Prokofiev's Piano Sonatas: A Guide for the Listener and the Performer.(Book review)

* Prokofiev's Piano Sonatas: A Guide for the Listener and the Performer, by Boris Berman. Yale University Press, 2008. http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/ home.asp; (800) 405-1619; 256 pp.; $35.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Boris Berman's guide to the Prokofiev Piano Sonatas will undoubtedly become an indispensable resource for pianists who are performing and teaching these masterful works. Berman draws upon his intimate connections with the traditions of Russian pianism and his experiences in teaching at the Yale School of Music and in master classes throughout the world. The author was born in Moscow and studied at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory with the distinguished pianist Lev Oborin before emigrating first to Israel and then to the United States. During the 1990s Berman recorded all of the Prokofiev sonatas for the Chandos label, and he makes frequent references to specific musical moments in those recordings in his guide to the sonatas.

Two introductory chapters provide excellent biographical and contextual information, first on the evolution of Prokofiev's musical language and then specifically on how he maintained a dual career as composer and performing pianist. Throughout the book Berman strives diligently to assist pianists in preparing interpretations that are faithful to the composer's intentions and authentic expressions of individual artistry. The adoption of a very practical format makes the author's insights accessible to the varied needs of Berman's readers. Berman devotes a chapter to each of the sonatas, which includes a brief introduction discussing the sonata's relationship to ...