Prokofiev’s “Scythian Suite” did not originally exist as an orchestral work - the music was initially conceived as part of a ballet entitled “Ala i Lolli”, commissioned by Sergei Diaghilev and inspired by Ancient Scythian mythology. Prokofiev, young and ambitious at the time, responded to this expansive world of gods and warriors with an explosively raucous and primitive sound unlike anything he had ever composed before - so much so that Diaghilev completely rejected Prokofiev’s score before it was ever finished. Not wanting to scrap what work he had completed, Prokofiev created a four-movement suite and conducted its world premiere at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg in January 1916, to wildly divided reviews.

This medley for wind ensemble features music from three of the four movements in “Scythian Suite” and is intended, from the perspective of difficulty, to serve as a more accessible introduction to Prokofiev’s music.