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# The Conservatory Years of Sergei Prokofiev, from Admission at 13 to Graduation in 1914
- URL: https://theparnassian.com/en/v-13-let-sergei-prokofev-stal-studentom-sankt-peterburgskoi-konservatorii-i-eto-bylo-nastoiashchim-proryvom/
- Published: 2026-11-05T13:59:02.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-05T14:10:14.000Z
- Author: Alexandr Radayev
- Tags: Education, People, Saint Petersburg

At 13, Sergei Prokofiev became a student of the Saint Petersburg Conservatoire – and it was a real breakthrough! His talent was noticed by Alexander Glazunov, who himself suggested that the boy should enter the Conservatoire at once. And what proved decisive at the entrance examinations was the opinion of Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov: he talked with Seryozha for a long time, asked him to sight-read various pieces, put questions on music theory and tried to gauge the boy's general level of development.

At the Conservatoire Prokofiev studied under the finest masters: composition with Anatoly Lyadov, orchestration with Rimsky-Korsakov himself. He not only composed prolifically (writing piano sonatas, operas, miniatures) but also strove to master various musical professions. In 1909 he graduated from the Conservatoire in composition, and in 1914 in piano, and at the final examination he played his own First Piano Concerto. It was a bold and even scandalous act: graduates usually performed other people's works, whereas Prokofiev always wanted to play only his own.

The project “[The Three Lives of Sergei Prokofiev](https://vkvideo.ru/video-212102918%5F456240635?ref=theparnassian.com)” will tell of other vivid moments of his Conservatoire period: of his acquaintance with eminent musicians, of his creative searchings and of how his unique style took shape. Discover the story of the making of the “sunny genius”!

![](https://theparnassian.com/content/images/2026/11/file_484.jpg)

![](https://theparnassian.com/content/images/2026/11/file_485.jpg)

![](https://theparnassian.com/content/images/2026/11/file_486.jpg)