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This symphony is perhaps Prokofiev's greatest symphonic work and certainly his most Russian. The first movement, unlike most symphonies, employs a noble melody, slowly gathering momentum for a startlingly majestic climax. The second movement is quintessentially Prokofiev, replete with satiric rhythms that confront wild melodic jumps and alterations. One never forgets the recurrent woodwind section as the rest of the orchestra whips around and about. The third movement is one of struggle, with heavy contrabass counter-melodies juxtaposing the yearning lyricism of the treble. The fourth and final movement confronts Russian stylistics with brilliant repetitious figurations in the trumpets and the surrealist whirls of the strings and woodwinds.
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