Sergey Prokofiev: Diaries 1915-1923: Behind the Mask

The second volume of Sergey Prokofiev's recently uncovered Diaries covers the years 1915 to 1922. It describes in detail the genesis and the problematic path to performance of major works in his canon, and the life-changing experiences of living in war-torn and revolutionary Russia, and deciding to leave for the mythic America he had long dreamed of visiting. The Diaries chart the author's swings of fortune, the loneliness of the émigré, his encounters with a luminous range of personalities from music, theatre, art and literature, and the search for love and friendship, all cast in the burnished prose of a born master, not just of music, but of words.