{"product_id":"2026200010119-secondhand-sergei-prokofiev-a-soviet-tragedy","title":"Sergei Prokofiev: A Soviet Tragedy","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003eCondition: Good to fair. Jacket: good, worn\/faded (refer to image). Page Condition: Good - possible tanning. Markings: possible previous owner inscription.    \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFew artistic lives embody the brutal contradictions of the Soviet era as vividly as that of Sergei Prokofiev — a composer of world-class genius trapped within the iron grip of a totalitarian state. Victor Seroff's biography chronicles the life of one of the twentieth century's most celebrated composers, tracing his meteoric rise to international fame, his fateful return to Stalin's Soviet Union, and the relentless ideological persecution that shadowed his final years. Seroff presents an intimate portrait of a man torn between creative ambition and political survival, illuminating the devastating personal and artistic cost of living under Soviet cultural dictates.\n\nDrawing on deep musical knowledge and a storyteller's instinct for human drama, Seroff illustrates how Prokofiev's genius — responsible for such masterworks as Romeo and Juliet, Peter and the Wolf, and the Fifth Symphony — was systematically undermined by a regime that demanded art serve the state above all else. The narrative argues compellingly that Prokofiev's tragedy was not merely personal but emblematic of the wider suppression of artistic freedom in the USSR. Written with authority and pathos, this biography leaves the reader asking a haunting question: what further heights might Prokofiev have reached in a world that allowed genius to flourish freely?\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49130621567195,"sku":"2026200010119-SECONDHAND","price":15.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/78474703-cd46-4892-b539-8bbe15286b76.png?v=1786587691","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026200010119-secondhand-sergei-prokofiev-a-soviet-tragedy","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}