Prokofiev's "October Cantata" [with English subtitles]

pf: Mark Elder cond/ BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Geoffrey Mitchell Choir

Speaker: Oleg Mirochnikov

0:00 - Introduction
2:59 - The Philosophers
5:28 - Interlude
7:09 - Marching in Close Ranks
9:33 - Interlude
11:05 - Revolution
21:20 - Victory
27:22 - The Pledge
34:54 - Symphony
40:55 - The Constitution

To mark the 100th anniversary of the 1917 October Uprising (in the old calendar) I decided to upload the legendary Mark Elder recording of Prokofiev's 'other' great cantata, "Cantata for the 20th Anniversary of the October Revolution", as performed at a live concert held in the Royal Festival Hall, London, on 17th February 1996.

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In ten contrasting movements, the cantata relates the story of the Bolshevik Revolution and the birth of the Soviet Union, from the battle for the Winter Palace in 1917, through the suffering of 1918 and Lenin's funeral in 1924, to the building of factories and collective farms in the early thirties, and the final consolidation of Stalin's control over the country with his new constitution of 1936.

Begun by Prokofiev in 1936 on a generous commission from the All-Union Radio Committee and Prokofiev's friend Boris Gusman, it was finished the following summer. Prokofiev expected it to be part of the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the October Revolution of 1917. Due to the political climate towards artists in 1937, Prokofiev decided to assure his safety by withholding the work. The Cantata had to wait until May 1966 for its premiere, 13 years after Prokofiev's death.

SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantata_for_the_20th_Anniversary_of_the_October_Revolution_(Prokofiev)
Arabic subtitles: Mohamed Mohamady

Видео Prokofiev's "October Cantata" [with English subtitles] канала tomekkobialka