FABULOUS MUSICIANS: S. PROKOFIEV AND N. MEDTNER

Abstract

This year marks the 130th anniversary of the birth of S. S. Prokofiev and the 70th anniversary of the death of N. K. Medtner. The article provides a socio-cultural background to the similar circumstances of the lives of these two great musicians. Both were forced to leave Russia during the October events, learning all the difficulties of emigration. Their joint tour in the USSR in 1927 was for Medtner a last meeting with his beloved Moscow, where he had studied and taught at the Conservatory, while Prokofiev's emigration ended with his return home. The author wonders what brought together such different personalities as Sergey Prokofiev and Nikolay Medtner. The composers were united, among other things, by a special interest in narrative genres derived from folk epic poetry. However, each musician interpreted them differently — while the composer of "Tales of an Old Grandmother" was more interested in the representational aspect, Medtner wrote works with a more psychological depth.