Gabriel Prokofiev
Composer and producer Gabriel Prokofiev has been at the forefront of efforts to develop fusions between classical forms and contemporary popular electronic styles, writing concertos for, among other instruments, turntables and orchestra. He has attracted top-notch collaborators from the classical, popular, and jazz worlds.
Prokofiev was born on January 6, 1975, in London. Although he does not emphasize the fact in his publicity material, he is the grandson of composer Sergei Prokofiev. His father was the artist Oleg Prokofiev; his mother, Frances Child, was English. Prokofiev's childhood was musical: he studied piano, horn, and trumpet and sang choral music, but he resisted pressure to embark on a classical career, instead joining a pop band at age ten and writing songs for it. He also became familiar with electronic and hip-hop production techniques and was active as a producer for several years. He founded an electronic group called Spectrum and performed with it as a DJ under the name Gabriel Olegavich. Prokofiev attended Birmingham and York Universities, studying electroacoustic music and earning bachelor's and master's degrees.
In 1998, Prokofiev won the Bourges International Electroacoustic Music Competition, and some of his early works hewed close to the classical tradition. His String Quartet of 2003 was written for the Elysian Quartet, and he has written several more works in the quartet genre. However, when Prokofiev released a recording of the quartet with the Elysian Quartet on his own label, Nonclassical, in 2004, he included remixes. Nonclassical was not only a record label but also a London club night featuring experiments in performing classical or classical-influenced music in a nontraditional venue. The remix procedure has been featured in several of Prokofiev's works, including an "orchestral remix" of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 (2011), commissioned by the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, France, and performed in sold-out concert halls in Angers and Nantes.
As Prokofiev's fame spread, he began to collaborate with prominent artists on both sides of the classical/pop divide. His Violin Concerto was performed by Daniel Hope and the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic at the BBC Proms in 2014, and his Saxophone Concerto, performed by jazzman Branford Marsalis, was jointly commissioned by the Naples Philharmonic and the Detroit Symphony in 2017. Prokofiev's music has been performed by leading symphony orchestras in several countries, including the Seattle Symphony, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, and the BBC Philharmonic. He has often collaborated with choreographers and ballet companies, composing a work for solo violin & solo dancer for the Rambert Dance Company. Prokofiev has sometimes recorded for companies other than Nonclassical, releasing the album Beethoven Reimagined with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales under Yaniv Segal in 2020. His album Breaking Screens was released on the Melodiya label in 2021, and he returned in 2024 with the album Pastoral 21, applying a variety of acoustic and electronic treatments to Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68 ("Pastoral").
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Discography
16 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Beethoven Reimagined
Friedrich von Schiller, BBC National Orchestra Of Wales, Yaniv Segal, Gabriel Prokofiev
Classical - Released by Naxos on 27 Mar 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Cello Multitracks
Gabriel Prokofiev, Peter Gregson
Classical - Released by Nonclassical on 29 May 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Seven Steps (Single Version)
Gabriel Prokofiev, Stanislav Malyshev, Opensoundorchestra
World - Released by JSC Firma Melodiya on 17 Jun 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Litvinenko (Original Soundtrack from the ITV Drama)
Film Soundtracks - Released by Oscillations Soundtracks on 15 Dec 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gabriel Prokofiev Selected Classical Works 2003-2012
Classical - Released by Nonclassical on 28 Jul 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pastoral Reflections' (Beethoven: Pastorale 21)
Gabriel Prokofiev, UNLTD Collective
Classical - Released by Signum Records on 2 Feb 2024
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Float Dance EP2
Gabriel Prokofiev, Peter Gregson
Electronic - Released by Nonclassical on 4 Nov 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Float Dance EP1
Gabriel Prokofiev, Peter Gregson
Electronic - Released by Nonclassical on 24 Mar 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Transhuman
Classical - Released by Blue Griffin Recording, Inc. on 14 Feb 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Six Hesit Heist
Classical - Released by Nonclassical on 8 Jan 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hermitage Theatre Duet
Gabriel Prokofiev, Herman Ringer
Classical - Released by StopStart Music on 10 Mar 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pastoral Reflections: V. Allegretto (Stadtpark, faint hopes) [Radio Edit]
Gabriel Prokofiev, UNLTD Collective
Classical - Released by Signum Records on 24 Jan 2024
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
HOWL! II - Separation (Violin Edit)
Electronic - Released by Oscillations on 20 May 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Strange Blooms
Electronic - Released by Oscillations on 2 Dec 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pastoral Reflections: I. Allegro ma non troppo (escape into nature) [Radio Edit]
Gabriel Prokofiev, UNLTD Collective
Classical - Released by Signum Records on 10 Jan 2024
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo