- Died on the same day as Joseph Stalin.
- One of the greatest and most famous composers of the twentieth century.
- His best-known works include his Symphony No. 1 (the "Classical"), the "Lt. Kije" music, and his classic musical story for children, "Peter and the Wolf".
- Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kije Suite was sampled by Greg Lake on the song "I Believe in Father Christmas", which was released as a single in the UK in 1975 and reached number two on the chart. Music from the same suite was also used by Sting on his 1985 UK number 12 hit "Russians", for which Prokofiev also receives a writing credit.
- Besides his native Russian Prokofiev spoke fluent French, good English, some German and a little Spanish (courtesy of his first wife).
- Visited Hollywood in February and March of 1938, where he met Walt Disney and was a guest at the Academy Awards. Paramount offered Prokofiev a contract to write film scores for $2,000 a week; he was tempted but decided to return to the Soviet Union. He was not permitted to travel abroad again.
- Friendly rival Igor Stravinsky called Prokofiev "the greatest Russian composer of the 20th Century - after me".
- The Donetsk Sergei Prokofiev International Airport in Donetsk, Ukraine was named for the composer, who was born in the region. The airport was destroyed in 2014 during the war in Donbas.
- Considered one of the most influential keyboard virtuosos of his time. Prokofiev helped pioneer modern piano technique by emphasizing the instrument's percussive qualities, in both his playing and his music. More than one critic said he possessed "fingers of steel".
- Prokofiev loved to dance but was rather bad at it. At the cast party for the premiere of his ballet "Romeo and Juliet", the ballerinas discreetly arranged their dance cards so none would have two consecutive turns with the clumsy composer.
- Was a Chess Master. In 1914 Prokofiev defeated future world champion José Raúl Capablanca in an exhibition match in St. Petersburg.
- Since the fall of the USSR there has been debate as to whether Prokofiev was a Russian or Ukrainian composer. He and his family were from Ukraine when it was an uncontested part of the Russian Empire, making him a Russian subject at birth, and he was raised primarily in St. Petersburg from age 13. During his years of international exile he kept his Russian passport and became a Soviet citizen in 1927. Throughout his life Prokofiev identified himself as Russian.
- In June 1932 Prokofiev recorded his Third Piano Concerto at the new Abbey Road Studios (later made world famous by The Beatles) in London. He was accompanied by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Piero Coppola, who was not related to the Hollywood Coppolas.
- Lived in New York City from 1918 to 1920, where he met his first wife, singer Carolina Codina. But he found more success in the city's cultural rival Chicago. Two of Prokofiev's most popular works, the Third Piano Concerto and the satirical opera "Love for Three Oranges", were first performed in Chicago in 1921. Tired of whom he considered "the conceited fools" of NYC's music scene, he chose to pursue his career in Europe.
- Seldom wrote dark or tragic music, mainly during the World War II years. His favorite key was bright, sunny C Major.
- Prokofiev was a stickler for punctuality. He rigorously scheduled his time, and if someone ran late in meeting with him, he would tell them by how much in the precise number of minutes and seconds.
- Settling permanently in the USSR in 1936, Prokofiev learned that his dramatic works had to reflect a certain political ideology. Even his classic musical fairy tale for children, "Peter and the Wolf" (1936), was affected. In the original Soviet version Peter was presented as a member of The Pioneers, a Stalinist youth organization; by implication of his age, grumpy Grandpa represented the old Russia the revolution had done away with.
- Prokofiev was considered a musical "bad boy" in the years before the Russian Revolution. His "Scythian Suite" (1916) caused a riot at its St. Petersburg premiere. One critic said of his early work, "If this is music, then I prefer agriculture".
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