Composed 1941; 23 minutes

During the Second World War, as German forces advanced toward Moscow following the collapse of the Hitler–Stalin non-aggression pact, the Soviet government evacuated many artists and intellectuals to distant republics. In August 1941, Prokofiev, along with fellow composers Miaskovsky, Shaporin, Kabalevsky, and other artists and academics, traveled on a special four-car train to Nalchik, the provincial capital of the autonomous republic of Kabardino-Balkaria. Since the traditional music of the Kabardians and Balkars was little known, local Soviet officials encouraged Prokofiev and his colleagues to familiarize themselves with it and with the folk instruments of the region. The idea that art music should spring directly from folk-music—the music of the people—was, of course, deeply embedded in Soviet thinking and policy-making. The result could easily have ended up as yet another film score, like the music to the movie Partisans in the Ukrainian Steppes which Prokofiev fashioned out of music composed during the four months he was evacuated to Nalchik. But Prokofiev heard folk music he described as “very fresh and original.” Although his main preoccupation was the monumental opera 
War and Peace, he found time to turn this discovery into one of his finest and most approachable chamber works.

Prokofiev set out to preserve the integrity of the traditional material in his Second String Quartet, resisting any urge to smooth its rough edges. He aimed for what he called “a combination of virtually untouched folk-material and the most classic of classical forms, the string quartet.” The opening movement is striding and purposeful, weaving two Kabardian themes into a clear sonata-form design. Though not a string player, Prokofiev writes idiomatically, especially in the slow movement, which grows from an expressive, exotic love song first heard high on the cello. Love songs are at the heart of this gentle music, written as war raged, and immediately before Prokofiev and his group were evacuated once more, this time to the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. The violin melody in the central section is a shepherd’s tune. The finale transforms plucked, strummed, and percussive folk ideas, opening with a vigorous Kabardian dance tune. An impassioned, improvisatory cello solo passes through the ensemble, and by reversing the order of the returning themes, Prokofiev closes the quartet with the exuberant main dance.

— Haydn and Prokofiev program notes copyright © 2026 Keith Horner.
Comments welcomed: khornernotes@gmail.com