Anatoly Lyadov - Four Preludes Op. 13 (Rapetti)

Pianist: Marco Rapetti Composed in 1887 0:00 - 1. Allegro 2:04 - 2. Allegro Moderato 3:05 - 3. Andantino 4:50 - 4. Allegro con fuoco Lyadov and his style Anatoly Lyadov (1855-1914 b. St. Petersburg) is one of the least played geniuses of Russian music. His neglect makes some sense given his stylistic choices. One of which is that he accepted conservatory education and western innovations, refusing to take such as radical a stance as "the five" when crafting his own music [1]. This kept him securely away from that camp. On the other hand, his love of counterpoint and western romanticism [1] placed him more in tune with the likes of Tchaikovsky, the Rubinstein brothers, and Taneyev. Unfortunately, Lyadov never achieved the widespread success of Tchaikovsky, the precise, scholarly brilliance of Taneyev or the exacting critical mind of the Rubinstein brothers. What Lyadov offers instead is, of course, unique. But even though Lyadov played a significant role in Russian music's retreat from nationalism [2], he is still often undervalued when compared to the other giants of his time. Sometimes, Lyadov's music gets lost in the sea of Russian nationalist music because of how similar his music can sound to the ambient output of the time. Lyadov, much like Taneyev, formed a style based on a synthesis of Russian nationalist elements like folk music and church modes and more western elements like tight form, counterpoint, and the rich romantic inheritance passed down by Chopin and Schumann [1]. Fairy tales, literature, and Russian realist art also played a significant role in filling Lyadov's mind with inspiration [1]. As time went on and nationalism declined, Lyadov filled a stylistic void. As Glazunov and Arensky came to be known, Lyadov also arose a "founding member of this 'first generation' of symbolist composers [3]. Late in life, he went on to be inspired by the French impressionists and by Scriabin, using the mystic chord in in some of his later works [1]. Throughout his career as a composer, Lyadov had a rich treasury of artistic influences to draw from, which lead to a varied and unique output but most importantly, an output worth listening to. The four preludes Zhang points out that Lyadov likes using "simple, homophonic textures with repeated rhythmic patters [1]." In these preludes, these stylistic preferences are showcased and the set as a whole is fairly standard as far a preludes go. Allegro - A very elegant and well textured piece that makes good use of modulation and interesting harmonies. There are a few augmented chords that add some additional color. Allegro Moderato - With a similar tempo to the first, this prelude injects some substantial dissonance to differentiate itself from the previous prelude. The rapid modulation between a few keys keeps the piece grounded tonally while also enabling the tonality to keep up with the tempo. The piece slows down a bit toward the end to accommodate the slightly slower andantino to come. Andantino - The melodic elements taking place on the outsides of 16th noted beats creates a unique rhythmic feel. The texture, while repetitive, reinforces this with the basses falling on those outside notes. Allegro con fuoco - The most thunderous prelude. Here, Lyadov jolts the listener out of the bright pleasantness of the other preludes with an almost never-ending stream of chromatic octaves in the bass. The piece is in ABA, so there is some respite in the slower B section. imslp: https://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Lyado... Bibliography [1] X. Zhang. A Study of the Piano Works by Anatol Lyadov. Doctoral Work. Arizona State University, 2018. [2] M. Montagu-Nathan. A History of Russian Music. Sagwan Press. 2015. [3] A. Masrow. “Contexts of Symbolist Music in Silver Age Russia 1861-1917”. Southern Methodist Univ. 2008.