Prokofiev’s Sonata for Flute and Piano is one of the composer’s most lyrical wartime scores. Auerbach’s arrangement expands the sonata into a piano-trio medium, allowing the melodic line to pass into the oboe or violin while the violoncello creates a second singing register between the solo line and the piano.

In the oboe version, Prokofiev’s long-breathed melodic writing gains a reed color: more vocal, more vulnerable, and more sharply profiled. The piano remains the engine and harmonic frame, while the violoncello deepens the sonata’s cantabile and dramatic counterweight.

• Source Prokofiev’s Sonata for Flute and Piano.
• Arrangement Lera Auerbach, 2015.
• Forces Oboe, violoncello and piano.

The official publisher title is Sonata for Flute and Piano. Arrangement by Lera Auerbach for violin or oboe, cello and piano. This page presents the oboe, cello and piano version, commissioned by Gil and Elisabeth Waters and premiered at Verbier Festival.

The world premiere of the oboe, cello and piano version took place on 23 July 2015 at Verbier Festival, performed by François Leleux, Edgar Moreau and Lera Auerbach.

Public links related to Prokofiev–Auerbach: Trio for Oboe, Violoncello and Piano. The listening link opens an educational Vimeo playback pop-up for this performance.