Brussels, Belgium and Sergei Prokofiev (1922-1936)

Brussels, Belgium and Sergei Prokofiev (1922-1936)

In the end of 1920s and the 1930s Brussels became an important centre of musical modernism. For example, the first performances of Strawinsky’s Psalm Symphony (1930), Prokofiev’s Le joueur (1929) and Alban Bergs Wozzeck (1932) both in a French translation, serve as testimonies of the city’s high status comparable to other major European centres of modern music. Brussels created a unique platform for French, German and Russian modernism.

Prokofiev came for the first time to perform in Belgium in march 1923 in Brussels (and in Antwerp. Brussels (Concerts Populaires and the Royal Opera La Monnaie), had tradition of performing Russian Romantic music (Borodin, Glazoenov and Rimski-Korsakov) since 1890. From 1923 on the music of Prokofiev was performed regularly in Brussels. The most prestigious performance for Prokofiev and the Royal Opera La Monnaie, was the première of Le Joueur in a French translation of Henri Spaak the 29th of April 1929. Its preparation is well documented in letters between Prokofiev and Spaak. The last time he performed in Brussels, was the 2nd of December 1936 in the Belgian Radio Institute, just before returning to Russia.

This paper aims to investigate (1) which musical circles advocated the music of Sergei Prokofiev between 1922 and 1936 in Belgium (2) which music was played (3) the significance of Belgium for Prokofiev and (4) the significance and meaning of Prokofievs music for Belgian musical life. The research is based on a quantitative and qualitative analysis of historical data ((un)published letters of Prokofiev to Belgian concert organizers like Getteman, Henry Le Boeuf, Paul Collaer, Corneil de Thoran, Spaak etc. kept in archives in Brussels, Antwerp and London; concerts, opera and radio programs, concert reviews, policy documents) collected and centralized in a relational databank.