Prokofiev 5th Symphony

[Elizabeth Volpé Bligh]

I have played Prokofiev’s Symphony #5 several times, and have always wondered about whether there was a mistake two bars before reh. 42. The G on the second beat is a blob-like note which could also be possibly an F#, which would sound a lot better and be more like the similar figure in two bars before reh. 41.

[Elizabeth Volpé Bligh]

Excuse me; I meant the G on the fourth sixteenth note of the bar in the right hand.

[Elizabeth Volpé Bligh]

Thank you, Clinton! I would imagine that, if this is indeed a mistake, it would not be noticeable to anyone but the harpist. It flies by very quickly, and the harmonies are so crunchy there that either note would work fine.

[David Ice]

Hi Elizabeth,

Do you ever wonder, sometimes, if these composers are watching us from Heaven (or wherever) and giggling–or are horrified–at the mistakes in the parts?

[Elizabeth Volpé Bligh]

Interestingly, I have found a small number of mistakes in Prokofiev’s 5th Symphony. At reh. 61, the time signature is missing. It should be a 9/8. Three bars before reh. 63, in the bass clef, the eighth notes should be quarter notes. But they are such small mistakes that I am sure they have gone mostly unnoticed.

[Author]

Posts