Prokofiev: Pastoral Sonatina in C major, Op.59,
No.3
The Pastoral Sonatina in C major is the third of a set of
three short piano pieces written in 1934, Promenade and Landscape being the other two.
Unlike Prokofiev's sonatinas Op.54, this one is in one simple movement. It is an elaborate
sonata form which uses two simple tunes as its basis. Despite complicated thematic
developments which transform both themes into birdsong, the movement ends as simply and
unequivocally as it begins.
© Alex Waugh