Question by fierydog: Prokofiev Piano Sonata #7 Where do the nicknames ‘Stalingrad’ and ‘war sonatas’ come from?
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Answer by Nick
I believe that the Sonatas 6, 7, and 8 were written during WWII, or at least in the begining of the war. So that explains where the term “war sonatas” comes from.
I know for sure that the Sonata No. 6 was written in anger after his close friend was murdered under Stalin, and he was “invited” to write an over-the-top celebratory cantata called Zdravista for Stalin’s 60th birthday.
I don’t know why the Sonata 7 is called Stalingrad, but the ironic thing about it is that, even though it was written in vein of Stalin, it won a second class Stalin Prize.
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del_icious_manager says
You have an answer about the moniker ‘War Sonatas’. It is not absolutely clear about the nickname ‘Stalingrad’ (and it is not a universal nickname by all means), but the period of the composition of the sonata coincides with the Battle of Stalingrad in the winter of 1942-43.