Essentials: Prokofiev’s Fifth

Paavo Järvi conducts Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5

image: Eduardus Lee

Paavo Järvi leads Prokofiev’s life-affirming Fifth Symphony, a tribute to ‘the free and happy man’.

The Essentials Series introduces you to the masterpieces every music lover should know.

Concert programme

  • Sergej Prokofjev

    Symphony No. 5

Performers

About this concert

The Essentials Series introduces you to the masterpieces every music lover should know, complete with a lively introduction by the incomparable Thomas Vanderveken. One of those masterpieces is Sergey Prokofiev’s compelling Fifth Symphony, which was premiered towards the end of the Second World War to the sound of artillery outside. The work made a deep impression on Muscovite audiences. 

Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony is truly a key work in the Concertgebouw Orchestra’s repertoire. Eduard van Beinum conducted the Dutch premiere on 3 November 1948 to commemorate the orchestra’s sixtieth anniversary. The popular guest conductor Paavo Järvi, widely praised for his interpretations of Prokofiev’s music, now presents his own vision of this deeply human, life-affirming war symphony – ‘a tribute to the free and happy man, to his greatness’, as the composer himself described the work.

Dates and tickets

About this concert

The Essentials Series introduces you to the masterpieces every music lover should know, complete with a lively introduction by the incomparable Thomas Vanderveken. One of those masterpieces is Sergey Prokofiev’s compelling Fifth Symphony, which was premiered towards the end of the Second World War to the sound of artillery outside. The work made a deep impression on Muscovite audiences. 

Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony is truly a key work in the Concertgebouw Orchestra’s repertoire. Eduard van Beinum conducted the Dutch premiere on 3 November 1948 to commemorate the orchestra’s sixtieth anniversary. The popular guest conductor Paavo Järvi, widely praised for his interpretations of Prokofiev’s music, now presents his own vision of this deeply human, life-affirming war symphony – ‘a tribute to the free and happy man, to his greatness’, as the composer himself described the work.

A preview