Prokofiev And Shostakovich And The Fundamental Differences Between Them

[Mirror Image]

Would love to read what you guys think the differences in these composers are. If it helps you, then please establish what their similarities are as well. Have fun!

[vandermolen]

I think that Prokofiev was the more natural melodist but that Shostakovich's music shows more depth. An exception is Prokofiev's 6th Symphony which ranks, as far as I'm concerned, with the greatest symphonies to emerge from World War Two, along with Shostakovich's 8th Symphony, Honegger's 'Liturgique' and VW's post-war 6th Symphony.
I think that Prokofiev was rather difficult and acerbic as an individual - Shostakovich was more nervous and modest. 

[BasilValentine]

This is an article or book length topic, but here are a few observations:

Shostakovich's music is austere, Prokofiev's is lush, a statement which sounds vague but in fact is underpinned by several critical aspects of their styles:

Form: Shostakovich was intensely interested in forms constrained by traditional elements of craft, the preludes and fugues for piano, obviously, but especially variation forms, passacaglias in particular. Prokofiev was not. For him (paraphrasing) sonata form contained all that was necessary to his structural purposes. Prokofiev sometimes took a casual or playful approach to his works in the major instrumental genres, composing some of his symphonies and sonatas as pastiches of material from stage works and old notebooks. Shostakovich had a more organic and consistently serious approach. Shostakovich's overall structures tend to vary widely around traditional models, Prokofiev's more often have the traditional number and order of movement types. Shostakovich's formal thinking was experimental and organic, Prokofiev's more traditional. 

Harmony: Prokofiev tended to think harmonically in a more fundamental and pervasive way than Shostakovich. The beauty and strangeness of Prokofiev's melodies often depends on how his harmonic structures warp the musical space through which they pass, incorporating distant modulations. Shostakovich is predominantly a contrapuntal composer less inclined to use harmonic progression as a motive force. Often his harmonic accompaniments perform a rhythmic function or consist in filling out a contrapuntal line with doublings at various intervals or pedal points. More linearly derived. These traits perhaps accounts for the obvious difference in their piano writing. Prokofiev more often uses lush textures in which harmonies are cast over multiple octaves in traditional figuration; Shostakovich tends to be quite linear and percussive. These features probably account for the greater success of Prokofiev's piano works. Shostakovich's linear, contrapuntal and modal writing, however, is more suited to chamber music, at which he excelled.

Thematic processes: Shostakovich's themes tend to more readily break down into distinctive motives and are more conducive to traditional development (like Beethoven or Brahms), whereas Prokofiev was more often lyrical, like a modernist Tchaikovsky(?) Prokofiev's thematic integration at the cyclic level tends to be perfunctory and less organic than Shostakovich's. He tended to rely on a rounding technique tying together first and last movements with a reprise of an opening theme late in the finale, whereas Shostakovich more often tied in his inner movements. There are notable exceptions in Prokofiev like the 8th Sonata and 6th Symphony.

Anyway, melody has been mentioned above a number of times. My observations have been focused primarily on instrumental music. Others can comment on ballet and opera.

[snyprrr]

ah, it's gonna b a long nite!

Why not compare their Ballet Suites?