PSO to Preview World Premiere of Banned 1936 Prokofiev Project

Some musical works tell great stories; others have great stories behind them.

The Princeton Symphony Orchestra's concert, "Simply Russian," on Sunday, Feb. 5 at 4 pm in Richardson Auditorium, includes examples from both, with works by 19th and 20th century Russian composers Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich.  

The concert, led by PSO music director and conductor Rossen Milanov, will feature Prokofiev' Suite from Eugene Onegin, Tchaikovsky's Variations on a Rococo Theme and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 in D Minor. 

A pre-concert talk will begin at 3 p.m. 

Headlining the concert is “classical rock star” Joshua Roman, a 27-year-old cellist and 2011 TED fellow who will perform Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme. The piece was written as a tribute to the simple elegance of classical style, and in particular, the music of Mozart. The variations, which are the closest Tchaikovsky came to writing a cello concerto, were composed in 1876 during an uncharacteristically tranquil time in his life and represent some of his melodic writing.

Shostakovich wrote his Symphony No. 5 under the threat of being branded an “enemy of the people” by the Communist government. After several of his works were denounced by Stalin as decadent and degenerate, he embraced a classical style when composing the Fifth Symphony in an attempt to regain the dictator’s approval. The symphony’s classicism, combined with subtle messaging understood by the repressed Soviet people, earned Shostakovich both political and public favor.

The concert will open with the Suite from Eugene Onegin by Prokofiev. The suite of incidental music composed for a never-performed dramatic staging of Alexander Pushkin’s novel-in-verse Eugene Onegin, which was commissioned in 1936 by Soviet authorities to honor the centennial of Russia’s favorite poet and literary hero. The commission, involving a play script, choreography and music, was ultimately banned from performance by government officials, who increasingly censored artistic expression during the Stalinist regime. The script, along with directions for costumes, dance and staging, disappeared into Russian archives. Prokofiev’s incidental music found a place in the classical repertoire, though it was performed on its own and stripped from its theatrical origins.

For tickets, call (609) 497-0020 or visit www.princetonsymphony.org. Tickets may also be purchased at the Richardson Auditorium box office and at www.princeton.edu/utickets. Prices range from $25-$68; student tickets are $25 with valid ID.