Violin Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 80
by Sergei Prokofiev
Begun in 1938 but not completed until 1946 and premiered on 23 October 1946 by David Oistrakh and Lev Oborin in Moscow, the First Violin Sonata is the most substantial and philosophically serious of Prokofiev's chamber works. The four-movement structure has a brooding, nocturnal character quite unlike the composer's lighter piano works: the opening Andante assai is a slow, atmospheric movement of stark power; the Allegro brusco is driven by savage mechanical energy; the Andante is one of Prokofiev's most lyrical and deeply felt pages, an elegy of heartbreaking beauty; and the finale alternates brusque energy with moments of poignant nostalgia. David Oistrakh, for whom the sonata was written, considered it Prokofiev's greatest chamber work. The violin writing exploits the full expressive range of the instrument and demands a tone of almost orchestral weight alongside extraordinary technical precision.
Editions
Muzgiz
David Oistrakh, 1947
Original Soviet publication with performance markings approved by Oistrakh; the primary performing text.
Boosey & Hawkes
Editorial staff, 1956
Western performing edition; the standard version used by violinists outside Russia throughout the twentieth century.
Sikorski
Editorial staff, 1990
Study score edition with fingerings and bowings by Grigori Zhislin; valuable pedagogical resource for advanced students.