A new biography of Prokofiev suggests that a re-evaluation of his life and work is in order. “Even as the collapse of Communism has made it easier for us to understand Prokofiev’s life, so has the collapse of the postwar musical avant-garde removed any remaining obstacle to a full appreciation of his music. One need no longer apologize for enjoying such pieces as the First Violin Concerto or Romeo and Juliet, or pretend that they are anything other than modern masterpieces, great works of art that are “popular” in the best sense of that much-maligned word. That they were written by a man who succumbed to temptation—and paid the price for it—need not make us love them less.”