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Symphony-Concerto (Prokofiev)

Sergei Prokofiev's Symphony-Concerto in E minor, Op. 125 (sometimes referred to as Sinfonia Concertante) is a large-scale work for cello and orchestra. Prokofiev dedicated it to Mstislav Rostropovich, who premiered it on February 18, 1952 with Sviatoslav Richter conducting (the only instance of Richter conducting). After this first performance (under the title 'Cello Concerto No. 2'), it was revised and given its current title. It is itself a revised version of his earlier Cello Concerto, Op. 58, written in 1933– 8.

The work was written and revised mostly in 1950 and 1951, a period when Prokofiev was in declining health and official disfavor for formalism. One of his final completed works, it is about 40 minutes long in three movements:

  1. Andante (11 minutes)
  2. Allegro (18 minutes)
  3. Andante con moto – Allegretto – Allegro marcato (11 minutes)

For a long time, the Symphony-Concerto was considered unplayable. Even though many cellists today are now able to play it, it still remains a formidable challenge for any musician.

This work inspired Dmitri Shostakovich to write his Cello Concerto No. 1, also dedicated to Rostropovich.