Symphony No. 5 in B flat major, Op. 100

The symphony unfolds in four movements.

I. Andante opens with a broad, unhurried theme in the flute and bassoon that grows steadily into a massive climax full of clanging brass and percussion, ending the movement on an enormous, unresolved chord.

II. Allegro marcato is a driving scherzo built on a repeating, mechanical-sounding tune passed between woodwinds and strings, interrupted by a smoother, waltz-like middle section before the opening material returns.

III. Adagio is the emotional core, a slow movement that begins with a mournful clarinet melody over quiet strings and builds to an anguished, almost violent climax before subsiding into calm.

IV. Allegro giocoso begins with a hushed, playful reminder of the first movement's opening theme in the cellos, then bursts into a fast, folk-dance-like finale full of running scales and sudden interruptions, driving to an exuberant, percussive close. Listen for the recurring brass fanfares that stitch the movements together, and for the way Prokofiev keeps undercutting triumphant moments with sudden dissonant jabs, a reminder that this "victory" symphony was written in the middle of a war.

Prokofiev composed his Fifth Symphony in the summer of 1944 at a composers' retreat outside Moscow, while the Soviet Union was still fighting the Second World War. He conducted the premiere himself in Moscow on January 13, 1945, reportedly timing the downbeat to coincide with artillery salutes celebrating Red Army advances. The symphony was received as a statement of national resilience and quickly traveled abroad, with Serge Koussevitzky leading an early American performance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra later that year. It remains the most frequently performed of Prokofiev's seven symphonies, valued for its combination of lyrical warmth, biting wit, and large-scale orchestral power.