There has been widespread acclaim for Gabriel Prokofiev's Violin Concerto '1914', following its premiere at the BBC Proms on 29 July.
 
A co-commission between the BBC and the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, the 33-minute work was launched by soloist Daniel Hope with the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra and Sascha Goetzel.  The concert was broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and will be on BBC 4 TV on 31 August:
"… as anguished, sardonic and disconcerting a musical depiction of that traumatic year as is possible to imagine… conveyed with musical tools that range from sarcastic pastiche (very Prokofiev!) to extraordinary percussion effects and electronic dance music… it’s the best thing Gabriel Prokofiev has written.’
The Times (Richard Morrison), 31 July 2014
 
‘One hundred years away… the trenches at night’ run the words Gabriel Prokofiev has written on the score of his Violin Concerto ‘1914’. And the programme for this work is indeed specific, including savagery, shell-shock, and sardonic imperial marches: the rationale is pure Shostakovich, though more literal.
 
Daniel Hope, the instigator of this work, played its stratospherically high solo part with flawless accuracy; the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic under Sascha Goetzel handled their percussion-heavy part to suitably sinister effect.'
The Independent (Michael Church), 31 July 2014
"The four-movement work springs few surprises in terms of orchestral or solo textures, which are clear, easy to hear and always generous to the lyrical qualities of the violin. The fascination comes in the vivid use of percussion, beginning with hushed snare drums and ghostly woodwind blowing into their instruments without making notes. The first instruction in the score is "One hundred years away. We can barely hear those distant souls." Whip, thunder sheet, hammer and various bells and tam-tams create the sound of war, often as if through a veil.
 
The violin's broad, opening theme is a distant echo of the march in Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale (1918). With its gunshots and explosions, the work may feel programmatic but it tugs at bigger ideas, especially with Hope as the eloquent soloist, making his 1742 Guarneri del Gesù sing out. This violinist, now among the best in the world as well as the most thoughtful, is as brilliant at Bach as Birtwistle and even Einaudi.
 
Prokofiev, London-born grandson of Sergei, is equally versatile. He had a classical training then switched to electronic, dance, house and hip-hop, founding the independent Nonclassical label and club in 2004. His Concerto for Turntables went down a storm at the National Youth Orchestra's Prom in 2011."
The Observer (Fiona Maddocks), 3 August 2014
"Subtitled 1914, this was an imaginary traversal through the year 1914 in four movements, though the narrative was not a simple one from jingoistic bravado to disillusion. The disillusion was there from the start, and the scraps of march always seemed hollow.
 
Soloist Daniel Hope sometimes joined in these sardonic little vignettes, at other times he strove vainly to assert a tremulous high melody against a monstrous war-machine in the orchestra… created an extraordinary atmosphere, at once sombre, tender and surreal."
The Telegraph (Ivan Hewett), 30 July 2014
"Daniel Hope’s solo violin created an intense focus, against which battlefields are evoked in shattered orchestral landscapes of eerie high tremolos and sepulchral bass rumbles, but Prokofiev hits his most characteristic vein as marching rhythms accelerate till they reach the manic energy of the disco floor."
Financial Times (Richard Fairman), 30 July 2014
Further performances take place as follows:
 
Daniel Hope/State Academic Symphony Orchestar of Russia/Vladimir Jurowski
Moscow (13 Sept);
Tyumen (15 Sept);
Chelyabinsk (16 Sept)
 
Daniel Hope/Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg/Sascha Goetzel
Luxembourg (22 Oct)