Four Pieces for Piano, Op. 4 (Prokofiev)

Prokofiev's Op. 4 was one of the compositions that were born out of his frustration with his teacher Anatoly Lyadov from the St. Petersburg Conservatory. During his involvement with the “Evenings of Contemporary Music”, a series of concerts about contemporary music hosted by Alfred Nourok and Walter Nouvel, beginning in 1908, Prokofiev presented several of his newest piano works, including the pieces that would become Op. 4, composed in 1908 but later revised for publication between 1910 and 1912. These performances, given alongside other early sets such as Op. 2 and Op. 3, which are also entitled Four Pieces for Piano, played an important role in establishing his reputation as a bold young modernist.^[1] Prokofiev cited the Suggestion diabolique retrospectively as a notable part of his search to find "a language in which to express strong emotions".^[1]

The premiere took place on December 18, 1908, at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, with the composer at the piano. It was published in Moscow after it was revised, in 1913, by P. Jurgenson,^[2] and has been republished by many other publishers, such as Muzgiz, Anton J. Benjamin, and Dover Publications.

The set consists of four short pieces for solo piano. It has an approximate total duration of 7-8 minutes. The list of movements is as follows:

The fourth movement is arguably this set's most famous piece, and one of Prokofiev's best-known works for piano.