The Overture on Hebrew Themes became a quite popular work early in the composer's career and has remained a standard-repertory item ever since—but in its original chamber-ensemble version, scored for clarinet, string quartet, and piano. This orchestral version features parts for an array of wind instruments and brass, and, of course, strings. The piano's writing was left almost unchanged and the clarinet still has a dominant role, but yields in certain passages to other winds instruments like the oboe.

The work would probably never have been composed if it had not been for Simeon Bellison, leader of the chamber group Zimro (and principal clarinetist in the New York Philharmonic in the period 1920 - 1948) who asked Prokofiev to write a work on Hebrew themes for his ensemble. A Russian Orthodox (and later Christian Scientist), the composer was reluctant at first, owing to use of non-original themes, but eventually agreed and fashioned the piece on traditional Hebrew melodies provided by Bellison. As suggested above, the original version had become popular after its premiere (January 26, 1920), and several musicians, realizing its potential in a larger form, scored the work for orchestra, most notably the virtuoso pianist Alfred Cortot. Prokofiev himself finally arranged his own version in 1934, 15 years after composing the original.

The work opens with a rhythmic, almost jazzy-sounding theme of Middle-Eastern flavor on clarinet. A contrasting melody of sentimental character is given mainly by the strings, and an engaging and lively development section ensues. In the recapitulation the horn first takes up the alternate melody in a most imaginative instrumental reallocation by the composer. While the form of the piece is quite simple and the themes, attractive enough in their exoticism, are not particularly outstanding, the composition, in either version, is a masterpiece still, owing to its brilliant colors, vibrant rhythms and imaginative scoring.

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