Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953)
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PROKOFIEV, Sergei Sergeyevich (23 April 1891 – 5 March 1953) was a major composer of the 20th century. A graduate of the St Petersburg Conservatory, Prokofiev initially made his name as an iconoclastic composer-pianist, achieving notoriety with a series of ferociously dissonant and virtuosic works. His major works include highly successful ballets for the Ballet Russes as well as his operas. His choral cantata “Alexander Nevsky” (originally a score to Sergei Eisenstein’s classic film of the same name) is considered to be one of the most renowned cantatas of the 20th century.