Flute Sonata in D major op. 94

Even if many violinists consider Prokofiev’s opus 94 as “their” violin sonata: this enchanting work was written for flute! Prokofiev composed it in 1942–43, only subsequently did he make a version for violin (HN 1624), which was premiered in 1944. The great success of this arrangement was probably the reason why the original flute sonata was not published during Prokofiev’s lifetime. Even later, a separate flute part was published merely as a supplement to the violin version. Since then, the flute sonata has only been known in this “mixed form”– which is very problematic in that the piano accompaniment of the two versions differ substantially.

Henle’s source-critical Urtext edition of the flute sonata is based on the autograph preserved in Moscow as well as on the copyist’s manuscript of the flute part of the premiere. It offers for the first time the unadulterated musical text for flute and piano, without later amendments from the violin arrangement. In the preface, Prokofiev specialist Simon Morrison clearly explains the intricate genesis of the sonata.