Sergey Prokofiev Diaries 1907-1914: Prodigious Youth

Book Description

Sergey Prokofiev, a compulsive diarist and gifted and idiosyncratic writer, possessed an incorrigibly sardonic curiosity about individuals and events. When he left Russia after the 1917 Revolution, his diaries were recovered from the family flat in Petrograd and later hidden at considerable personal risk by the composer Nikolai Myaskovsky. Prokofiev himself smuggled them out of the country after his first return to the Soviet Union in 1927. The later diaries, written in the West, were brought back by legal decree after the composer's death in 1953, to be kept in an inaccessible section of the Soviet State Archive. Eventually Prokofiev's son Sviatoslav was allowed to transcribe the voluminous contents. When he and his son Sergei eventually emigrated to Paris, they undertook the gigantic task of reproducing the partially encoded manuscript in an intelligible form.

Diaries, 1907-1914, the first of three volumes that extend to 1933, covers Prokofiev's years at the St. Petersburg Conservatoire. Simultaneously attached to and exasperated by the tradition exemplified by composers such as Rimsky-Korsakov, Glazunov, and Tcherepnin, the brash young genius relishes the power of his talent to irritate, challenge, and finally overcome the establishment. In candid and lively prose, he records the all-too-normal preoccupations of a young man making his way in the brilliant social and artistic circles of the prewar Russian capital. Virtually every artist and musician of note appears in these pages, in penetrating and not always flattering vignettes. Prokofiev's main subject, however, is music, its creation and its performance. He reveals his own developing aesthetic principles through his assessments of the works of others, even as he composes such early masterpieces as the First and Second Piano Concertos, The Ugly Duckling, the First Violin Concerto, and the Classical Symphony.

Book Description

A richly detailed portrait of a man whose complex character, like his music, combined the traditional and the contemporary in odd and unexpected ways.

Customer Reviews:

The Mind and Music of Prokofiev.......2007-05-02

Harlow Robinson spent years in Soviet Russia researching Prokofiev during the height of the Cold War. His research does not just include manuscripts and letters but also involves many personal conversations with those who knew Prokofiev and even with those who persecuted Prokofiev. As a result he navigates his way through Prokofiev's life with that added dimension of relating personally to those events. Robinson's writing is interesting and warm without being too academic or dry. This book seems to be intended for any real fan of Prokofiev. Lastly, this book really strives to explain some of the perplexities of Prokofiev's decisions. In particular, Robinson strives to explain why Prokofiev needed to return to Russia after his extended residence in Paris. This book is well worth the time to read.

popular biography that brings rewards.......2005-04-06

Robinson's is a useful popular biography of Prokofiev that is better researched and better written than any other English language bio of the great composer. Equal measure is given to Prokofiev's time in the West, and to his life after returning to Russia. There's much that's interesting here - a persistent exploration of Prokofiev's quixotic relationship with Diaghilev, generous delving into the composer's personal life, including especially some revealing passages on the almost uncharacteristic affection Prokofiev lavished on his children, and a resonant view of his work habits. Prokofiev's career disappointments were many, some even tragic, and the author doesnt beat around the bush, but the admirable thread of fierce devotion maintained by Prokofiev toward his own unquenchable musical purpose is thoughtfully argued by Robinson throughout the book, indeed it's one its strengths. The author even notes details of some of Prokofiev's foppish Parisian clothing that helped start him off on the wrong foot on his return to Russia. There are a number of subtle moments like that where one can discern the winning hand of a committed biographer. The importance of Prokofiev's canon of works is denied a hearing for the most part, but the book suffers little for that. The useful appendices include a chronology and a catalogue (by genre) of the composer's works, in addition to a healthy bibliography. I recommend this book for anyone just taking up the subject of Prokofiev. Listening again to the seventh Piano Sonata would perhaps serve more succinctly for the already initiated.

Well worth reading.......2002-09-23

Harlow Robinson's book is excellent; well worth reading. He strikes the right balance between the composer's personal charateristics and the body of his musical creation. The book is rich in detail, yet to-the-point; it is objective, yet reflects the complexity of this sometimes very unpleasant genius. It is perfectly comprehensible for the interested non-expert who has invested a good deal of time listening to Prokofiev's music, and seeing his movies, ballets and operas. As a Russian speaker familiar with every day speech and everyday life in the Soviet Union, I can say that Mr Robinson has a keen understanding of that culture, right down to having a very fine ear for transliterations. The composer is the Beethoven of the twentieth century: the one who has created the musical language which is so much a part of us that we take it for granted. Robinson brings us the man and the mind behind that language.

A core addition to Music History supplemental reading lists.......2002-08-09

Sergei Prokofiev: A Biography by Harlow Robinson (Professor of Modern Languages and History, Northeastern University) is an exhaustive, detailed, scholarly, and documented account of the life, times, inspiration, and personal history of acclaimed Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953). A handful of black-and-white photographs and a brand new foreword and afterword by author Harlow Robinson enhance this reprint of the most thorough Prokofiev biography to be found in the English language to date. A superbly written, insightfully informated, and ighly recommended for anyone with a keen interest in the evolution of individual musical greatness as reflected in the life and work of a seminal European composer, Sergei Prokofiev is a core addition to any Music History supplemental reading lists and academic reference collections.

Too glib and superficial to be informative!.......2002-05-14

I read this book when it first appeared some ten years ago, having read much of the other work on P. (books by Israel Nestyev, Victor Seroff, etc.). Indeed there is a lack of good literature on P. in English. Unfortunately, Robinson's book is sadly written-down and dumbed-down for a sub-TIME-Magazine reading public. It is not necessary to do so to write a good, readable, un-academic biography (compare the superb bio of poet Marina Tsvetaeva by Viktoria Schweitzer). So this book wasted a fine opportunity: its evaluations of both life and works are simplistic. Robinson claims to be "above" the ideological divisions of Cold War Prokofiev scholarship (e.g. pre-Stalinist vs. Socialist Realist Prokofiev), but he does not engage this problem at all, at least not in any thoughtful way, and blurs over it with bland cheery platitudes. Disappointing!

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Prokofiev's Ballets for Diaghilev
Stephen D. Press
Manufacturer: Ashgate Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0754604020

The Music of Sergei Prokofiev (Composers of the Twentieth Century Serie)

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The Music of Sergei Prokofiev (Composers of the Twentieth Century Serie)
Neil Minturn
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Book Description

In this first comprehensive analytical study of the music of Sergei Prokofiev, Minturn sets the prolific Russian composer`s work in historical, cultural, and biographical contexts. He examines a variety of Prokofiev`s compositions for piano, orchestra, chamber ensembles, and voice from a sophisticated theoretical point of view and finds throughout these works an enduring central theme of the interplay between tradition and innovation.

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Commande

Selected Letters Of Sergei Prokofiev

Manufacturer: Northeastern University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

History & Criticism | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1555533477

Book Description

One of the most important and influential composers of the twentieth century, Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) was also a prolific and gifted writer. Besides producing diaries, short stories, dramas, reviews, and the libretti for his own operas, Prokofiev conducted lively and frequent correspondence with family friends, classmates, and notable cultural figures in the Soviet Union and abroad.

This engaging volume collects for the first time in English the most representative and enlightening of Prokofiev's letters, including some previously suppressed missives that have never before been published. Expertly translated and annotated by Harlow Robinson, the correspondence presented here covers Prokofiev's earliest years at St. Petersburg Conservatory, his extensive worldwide travels, and his return to Moscow. Among the correspondents are childhood friend Vera Alpers, harpist Eleonora Damskaya, ballet impresario Sergei Diaghilev, theatrical director Vsevolod Meyerhold, Soviet critic Boris Asafiev, composers Vernon Duke and Nikolai Miaskovsky, soprano Nina Koshetz, musicologist Nicolas Slonimsky, violinist Jascha Heifetz, conductor Serge Koussevitsky, and film director Sergei Eisenstein.

Prokofiev vividly describes, often with dramatic flair and a quirky sense of humor, concerts, performances, his compositions, political events, and meetings with other musicians and composers. His observations are peppered with musical gossip as well as eccentric, original, and disarmingly apolitical insights. Like his music, the writing style is laconic, brisk and tart, full of energy.

Taken together, the letters provide a cultural and musical history unequaled in the correspondence of any other modern composer. This indispensable edition will shed new light on Prokofiev's misunderstood life and career, illuminate his creative processes and aesthetic principles, and introduce his exceptional literary talents to those already captivated by his musical genius.

Customer Reviews:

Commande.......2000-02-01

Je veux acheter ce livre. Comment je peux le commander depuis la France

Sergei Prokofiev: A Soviet tragedy : the case of Sergei Prokofiev, his life & work, his critics, and his executioners

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Sergei Prokofiev: A Soviet tragedy : the case of Sergei Prokofiev, his life & work, his critics, and his executioners
Victor Ilyitch Seroff
Manufacturer: Taplinger Pub. Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0800870689

Love for Three Oranges: The Glyndebourne Version

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Love for Three Oranges: The Glyndebourne Version
Frank Corsaro , and Maurice Sendak
Manufacturer: Farrar Straus & Giroux (T)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Serge Prokofieff and his orchestral music

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Serge Prokofieff and his orchestral music
Louis Leopold Biancolli
Manufacturer: Philharmonic-symphony society of New York
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Prokofiev--A Biography: From Russia to the West 1891-1935

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Prokofiev--A Biography: From Russia to the West 1891-1935
David Nice
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0300099142

Book Description

Since 1991—the year that marked both the fall of the Soviet Union and the centenary of Sergey Prokofiev's birth—a new assessment of the renowned composer's life and work has become both possible and necessary. In this engrossing book, David Nice draws on a remarkable range of previously unexamined sources to present that reassessment. The book follows Prokofiev's personal and musical progression from his childhood on a Ukrainian country estate to the years he spent traveling in America and Europe as an acclaimed interpreter of his own works. Nice sheds new light on Prokofiev's early years at the St. Petersburg Conservatoire, his departure from Russia in 1918 for what he thought would be a short tour of America, and his marriage and family relationships. He considers the music of Prokofiev's years in the west (long dismissed by Soviet musicologists as decadent work weakened by the composer's absence from the motherland), moving from the lyricism of his St Petersburg years to the fresh simplicity of his early Soviet scores. Nice also examines the complex reasons which led Prokofiev to move his family to the Soviet Union in 1936. A second volume will cover Prokofiev's life from this period to his death in 1953.

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Peter and the Wolf: Piano Solo

Manufacturer: G. Schirmer, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Songbooks | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

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Peter And The Wolf

ASIN: 0793597706

Book Description

One of the most beloved musical tales of all time! This is the composer's own reduction for solo piano, with narrator's text in English, French and Spanish.

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Ehrenreich rocks

The Snarling Citizen
Barbara Ehrenreich
Manufacturer: Farrar Straus Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Essays | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Criticism & Theory | History & Criticism | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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Witches, Midwives, and Nurses: A History of Women Healers (Glass Mountain Pamphlets)

For Her Own Good: Two Centuries of the Experts Advice to Women

Bait and Switch : The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream

ASIN: 0374527679

Customer Reviews:

Ehrenreich rocks.......2000-12-13

I bought this book of essays while I was spending a lonely summer in Paris (I don't travel well), and it helped keep me very amused through a few days of repeated browsing.

Ehrenreich is a brilliant leftist critic of our complacent bourgeois culture. She's also ... funny and sharp. She doesn't mess around with intellecutal posturing but cuts right to the chase with nasty barbed comments on everyday events. She obviously cares a lot about America and Americans, and her essays are an attempt to brink to light the crimes going on all around us.

These essays cover everything from Feminism and infidelity to Paula Jones (remember her) to drug legalization.

I give the book only 4 stars because wonderful writer as she is, the essays tend to be a bit on the short side and a little dated by the passing of time. (Time does that, dates things, you know.)

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The Snarling Citizen: Essays
Barbara Ehrenreich
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Popular Culture | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0060976888

Amazon.com

She's got guts. Barbara Ehrenreich bravely wades into the river of pop culture, eagerly swims through it, and comes out the other side able to explain it all in clear and clever prose. With the ever-surprising gifts of a true satirist, she takes on everything from gender wars to shooting wars to the obsession with O.J. And she even explains how Beavis and Butthead have brought us "a great gift to humankind" by introducing "prewatched television." The many smiles produced by Ehrenreich's observations can only be matched by the thoughts they provoke.

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Snarling Citizen Essays
Barbara Ehrenreich
Manufacturer: Farrar Straus & Giroux (T)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OWP39W

Product Description

How do political conflicts shape popular culture? This book explores that question by analyzing how the Planet of the Apes films functioned both as entertaining adventures and as apocalyptic political commentary. Informative and thought provoking, the book demonstrates how this enormously popular series of secular myths used images of racial and ecological crisis to respond to events like the Cold War, the race riots of the 1960s, the Civil Rights movement, the Black Power movement, and the Vietnam War. The work utilizes interviews with key filmmakers and close readings of the five Apes television shows to trace the development of the series theme of racial conflict in the context of the shifting ideologies of race during the sixties and seventies. The book also observes that today, amid growing concerns over race relations, the resurgent popularity of Apes and Twentieth CenturyFoxs upcoming film may again make Planet of the Apes a! pop culture phenomenon that asks who we are and where we are going.

Customer Reviews:

Engrossing, intelligent, and eminently readable.......2004-12-31

Greene also does the text commentary on the 35th anniversary DVD of the original PLANET OF THE APES movie, and you can see why he was chosen. His deep insights into that film, and the ones that follow, are an absolute joy to read. If only the producers of the dismal remake of PLANET OF THE APES had read Green's book, they'd perhaps have understood how deeply symbolic and profound the original was. Although this is a scholarly work, it is also just a whole heck of a lot of fun. Five stars.

Lighten up!.......2001-06-26

After reading this book and contemplating just how seriously Mr. Greene takes the Planet of the Apes movies, I can only say one thing: his premise would make for a great magazine article. :-)

Great reading! Academic and and informed........1998-09-11

Eric's book is a marvel of academic analysis. The way in which he relates the Apes series, in all its incarnations, to the political and racial strife of the day is nothing short of amazing. I highly recommend this book.

Insightful, readable, enjoyable--the ultimate Apes book........1998-05-20

From beginning to end this is the study of the Planet of the Apes series that everyone of the series' fans have dreamed of and that academics who never took the series seriously will learn from and hopefully teach.In addition to being an enjoyable read, Greene has a politically-minded scholar's insight that helps lift the series from trivia into concrete seriousness. I think it is a model for future works of film scholarship and appreciation.

Book Description

The CCNA Exam Prep 2 (Exam 640-801) is an in-depth training guide for the Cisco Certified Network Associate certification. This book not only incorporates the latest changes to the exam since its release in 2003, it also covers all the exam objectives and gives the you a thorough understanding of each testable concept in addition to real-world practicality for configuring a wide range of Cisco devices. Sub-netting concepts are emphasized because this has historically been one of the most difficult roadblocks for self-studying CCNA candidates.

The book begins with an objectives quick reference and includes chapter summaries with a list of key terms, exercises, review questions, and an exam on chapter content with detailed answers. It then goes on to include notes, tips, cautions, and exam alerts to help you focus on important issues. Prepare for this exam with the CCNA Exam Prep 2, the complete certification solution for the CCNA exam!

The CD includes an innovative test engine from MeasureUp that includes detailed explanations of correct and incorrect answers, multiple test modes, random questions and order of answers, and full coverage of the CCNA exam objectives.

0789735199_041007

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic book!.......2007-09-29

The author does a wonderful job of organizing the objectives in this book. I read half the Sybex book before purchasing this one and there is a pretty substantial difference. The Sybex book tends to jump around on tangents somewhat while this author keeps you learning from the ground up, staying true to the topic, and building you up to the end! Buy this book, and some sort of router simulation product like Sybex's routersim (assuming you don't have your own hardware), and get the practice test off selftestsoftware.com. Do all the great labs at the end of every chapter in this book as well. I can almost guarantee you pass, and more importantly actually learn the material for the real world! I did it on the first try with barely knowing IOS at all. Good luck!

Clear and Concise Coverage.......2007-09-13

After reviewing several CCNA study guides, I chose the Exam Prep CCNA 640-801 book for its clear, concise, yet thorough explanations of CCNA material.

I just learned that the 640-801 exam will be retired in November 2007. As a result, I am looking forward to the Exam Prep CCNA 640-802 book.

If you are new to networking, use this book over Sybex.......2006-06-24

First off don't get me wrong the Sybex book is great. However, if you weren't really familar with networking terms it is hard to just jump in and start reading.

I do have to say that this book is better at helping new people in to the networking world. The author does not jump around with terms. He will explain it to you before he will use it. Some of the other books out there will use terms and not even explain them until 3 chapters later.

GREAT BOOK.......2006-03-02

This book is GREAT/ While some of the lingo is a little hard to understand, and I had to reread some of the passages a few times to undersatnd what they were trying to explain to me, overall I full Recommend this book. I would also suggest gewtting the CCNA dummies book and use them together. With these two books, its very likely you will pass..... maybe not the first time, but this makes it possible.

CCNA 2.0 Prep Kit 640-507 Routing and Switching (Exam Guide)

Average customer rating:

Very good for preparing to exams
Very Good
Must have for potential CCNA candidates ........

CCNA 2.0 Prep Kit 640-507 Routing and Switching (Exam Guide)
Heather Osterloh , and Heather Osterioh
Manufacturer: Que
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Certification Central | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Software | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0789722887

Book Description

The CCNA Exam Guide prepares you to pass the CCNA exam. It covers all necessary objectives for the exam. The tutorial text is strictly exam-related and flows with minimal interruption. Key concepts are the only "notes" set apart from the text by special formatting. This series is designed to be used either with or without outside instruction. To help you fully understand the topic, visual cues are used liberally throughout the book: Diagrams put concepts into a visual form that aids in retaining and comprehending, and figures confirm your understanding of procedures. This book also provides additional information, such as addresses for on-line help and supplemental sample tests, testing locations, test-taking tips and strategies, and emotional preparation.

Customer Reviews:

Very good for preparing to exams.......2002-03-04

Hello,
I have bought,read this book and got my CCNA with score 903.
The language that information is provided is quite good.
The tests on CD are very good too.
I got CCNA at age 14, so you can get it too.
Thanks

Very Good.......2000-11-10

This book has done a great job of outlining the principles of the CCNA certification. I have taken several classes from Heather Osterloh and have been successful with each certification(i.e., MCSE and now CCNA). I would recommend this book to anyone interested in obtaining not only their CCNA certification but also a good foundation of networking principles.

Jimmy Phoenix AZ

Must have for potential CCNA candidates ...............2000-09-13

This is a really compact but yet comprehensive CCNA books that I have ever come across. Engineer planning to take the CCNA test should own this book.

Basically, this book has everything you want to get you started in the networking world, moren importantly prepare you sufficiently for the vital CCNA exam. I particularly like the "compressed notes" for overnite review just days before the exam. The book was designed to provide you the basic understanding of networking. It reinforced what you have gone through in each chapter with some sample test exercise. This would provide the reader on the potential question in CCNA.

With this book, you are basically killing 2 birds with one stone. It not only assist you in understanding the complex networking with its simplified explaination and clear diagram; it also prepares you for the exam.

I have just gone through a few chapter, feeling very fulfilling after going through the evaluation question at the end of the chapter. It gives you the indication on how well is your grasps in the particular chapter ........

It's not a perfect book after all. This book is not meant to provide an in-depth view on Switching & Routing concept. To make up this, you might want to get Interconnecting Cisco Network Devices.

I am very new in the networking world and I feel that this book is able to get me started and rolling. Thanks.

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CCNA Exam Prep 2 (Exam 640-801)
David Minutella
Manufacturer: QUE (PRHA)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000K190AK

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