Background
Prokofiev arrived in New York in September, 1918. Overall, his years in America were not as successful as he had hoped:
"The public here is not used to listening to the works of a single composer for a whole evening. People want a varied programme as a showcase for popular pieces. Rachmaninoff has accepted this compromise. I could not even dream of the overwhelming success he has with his concerts."
Nevertheless, he did manage regular appearances in American concert halls. Though Rachmaninoff was the leading Russian pianist in America at the time (having introduced himself in 1909–1910), Prokofiev gave many concerts that season of his own works and emphasized his image as a pianist.
Early in 1919, he was commissioned by a Jewish ensemble, Zimro, which had emigrated from the Soviet Union. (The members played the instruments in this work's instrumentation.) They gave Prokofiev a notebook of Jewish folksongs, and Prokofiev completed the composition very quickly. It received its premiere in New York in 1920, with Prokofiev at the piano. This piece was later orchestrated in 1934 as Op. 34a, although the orchestrated version is performed far less often.
Read more about this topic: Overture On Hebrew Themes
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