Prokofiev's Tales of old grandmother, Op. 31: a performance and pedagogical guide

• Main Author: Liu, Wenjing
• Other Authors: Nosikova, Ksenia
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: University of Iowa 2016
• Subjects: publicabstract; Piano Composition; Piano Pedagogy; Sergei Prokofiev; Tales of Old Grandmother; Music
• Online Access: https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/3132; https://ir.uiowa.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6476&context=etd

Tales of Old Grandmother, Op. 31 by Prokofiev is based on a fairy tale theme. It can be considered as both a most valuable pedagogical piece for young students and as a piece for the concert repertoire. However, this piece was under-appreciated by most piano performers and piano pedagogues for many years, even though it was praised by several well-known composers and was often played by other pianists and Prokofiev himself. The main aim of this study is to promote the Tales so that they will be performed and taught more often. All of the complex harmonic language, unique unforgettable lyricism and Prokofiev's typical compositional elements are presented in this score, allowing it to serve as a great concert repertoire choice. At the same time, the simple format setting, less demanding technique and the fairy tale theme can easily catch and hold a children's interest. Therefore, Tales of Old Grandmother contains both performance value and pedagogical value. This premise is achieved through a discussion of Prokofiev's unfailing interest in fairy tales and comparisons between Tales of Old Grandmother with Prokofiev's advanced piano works and with his Music for Children, Op. 65. Lastly, a performance guide is given suggesting different performance interpretations, various practice strategies and several efficient teaching methods regarding the Tales of Old Grandmother, Op. 31.