Sergei Prokofiev wrote the Overture on Hebrew Themes, Op. 34, in 1919 while he was in the United States. It is scored for the rare combination of clarinet, string quartet and piano. Fifteen years later the composer prepared a version for chamber orchestra, his “Op. 34 bis” or Op. 34a, retaining a separate part for piano but featuring solo cello as much as solo clarinet.[not verified in body]
Until recently the chamber orchestra version had been the better known, being easily programmable by orchestras, while the original version (for six instruments) requires out-of-the-way planning on the part of a string quartet.[contradictory] But two recordings have drawn attention to the original: Michel Portal clarinet, Parrenin Quartet, Michel Béroff piano (1974); and Giora Feidman clarinet, Juilliard String Quartet, Yefim Bronfman piano (1994).[full citation needed]