thenameisgsarci | Sergei Prokofiev - Waltz on Ice, from "Winter Bonfire" Op. 122 (audio + sheet music) @thenameisgsarci | Uploaded 1 year ago | Updated 1 hour ago
Prokofiev was the only major composer of the twentieth century to write a significant amount of memorable children's music. Winter Bonfire, which has attracted some attention over the years, still remains outside the standard repertory, not even approaching the popularity of Peter and the Wolf (1936). It has failed to reach wide audiences partly because it has often been wrongly dismissed as "Soviet" children's music, owing to its Samuil Marshak text about the Young Pioneers, a Soviet youth organization.

Ironically Marshak's text, read between the work's eight movements, is usually dispensed with in concert and recorded performances, leaving only the choral fifth number, "Pioneer Gathering," to link the music to anything Soviet; the sole reminder there is the term "collective farms." The opening section, "Departure," depicts the movement of a train that takes the Pioneers off to the country for fun and adventure. The rhythm of the locomotive is brilliantly portrayed by Prokofiev, and the ranging, long-breathed, joyous main theme given by flute and oboe is unforgettable. The next movement, "Snow Behind the Window," is subdued and lovely, while "Waltz on the Ice" features one of Prokofiev's more attractive lighter waltzes.

The next number, "Bonfire," is suspenseful and dark in its tremolos but soon yields to the fifth movement, the only section featuring the boys' chorus. The music here is simple but deftly atmospheric in summoning images of the boys sitting around the campfire. "Winter Evening" and "March" ensue; the first is a subdued, cutely sentimental movement, and the latter a toy march-like piece of delicate scoring. The final movement, "Return", recalls the locomotive rhythms and the joyous theme of the opening. Prokofiev brilliantly captures the sound of the train's whistles at the end.

(AllMusic)

Please take note that the audio AND sheet music ARE NOT mine. Feel free to change the video quality to a minimum of 480p for the best watching experience.

Original audio: Halle Orchestra (cond. Stephen Bell) (Halle Concerts Society, 2016)
(youtube.com/watch?v=9ymMT7lVosQ)
Original sheet music: imslp.org/wiki/Winter_Bonfire%2C_Op.122_(Prokofiev%2C_Sergey) (Muzgiz, date of publication unknown)