Sergei Prokofiev did not manage to compose more than a few bars of his Piano Concerto No. 6 (Op. 134, sometimes Op. 133) before his death in 1953, so it is impossible to reconstruct the underlying musical ideas and complete it.[citation needed]
The work is unusual in that it is scored for two pianos and a string orchestra. The other five of Prokofiev's piano concertos are written for solo piano (one for left hand alone) and more or less standard orchestration.[citation needed]
Ron Weidberg's "Concerto for Two Pianos and String Orchestra after Drafts by S. Prokofiev's", written in 2005-7 was the first attempt to complete the work by means of orchestrating the drafts, filling the gaps between the existing sketches and continuing the original ideas through the work's conclusion.[1] The Concerto was commissioned by the Silver–Garburg Piano Duo. The completed three movement work was premiered on 2012 in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem by the Silver-Garburg Piano Duo and the Tel Aviv Soloists Orchestra conducted by Barak Tal.
In 2014, Norbert Palej (then assistant professor of composition at the University of Toronto) completed a version of the concerto with the assistance of Prokofiev's grandson Gabriel Prokofiev.[2] It was premiered on 27 February 2016 at the Louisiana State University School of Music at the Symposium on Prokofiev and the Russian Tradition.[3][4] Pianists Michael Gurt and Gregory Sioles served as the soloists.[3][4] This version was noted for its extensive and at times erratic use of the marimba and cymbals.[citation needed]