In his youth, Prokofiev was a brash, experimental composer, finding himself out of step with newspaper critics – who described his music as "unintelligible" and "ultra-modern" – as well as with many of his teachers at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. Influenced by the work of Alexander Scriabin and (later) Igor Stravinsky, he developed a jarring style through works like the Sarcasms for piano, the Scythian Suite (with material derived from the withdrawn ballet Ala and Lolly), and particularly the Piano Concerto #2. His interest in satire was strong throughout his career, but the warmth associated with later examples of this trend (such as Peter and the Wolf or the music for Lieutenant Kije) was generally lacking in his earlier compositional voice.
As the composer matured, his style became less confrontational. Many of the works written from 1922 to 1936, while Prokofiev lived in Paris, celebrate his irrepressible lyricism and the charm of his free sense of harmony. Toward the end of this period, Prokofiev became increasingly aware of his desire to return to his homeland, in spite of the less favorable artistic climate that had settled in there. Joseph Stalin, having assumed complete power of the state, was also exerting his control over Soviet art. Like Dmitri Shostakovich, the other widely celebrated Soviet composer, Prokofiev learned that aggressive dissonance and stark social commentary – characteristics of his earlier years that were still an important part of his compositional vocabulary – were risky paths to pursue. Stalin coined the arbitrary term "formalism" to apply to compositional practices he did not like or understand, and Soviet composers understood all too well the dire consequences that could result from falling out of favor with the tastes of the "Leader and Teacher." After returning to the Soviet Union, Prokofiev had a more comfortable time than did Shostakovich, but first-rate works from the last fifteen years of his life are few in number.
Prokofiev's most important period as a composer was his final few years in Paris and the beginning of his re-establishment in the Soviet Union. Until permanently leaving France, he was receiving commissions from both French and Soviet sources, and he had settled into a style that struck an appealing compromise between brashness and conservatism. Some of Prokofiev's best known works, including the aforementioned Peter and the Wolf and Lieutenant Kije, as well as the great ballet Romeo and Juliet, date from this period. The French violinist Robert Soetans commissioned the Violin Concerto #2 from Prokofiev, and the premiere was given in Madrid in December 1935.
More approachable than the Violin Concerto #1 (1917), the present work has its share of pyrotechnics for the soloist, but the primary emphasis is on lyricism. Both main themes of the first movement are infectiously singable melodies, and the music-box innocence of the second movement is one of Prokofiev's most charming inspirations. In the finale, which suggests a Slavic peasant dance, the sweeping melodic lines of the earlier movements no longer dominate. Instead, rhythmic energy starts to take control, eventually leading to a thrilling coda, in which the soloist must cope with more than sixty measures of virtually uninterrupted eighth notes. The balance throughout this work between virtuosity and lyricism has helped the concerto secure a lasting place in the repertoire.