Sergei Prokofiev is considered by some to be one of the greatest musical minds of the twentieth century, possessing a genius akin to that of Mozart. His skill in nearly every genre of composition certainly goes far in supporting this assertion. Born in Russia in 1891, he left his native land in 1918 in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, living abroad in both the United States and Europe until 1936, when he resettled permanently in his homeland. While abroad, his music was not as immediately well received as he had hoped, and derogatory terms and names such as barbaric, and enfant terrible were assigned to him and his music. It was not until his return to the Soviet Union that his style began to mellow, both as a result of the strictures of the government and his intentional choice of simplification, and his music began to become more accessible.

The Sonata for 2 Violins dates from this period of transition, written in Paris in 1932, and was in reality a diversion from the more taxing orchestration of his fifth piano concerto. Harlow Robinson, Prokofiev's most renowned biographer, has written the following regarding the Sonata for 2 Violins: While in Ste. Maxime, Prokofiev also composed the Sonata for 2 Violins in C Major, Op. 56. He had been moved to write it after hearing what he considered an unsuccessful sonata for two violins by another (unnamed) composer in Paris. "Sometimes hearing bad compositions gives birth to good ideas," he wrote later. "One begins to think: that's not how it should be done, what's needed is this or that." In four austere movements, this restrained and spare sonata - about fifteen minutes long- seems to avoid intentionally the glitter of the violin writing found in the exuberant First Violin Concerto. Prokofiev joked to Miaskovsky that he had written it "in order to irritate you once and for all with what you call my 'lenten vertical style.' The sonata received its premiere the following December."