Music for Children (Prokofiev)

Music for Children, Op. 65 (, Muzyka dlya detey), is a cycle of twelve character pieces for piano by Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953). Composed in 1935, it is – beside its compositors qualities – considered one of the most popular collections of pedagogical piano music of the 20th century. Background Prokofiev completed Music for Children in 1935, inspired by his former stays in Paris, in the same year as his ballet Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64, and his Six Mass Songs, Op. 66. The work was written during a period when Prokofiev was preparing for his return to the Soviet Union, which he completed in 1936. The twelve pieces were first published in 1935 in Berlin by Éditions Russes de Musique. Prokofiev himself performed the premiere on April 11, 1936, in Moscow. Structure The cycle consists of twelve short character pieces, each depicting a childlike scene or mood: # “Morning (Утро)” # “Promenade (Прогулка)” # “A Little Story (Сказочка)” # “Tarantella (Тарантелла)” # “Regret (Раскаяние)” # “Waltz (Вальс)” # “Parade of the Grasshoppers (Шествие кузнечиков)” # “The Rain and the Rainbow (Дождь и радуга)” # “Playing Tag (Пятнашки)” # “March (Марш)” # “Evening (Вечер)” # “The Moon Strolls in the