Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953) mastered numerous musical genres and came to be admired as one of the greatest composers of the 20th century.  Bridging the worlds of pre-revolutionary Russia and the Stalinist Soviet Union, Prokofiev enjoyed a successful worldwide career as composer and pianist. As in the case of most other Soviet-era composers, his creative life and his music came to suffer under the duress of official Party strictures. Still, despite the detrimental personal and professional effects of such outside influences, Prokofiev continued until the end of his career to produce music marked by a singular skill, inventiveness, and élan. Prokofiev composed the ballets Romeo and Juliet and Cinderella, the orchestral suite Peter and the Wolf, the opera War and Peace, “War Sonatas” for piano, and numerous chamber works and symphonies.