyard.” In contrast, the Violin Sonata No. 2 in D major, originally conceived for flute, carries a brighter neoclassical spirit, full of rhythmic buoyancy and melodic ease. The Five Melodies, Op. 35, adapted from earlier vocalises, reveal Prokofiev’s lyrical side at its most direct and disarming. In this Phoenix USA recording, violinist Levon Ambartsumian and pianists Anatoly Sheludyakov and Alexander Ardakov bring deep stylistic authority to this repertoire, illuminating the emotional range and structural precision that define Prokofiev’s chamber writing. The result is a compelling portrait of a composer balancing modernist edge with expressive immediacy.