[citation needed] Prokofiev modeled the symphony's structure on Ludwig van Beethoven's last piano sonata (Op.

The subsequent variations contrast moments of beautiful meditation with cheeky playfulness, yet the tension of the first movement is never far away and contributes an ongoing sense of unease.

The symphony ends with a touching restatement of the initial oboe theme, eventually dispelled by an eerie chord on the strings.

In a letter to Nikolai Myaskovsky, Prokofiev wrote: I have made the music so complex to such an extent that when I listen to it myself I do not fathom its essence, so what can I ask of others?

[2] Prokofiev intended to reconstruct the piece in three movements, going so far as to assign the project the opus number 136,[3] but the composer died before he could undertake the revisions.