"The play is close in style to Tarantella. It is written in the character of a quick sketch. One can imagine the children enthusiastically catching up with each other, the atmosphere of a merry, moving children's game".

(V. Delson, “Prokofiev's Piano Works and Pianism”)

"A piece in which the composer tries - and very successfully - to vividly describe the enormous impression that any bright phenomenon of nature makes on children. There are naturally sounding bold sonic «blots» (a chord-stain of two side-by-side seconds), and, precisely falling drops, slow rehearsals on one note, and simply a «Theme of Amazement» before the occurrence (a gentle and beautiful melody descending from the heights)."

(V. Delson, “Prokofiev's Piano Works and Pianism”)

"This is a fast and cheerful piece about joyfully chirping grasshoppers, always arousing the interest of the children with their astonishing leaps. The fantasy of the image here does not go beyond the usual children's fictions and in this respect differs markedly from, say, the mysterious fantasy of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker. In essence, it is an amusing children's gallop, in the middle section of which one even hears intonations of pioneer songs."

(V. Delson, “Prokofiev's Piano Works and Pianism”)

"The fragile, tender, improvisationally direct A major ‘Waltz’ speaks of the links between children's images and the world of fragile, pure and charming female images of Prokofiev's theater music. These two lines of his work, or rather two lines of his artistic ideals, cross and cross-fertilize. There is a childlike directness in his maiden images. In his children's images there is feminine softness, charming love of the world and life. They both strike with spring freshness and are embodied by the composer with extraordinary excitement and inspiration. It is in these two spheres that the dominance of the lyrical beginning in his work is most clearly expressed. A line can be drawn from the naively charming children's Waltz Op. 65 to the fragile Natasha's Waltz from the opera War and Peace - the pinnacle of lyrical waltzing in Prokofiev's music. This line runs through the Es-dur episode of the “Great Waltz” from Cinderella, even intonationally reminiscent of a child's waltz. It also runs through Pushkin's Waltzes, Op. 120 and Waltz on Ice from The Winter Bonfire, and through The Tale of the Stone Flower, where the theme of the Waltz, Op. 65 is exactly embodied in the scene (No. 19) depicting the possessions of the Mistress of Copper Mountain. Finally - but indirectly - it continues in the waltz-like third movement of the Sixth Piano Sonata and in the waltz from the Seventh Symphony. Prokofiev here develops a deep lyrical and psychological line of Russian waltzing, which differs, for example, from Strauss's waltz, which is more brilliant but also narrower and more external in its somewhat one-sided joyfulness.

Despite the childlike features, Prokofiev's creative handwriting can be felt very clearly in this waltz. The traditional structure of the graceful, tender waltz has been updated, the intonational and harmonic deviations are far from stencil (for example, the very unusual ending of the period in the subdominant tonality), and the texture is unusually transparent. This waltz quickly became widespread in pedagogical practice and successfully withstands competition with ‘generally recognized’ works for children."

(V. Delson, “Prokofiev’s Piano Works and Pianism”)

“A true and subtle psychological miniature, previously titled by the composer ”Ashamed has become". How directly and touchingly the sad melody sounds, how sincerely and “in the first person” are conveyed the feelings and reflections that encompass a child at the moments of such psychologically complex experiences! Prokofiev uses here the type of “singing-speaking” (according to L. Mazel's definition, ‘synthetic’) melodies, in which the element of recitative expressiveness is not inferior to cantilever expressiveness."

(V. Delson, “Prokofiev’s Piano Works and Pianism”)

"A genre-dancing, virtuoso piece expressing the joyful temperament of a child captured by the musical and dance element. The lively and vivacious rhythm, elastic accents, the colorfulness of semitone tonal juxtapositions, shifts of single-high tonalities - all this is exciting, easy and joyful. And at the same time childishly simple, without the specific Italian sharpness, undoubtedly incomprehensible to Russian children."

(V. Delson, “Prokofiev’s Piano Works and Pianism”)

"A world of uncomplicated children's fiction. There is nothing striking to the imagination, scary, monstrous. This is a soft, kind fairy tale-narrative, in which the story and the dream are closely intertwined. We can believe that here are embodied images not a fairy tale, told to children, and their own ideas about the fantastic, always living in the minds of children's children quite close to what they have seen and experienced. In fact, true fantasy appears only in the middle section at the sostenuto remark, while in the first and final sections a dreamy narrative with a simple melody against a background of invariably repeated rhythmic turns prevails. These rhythmic repetitions seem to ‘cement’ the form of the Tale, restraining its narrative tendencies."

(V. Delson, “Prokofiev’s Piano Works and Pianism”)

"The toddler's labor day has begun. His gait is hurried, though somewhat lurching. Already in the first bars its initial rhythm is conveyed. We have to have time to see everything, not to miss anything, in general, there is a lot to do… The graphic contouring of the melody and the character of continuous movement with the tapping of quarters are intended to create a flavor of childishly naive concentrated «businesslikeness». However, the lightness of the slightly waltzing rhythm immediately brings this «businesslike» into the appropriate framework of childish «diligence»."

(V. Delson, "Prokofiev's Piano Works and Pianism")

"This is like an epigraph to the suite: the morning of life. In the juxtaposition of registers one can feel space, air! The melody is slightly dreamy and crystal clear. The handwriting is characteristically Prokofievian: parallel movements, covering the entire keyboard, playing through the hand, clarity of rhythm and definite sections. Extraordinary simplicity, but not primitive."

(V. Delson, "Prokofiev's Piano Works and Pianism")

The origins of Johann Sebastian Bach's four orchestral suites go back to the court of Louis XIV and his brilliant composer Jean-Baptiste Lully. In keeping with French taste, Lully's operas abounded with instrumental dances. Outside of opera performances, this music took on a life of its own in the form of suites with dance movements.

Typically, the center of attention in an orchestral suite was the opening section, a French overture consisting of two large, repeating parts: the first was majestic, with marked rhythms; the second was lively, fugal, but usually ending with a return to the majestic spirit (and sometimes themes) of the first section. The overture was followed by a loosely organized suite of dances in the same vein.

The third suite is written for three clarino trumpets, timpani and two oboes (the addition of bassoon in the basso continuo part is implied). Such instrumentation suggests joy, and it is certainly present in the suite, but there is also a wide range of other moods. The overture follows a typical form in which the oboes duplicate the violins most of the time. The fugal vite section is particularly effervescent, and at the end it is softened by a return to the stately rhythms of the opening section.

The Air that follows, for strings alone, is perhaps the best known and most sublime movement among Bach's orchestral suites. The long line of the first violin unfolds its cantilena against a striding bass line, while the inner strings provide support and occasional counterpoint commentary.

The rest of the suite is written for full orchestra. A pair of gavottes are performed first, the first joyous and aristocratic, the second in the manner of a stately country dance with a recurring opening motif. In the moving Bourrée, the strings lead the main lines and the other instruments emphasize the characteristic rhythms. In the final Gigue, the high trumpets stand out. Their lines, supported by the entire orchestra, dialog with the strings alone, concluding the suite in an atmosphere of celebration.

The Minuet in D minor, BWV Anh. 132 is a small and popular Baroque piece traditionally attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach, but in the BWV catalog it is listed under “Anhang” (additional or unconfirmed works). This means that the authorship of this minuet is not fully confirmed or is somewhat doubted by researchers.

It is a classical minuet, a short dance genre characteristic of the Baroque period.
The minuet usually consists of two parts, A and B (or two repeating sections), with a characteristic rhythmic structure and melodic simplicity.
In this case, the minuet is written in D minor, which gives it a more melancholy and expressive mood.
It is a simple, memorable melody with a clear rhythm.
The harmonic structure is typical of the Baroque era - using sequences and harmonic progressions typical of Bach's style.

This work is often used for teaching purposes for beginning pianists and Baroque music lovers due to its accessibility and expressiveness.

Although it is not considered one of Bach's major masterpieces, the miniature is appreciated for its beauty, simplicity, and characteristic Baroque aesthetic.

Concerto for Clavier and Orchestra № 5, is also a transcription of the lost violin concerto, now often performed in a reverse arrangement. This work stands out for its combination of dramatic tension, which immediately grips the listener from the first bars, and its minimalist performance style - in length it is one of the shortest in the series.

Consists of three movements:

Allegro
Largo
Presto

The first movement is filled with a stark and powerful main theme, with a characteristic interplay - an “echo” - between soloist and orchestra that is a prime example of Bach's thematicism. The improvisatory manner in which the solo part is performed gives special expressiveness to the climactic moments.

The second movement, Largo in A flat major, is a lyrical “retreat”. To create a special mood, subtle and transparent instrumentation is used here: the graceful, sublime melody, decorated with figurations, is entirely centered on the soloist, accompanied by light chords of strings. This movement was also used by the composer as an introduction to Cantata No 156, where it is performed by the oboe.

The third movement, Presto, returns to more dramatic imagery. The main theme here resembles the ritournelle of the first movement and also contains an “echo” effect. In the finale, dance features are also evident: a fast rhythm in triple time with a movement reminiscent of the old French dance of minuet or paspe.