Sergey Prokofiev: Before and After the Revolution - Essay Example

Through exploring two sets of works, two ballets and two children’s works written one before and one after his return to Russia, the concept of his artistry is explored and the effect of Stalinist Russia discovered as it affected his compositional talent. Sergei Prokofiev began his career as a composer from a young age under the tutelage of his mother in Snotzovka Russia. His adult career included a period of time in the West in which he developed a reputation in both the United States and in Europe through composing works that were complex and sophisticated, but that could also be understood for their joy and expression from the point of view of a child.

However, a great deal of turmoil occurred while Prokofiev was spending time in the West and when he finally returned home permanently to Russia in 1936, political changes had occurred that worked against the artistic community, suppressing their freedoms of expression and making it difficult to navigate the belief systems that were oppressing their work. The early work that Prokofiev created was wild and intense, its expression reflecting the social turbulence of his nation. He left Russia in 1918 after the 1917 Revolution, but unlike other contemporaries who left during that time such as Stravinsky, he did not sever ties with his nation.

In 1927 he began making return visits and establishing himself as a patriot to his country so that he would not lose his national identity. When he finally returned in 1936, he had to contend with a political system that would not allow anything but positive influences through the arts to be presented to the public.