Starting in January 2021, a new series kicks off, alternating with the programme ‘Aurora Borealis’. The self explanatory title: ‘Self-willed Prokofiev’. Luc Nijs will present a long-term docudrama about one of the major and individualist composers of the 20th century. Prokofiev does not fit in with Russian tradition, nor with the somewhat tendentious modernism of Stravinsky in his Parisian period. Prokofiev went his own way and suffered commercial and professional consequences. Few people have been crossed in their careers to such an extent as he was, starting already during his student years in Saint Petersburg. Also, his publishers were giving him a hard time, concerned that there would be no market for his compositions. Often enough, they refused to publish Prokofiev’s self-willed works.
In the series, Luc Nijs will look for the sources of Prokofiev’s strong individuality. Which influences determined his music? How did he relate to his fellow students, his fellow composers, and his teachers? And what factors made his works to be appreciated in the end, and the audience eventually embrace him enthusiastically? In search of self-willed Prokofiev: as per January on your favourite music station…
Listen
From 12 January on, biweekly from 5 to 6 pm.
