Prokofiev       Don't we live in an amazing time when all these incredible composers can be photographed and recorded?  Prokofiev is a 20th Century Russian composer who is most famous for his piano music.  As you can see in the picture, his hands were enormous, making much of his music terribly difficult to play (but a lot of fun).  His most famous Piano Sonata is his 7th.  This is a post-WWII sonata that musically expresses the full scope of war.  The best performers for this are either the recently deceased Sviatoslav Richter, or Glenn Gould.  Also notable is the Pollini recording, but I find it lacks in some areas. It's just not harsh enough.  To hear a Real Audio excerpt of me playing the finale of this sonata, Click Here.
    The 5 Prokofiev Piano Concertos are another testament to the possibilities of the modern piano.  The Van Cliburn Recording of the 3rd Concerto is amazing, and several pianists have recorded the full cycle.  Ashkenazy is a good bet if you want the whole lot of them.  Prokofiev himself also recorded the 3rd concerto, filling out the disc with his solo piano work "Visions Fugitives".  This disc is on the Pearl label, and is well worth the money.  Prokofiev was an astounding pianist.
 
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