Includes bibliographical references (p. [357] - 359), discography and index.

Pt. 1. Russia: childhood and youth, 1891-1918 -- Prologue: Speak, memory -- 1. Of giants and battleships, 1891-1904: Youth and early works -- 2. Prokosha in St. Petersburg, 1904-6: First steps at the St. Petersburg Conservatory -- 3. A friend for life, 1906-9: Myaskovsky; other composers and influences; debut recitals -- 4. Classical, symbolical, 1909-13: Classicism and modernism; Maddalena; Second Sonata -- 5. Sun worship, 1913-15: Stravinsky and other currents; Second Piano Concerto; Ballets Russes; Diaghilev and first ballets -- 6. A game of chance, 1915-18: The Gambler; Revolution and departure -- Pt. 2. America, France and Germany, 1918-35 -- 7. In quest of three oranges, 1918-19: Journey to America; first concerts in New York; The Love for Three Oranges -- 8. Devil's work, 1919-22: Chout in Paris; European residences and tours; Stravinsky and Diaghilev; French summers; Third Piano Concerto.

9. Passion play, 1922-3: Bavaria; marriage; re-established Soviet links -- 10. Three steps of steel, 1923-5: Paris triumphs; extreme modernism; a constructivist ballet -- 11. From America to Bolshevizia, 1925-7: Success in the USA: first tour of the USSR -- 12. Stage and symphony, 1927-9: The Fiery Angel and the Prodigal Son; Third and Fourth Symphonies -- 13. Outlines of a real face, 1929-32: 'New simplicity'; European concert tours; uneasy relations with the USSR -- 14. Sound and vision, 1932-4: Recordings in London and Paris; Lieutenant Kije in Leningrad; renewed ties with Soviet artistic life -- 15. The path to happiness, 1934-5: The Soviet scene; Romeo and Juliet; summer in the country; the eve of a decision.

"Since 1991 - the year that marked both the fall of the Soviet Union and the centenary of Sergey Prokofiev's birth - a new assessment of the life and work of this remarkable and often elusive composer has become both possible and necessary. For this definitive study David Nice has drawn on an unprecedented range of new archival material, manuscripts of works previously unexamined and interviews." "The book follows Prokofiev's personal and musical journey from his childhood on a Ukrainian country estate to the years he spent travelling in America and Europe as an acclaimed interpreter of his own works. Nice sheds new light on the striking compositions of Prokofiev's early years, his training at the St. Petersburg Conservatory and the circumstances of his departure from Russia in 1918 for what the composer thought would be a short tour of America. Through letters and documents, a thorough picture is also presented of his marriage and family relationships." "Nice re-evaluates the music of Prokofiev's years in the west and traces his unique approach to new melodic thinking from the early works through the more complicated music of the early 1930s and on to the fresh simplicity of his early Soviet scores. He also examines the complex reasons that led Prokofiev to move his family to the Soviet Union in 1936."--BOOK JACKET.