On Air Now
Classic FM Drive with John Brunning 5pm - 7pm
War and Peace (1869) by Leo Tolstoy
This image appears in the gallery:
Great classical music inspired by books
23. War and Peace (1869) by Leo Tolstoy
Prokofiev began setting Tolstoy's epic in the summer of 1942, spurred on by the German invasion of the Soviet Union. To satisfy the Soviet Committee on the Arts, which demanded more patriotism and heroism, Prokofiev duly added marches and choruses. Pictured are Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Anna Netrebko at a Metropolitan Opera production of the opera.
