* * *
The brilliant and bizarre “March” from this opera has become one of the best known and most widely exploited symphonic themes of our time. It comes as an exhilarating orchestral interlude in the first act at the point where the straight-faced Prince and his Jester wander off in the direction of the festival music. The “March” is built around a swaying theme of irresistible appeal that mounts in power as it is repeated and comes to a sudden and forceful halt, as if at the crack of a whip.
Footnotes
[1]I quote from Nestyev’s biography, translated by Rose Prokofieva and published in this country by Alfred A. Knopf (1946).
Special Booklets published for
RADIO MEMBERS
of
THE PHILHARMONIC-SYMPHONY SOCIETY
OF NEW YORK
POCKET-MANUAL of Musical Terms, Edited by Dr. Th. Baker (G. Schirmer’s) BEETHOVEN and his Nine Symphonies by Pitts Sanborn BRAHMS and some of his Works by Pitts Sanborn MOZART and some Masterpieces by Herbert F. Peyser WAGNER and his Music-Dramas by Robert Bagar TSCHAIKOWSKY and his Orchestral Music by Louis Biancolli JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH and a few of his major works by Herbert F. Peyser SCHUBERT and his work by Herbert F. Peyser *MENDELSSOHN and certain MASTERWORKS by Herbert F. Peyser ROBERT SCHUMANN—Tone-Poet, Prophet and Critic by Herbert F. Peyser *HECTOR BERLIOZ—A Romantic Tragedy by Herbert F. Peyser *JOSEPH HAYDN—Servant and Master by Herbert F. Peyser GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL by Herbert F. Peyser RICHARD STRAUSS by Herbert F. Peyser
These booklets are available to Radio Members at 25c each while the supply lasts except those indicated by asterisk.
Transcriber’s Notes
- A few palpable typos were silently corrected.
- Retained transliteration of foreign names, including “Prokofieff” rather than the currently-more-common “Prokofiev”
- Copyright notice is from the printed exemplar. (U.S. copyright was not renewed: this ebook is in the public domain.)