Sergey Prokofiev: Diaries 1915-1923: Behind the Mask – this second volume sees a momentous epoch in European history, in Prokofiev’s personal life story and in the development of his art. ‘I am sure that in time Prokofiev’s diaries will come to be ranked among the great classic diaries of European literature. Truly impressive.’ Alexander Waugh, Literary Review 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 AAmigrAA, 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.
