Prokofiev Piano Sonata No. 6 in A Major, Op. 82 (Lugansky)

There are many who assert this is the jewel of the War Sonata trilogy. While the Seventh has been more popular over the years, the Sixth is more epic and dramatic, bigger and deeper in expressive range, and more dynamic and colorful. With the possible exception of the Eighth, it is arguably Prokofiev’s greatest piano sonata. The first of its four movements is marked Allegro moderato and begins with a powerful motif, or motto, built largely around a rhythmic four-note pattern that insistently repeats. Each hand is playing in a different key here — A major and A minor — thus setting the stage for the notion of conflict that dominates the work. An alternate theme (1:24) brings serenity for a time, but in the development section (3:05), it is drawn into the warring atmosphere by the angry opening motto. Here the sense of terror is heightened as powerful dissonances (some chords are played col pugno — with the fist) seem to crush everything in sight. The reprise (6:17) is considerably abridged and fi