Why did the premiere of Sergey Prokofiev’s Scythian Suite cause a scandal?

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Portrait of composer Sergey Prokofiev, circa 1938, wearing round glasses, a suit, and a tie, looking slightly to the side. — Sergey Prokofiev Sergey Prokofiev.

The premiere of the Scythian Suite in 1916 caused a scandal because it represented a bold, innovative departure in Sergey Prokofiev’s musical development. Originally conceived as the ballet Ala and Lolli—which was based on themes of ancient Slav mythology and rejected by the impresario Serge Diaghilev—Prokofiev reworked the music into an orchestral suite.

The work was characterized by increasingly complicated harmonic thought and design, reflecting the intense exploration that defined his pre-Revolutionary period. Despite the controversy it sparked at its debut in Petrograd, the performance served as a significant culmination of his career in the city at that time.1