Prokofiev vs. Shostakovich

[madaboutmahler]

Too hard to decide, what a difficult question! Ended up voting for "cannot decide".

For symphonies  it would have to be Shostakovich, and maybe for concertos as well. But for pretty much everything else it would be Prokofiev. Prokofiev's R+J is one of my favourite pieces ever written.


Good question, not quite sure what you mean by "would rather be dancing along to Elgar" though?
Daniel

[Josquin des Prez]

Shostakovitch for me. Prokofiev is the perfect craftsman. He was great in every sense of the word, but Shostakovitch just has that little something that marks the genius. IMHO at any rate.

[DavidW]

Shostakovich because I feel more emotionally connected to his music.

[not edward]

Shostakovich because I feel more emotionally connected to his music.

This statement would do for me if you replaced Shostakovich with Prokofiev. Vive la difference!

[mszczuj]

Shostakovitch for me. Prokofiev is the perfect craftsman. He was great in every sense of the word, but Shostakovitch just has that little something that marks the genius. IMHO at any rate.

This is moreless what I wanted to write several hours ago when I was voting. But in honour of Prokofiev.

[Lethevich]

I thought Shostakovich would be further ahead in the poll based on how often he is mentioned - or are his fans just louder?

[karlhenning]

I couldn't really vote for one over the other, so I elected Doesn't Want to Answer This Poll

[Amfortas]

I like them both, but turn to Prokofiev far more often than to Shostakovich

Both are uneven, imho, both wrote great works and both wrote some forgettable music.

I don't love anything by Shostakovich the way I love "Alexander Nevsky"...so Prokofiev is the choice for me

[Daverz]

It Doesn't Want to Answer This Poll, no it doesn't, gollum, gollum!

[Renfield]

Good question, not quite sure what you mean by "would rather be dancing along to Elgar" though?
Daniel

It just reveals the age of the original 'run' of this thread. Old inside joke (which I never liked too much, but hey).

It Doesn't Want to Answer This Poll, no it doesn't, gollum, gollum!

Glad to see I voted Shostakovich, at some point in (presumably) 2007 - this remains my preference.

[ibanezmonster]

Mahler and Mussorgsky? (I always think the Mussorgsky influence on Shostakovich is underestimated.)

Mahler and Prokofiev. I haven't listened to Mussorgsky in a long time- I wouldn't doubt his influence, though.

[Ten thumbs]

Shostakovich is great but Prokofiev is magic.

[Brahmsian]

Even with a gun to my head, I would try to dodge the bullet, rather than choose.

In the end though, I would chose Shostakovich.  To be fair, I haven't heard nearly as many Prokofiev pieces as I have of Shostakovich's.

[Lisztianwagner]

Hmmm, it's very hard to choose, I love both Shostakovich and Prokofiev, their music is so beautiful and thrilling!! 
But I think I'll end up voting for Shostakovich 

Ilaria

[DavidRoss]

For me not even close: Proky by ten lengths and going away!

[mahler10th]

For me not even close: Proky by ten lengths and going away!

100% agree.

[DavidRoss]

100% agree.

Twitchin'!

Wry beats cynical like paper beats rock.

[mahler10th]

Twitchin'!
Wry beats cynical like paper beats rock.

100% disagree as I don't know what that means.   

[eyeresist]

Prokofiev 29 (34.1%)
Shostakovich 30 (35.3%)
Can't Decide 14 (16.5%)
Would Rather Be Dancing to Elgar 3 (3.5%)
Doesn't Want to Answer This Poll 9 (10.6%)

Ooh, it's close, it's very close!

As it should be

[Mirror Image]

Ooh, it's close, it's very close!

As it should be

Yes, it was hard for me to choose, because I love Prokofiev's music so much, but I think Shostakovich has the slight edge just because I'm more attuned to his sound-world. Shostakovich's music, for me, has so many influences and I love the sarcasm and parody in his music. This gives his music a more human quality I think. He just seemed like he wasn't afraid to combine high culture and low culture musics together. This blend is very fascinating and I think he outdoes Mahler in this regard. The thing that fascinates me most though with Shostakovich is trying to find the true meaning behind his music, which is still unclear. With Prokofiev his feelings in the music are pretty clear I think, but with Shostakovich I feel that I'm listening to somebody behind one giant facade.