Prokofiev: Piano Sonatas Nos.2, 6 And 8

Russian pianist Alexander Melnikov presents an all-Prokofiev recital featuring three of the composer's piano sonatas. Piano Sonata No.2 was dedicated to the memory of a friend and fellow student at the St. Petersburg Conservatory who committed suicide. It is paired here with Piano Sonatas Nos.6 and 8, the first and third of his three ''War Sonatas.'' These works were among eight compositions banned by the ''Zhdanov Decree'' in 1948, which claimed that certain works by composers such as Shostakovich and Khachaturian renounced the ''basic principles of classical music.''