I. Allegro moderato II. Andante assai III. Allegro, ben marcato

“On May 7th 1919 I set off in the belief that in a few month's time, I would again be home” – recalled Prokofiev (1881-1953) in his autobiography. What was planned as a short tour of America turned into a 16 year absence and he only finally returned to his homeland in 1935.

There were signs of crisis in Prokofiev's art around 1933-34. In 1934 he tried to express in writing the problems that preoccupied him then: “What sort of music should we write nowadays? – I've been struggling for an answer for the past two years, and I think I have struck on the key to the matter. Above all, we should write good, high quality music, which in both its spirit and technique, keeps step with the demands of our time ,,, I think that this kind of music can perhaps be called “light-serious” music … Primarily it must be melodic, without become trivial. Technical questions and musical language all rest on the same thing: it must be clear and simple but without clichés.”

Prokofiev sensed that a modern work can perhaps approach people through being melodic. The creation of this new kind of melody preoccupied him in 1935 when he returned to Russia. In 1935 he wrote two works, the ballet Romeo and Juliet and the Violin Concerto No. 2. He wrote his Second Violin Concerto to a commission from the French violinist Robert Seutance, and as the composer was already working on a piece for violin, he leapt at the opportunity. He wanted to give the title to his new composition Concert sonata for violin and orchestra, but for the sake of simplicity, elected to call it Violin Concerto No. 2 instead.

The relationship between Prokofiev's new creative period and classical traditions can be clearly seen and heard in the Second Violin Concerto. Although there was no concrete model for concerto, in its fundamentals, it directly connects to 18th century examples and the music of Haydn. This is reflected in the traditional relationship between the solo instrument and the orchestra, to the forms and the use of movement types (three sections, slow fast slow). Also meeting this requirement is the classical scoring of the opening Allegro movement and the principal theme that emphasises its tonality of G minor. In the slow movement Prokofiev evokes a traditional movement type, the serenade, where the melody unfolds over a characteristically plucked accompaniment. The harmonies almost entirely follow classical examples. Each divergence provides a taste of characteristic Prokofievian flavour, producing a surprising oddness. The finale slightly moves away from the spirit that characterised the first movement, which is also fast: a host of percussion instruments join the classical orchestra, and folkdance like music counterbalances the lyrical atmosphere of the previous movements.