Sergei Prokofiev - Dumka in A minor (audio + sheet music)

This short piano work, unpublished in Prokofiev's lifetime and surfacing only in the later twentieth century in a Moscow archive, was left in manuscript form and bears no date. Analysis of the both its style and the composer's handwriting suggest that it was composed after his early student years, but most likely before the more advanced piano works of the early 1930s. The word "horns" on the page in one passage of the score suggests that the composer intended to orchestrate it. A Dumka is a pensive sort of narrative folksong; Prokoviev takes this pensive quality and adds elements of melancholy and darker emotion to the mix. The main theme is lonely, its melodic trajectory mostly downward, and its flavor quite Russian. It is vaguely reminiscent of Chopin at his gloomiest, and its Adagio marking gives the piece an almost funereal gait. The middle section features a more intense and muscular variant of the melody, thereby imparting a restive and even angry mood. (AllMusic) Please take note that the audio AND sheet music ARE NOT mine. Feel free to change the video quality to a minimum of 480p for the best watching experience. Performance by: Oleg Marshev (Danacord, 1999) Original audio:    • Prokofiev - Dumka - Oleg Marshev   Original sheet music: waltercosand.com