Anatoly Lyadov (1855 - 1914)

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]Anatol Konstantinovich Lyadov (the last name is often spelled "Liadov") was the son and grandson of noted conductors who led musical ensembles at the Mariinsky Theater and theSt. Petersburg Philharmonic, respectively. The young Lyadov showed exceptional talent and was admitted to the Conservatory. While admiring his native talent, his main teacher,Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, was forced to expel him for unexplained absences. He was later permitted to take the graduation exams, and passed them easily. He became a noted professor and ethnomusicologist (publishing over 120 folk songs). He married in 1884, a match that gave him considerable wealth and a large estate at Polinovka.

His music is beautiful, exceptionally skilled and imaginative, with an impressionistic mood (though not the Debussyian style that word usually denotes). He was said to be shy and diffident. Either because of exceptional lack of confidence or laziness he was incapable of completing more than a few large-scale works. He wrote some piano pieces and songs, a few choruses, and about a dozen small but evocative orchestral works, some of which were fragments from his unfinished opera Zoryushka. His inability to finish a commission from Diaghilev to write the score for a ballet, The Firebird, led, famously, to its being given to the young Igor Stravinsky and launching that composer to international fame.

[Article taken from All Music Guide]

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What does everybody think of this composer's music? I only have one recording and it's of many of his orchestral works on Chandos. This has proved to be a very valuable recording to me as I find so much joy and optimism in the music. Lyadov was obviously a gifted orchestrator and probably would have become better known had he took on a commission from Ballet Russes (Stravinsky snapped up this offer after Lyadov rejected it). Who knows what might have become? This said, I find his music beautiful.

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Nobody likes Lyadov's music? Hmmm....this is a sad day for classical music. 

[jurajjak]

Last week I was reacquainting myself with Lyadov's tone poems through recordings Svetlanov made in the 60s and 70s. His skill as an orchestrator is extremely refined, vivid, and succinct--there are no wasted notes or wasted gestures. Baba Yaga is much fun, but of the orchestral works I know From the Apocalypse is probably most impressive (and longest, at 9 minutes). His orchestration (muted brass, xylophone) also seems a bit more modern than that of his other Russian romantic contemporaries, no?

andrew

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Last week I was reacquainting myself with Lyadov's tone poems through recordings Svetlanov made in the 60s and 70s. His skill as an orchestrator is extremely refined, vivid, and succinct--there are no wasted notes or wasted gestures. Baba Yaga is much fun, but of the orchestral works I know From the Apocalypse is probably most impressive (and longest, at 9 minutes). His orchestration (muted brass, xylophone) also seems a bit more modern than that of his other Russian romantic contemporaries, no?

andrew

I would like to acquire the Svetlanov recordings at some point. I guess Lyadov's orchestration was pretty modern for its time. I wish he had composed more music, but as the article points out he had extreme confidence problems, but he was also lazy, which didn't help his case at all.

[mc ukrneal]

I have so many of his orchestral pieces as filler over many discs that I never felt the need to buy a separate CD of his orchestral music. I DID pick up this piano disc though (Stemphen Coombs on Hyperion) and it has been one I always return to:


It is not clear to me why some of these pieces are not played more often. The music is charming at its worst and captivating at its best. Beautifully and sensitivey played...

[jurajjak]

I have heard good things about the Lyadov piano disc--I will need to track it down.

I have not heard Lyadov's late orchestral works "Dance of the Jungle" and "Nenie." How do these compare to his better-known works?

The Svetlanov recordings of Lyadov are extremely worthwhile--better, I think, than Pletnev's. Svetlanov also recorded Lyadov's 2 orchestral Polonaises, though these are far less interesting than the tone poems.

andrew

[vandermolen]

I am a great fan of the indolent Lyadov and have several CDs of his orchestral music (Chandos, Olympia, ASV, Naxos). I like the Eight Russian Folksongs and the trio of short tone poems. The 'Prelude to the Apocalypse' is terrific.

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I am a great fan of the indolent Lyadov and have several CDs of his orchestral music (Chandos, Olympia, ASV, Naxos). I like the Eight Russian Folksongs and the trio of short tone poems. The 'Prelude to the Apocalypse' is terrific.

Eight Russian Folksongs is beautiful. I love Village Scene by the Inn. I think the Sinaisky disc is probably the best of the lot in terms of sound quality and interpretation. Kudos is in order to Chandos for releasing such a great, and necessary, disc of his orchestral works.

[bhodges]

I have a few of his tone poems on CD, but most of what I've heard has been live, with Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra.  A few years back they did Kikimora, The Enchanted Lake, and Baba Yaga (not all on the same program), and they were all great.  Among other characteristics, Lyadov has Rimsky-Korsakov's instinct for orchestral color.

--Bruce

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Thank you for bringing Lyadov to the fore. I have several scores of his piano music on my hard drive and I feel inspired to begin printing some of them. The trouble is that in that period there was a fashion for composing salon music and I'm not sure what is what with some of the Russian composers. Lyadov may have been indolent but at least he reached Op. 64 (at least!).

[vandermolen]

Eight Russian Folksongs is beautiful. I love Village Scene by the Inn. I think the Sinaisky disc is probably the best of the lot in terms of sound quality and interpretation. Kudos is in order to Chandos for releasing such a great, and necessary, disc of his orchestral works.

The opening 'Religious Chant' is my favourite - very soulful and so characteristically Russian.

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The opening 'Religious Chant' is my favourite - very soulful and so characteristically Russian.

Village Scene by the Inn is a different composition than Eight Russian Folksongs. Yes, I do love that section Religious Chant what a great usage of variation.

[vandermolen]

Village Scene by the Inn is a different composition than Eight Russian Folksongs. Yes, I do love that section Religious Chant what a great usage of variation.

Oh, I confused it with 'Village Dance Song' from the 'Eight Russian Folksongs' - just listened to 'Village Scene by the Inn' on Chados - a fine score, rather reminding me of Rimsky-Korsakov.

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Oh, I confused it with 'Village Dance Song' from the 'Eight Russian Folksongs' - just listened to 'Village Scene by the Inn' on Chandos - a fine score, rather reminding me of Rimsky-Korsakov.

Oh absolutely, I definitely hear traces of Rimsky-Korsakov, but Lyadov had a unique composing all of his own.

[Bulldog]

I had a Lyadov orchestral LP when I was in college (around 1970) that I liked a lot.  Should check him out again on the Naxos Music Library, particularly a Toccata disc of his piano music.

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I had a Lyadov orchestral LP when I was in college (around 1970) that I liked a lot.  Should check him out again on the Naxos Music Library, particularly a Toccata disc of his piano music.

In terms of orchestral music, the Chandos disc with Sinaisky and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra is the best recording available of these works in my opinion. The performances are great and the audio quality, as usual with Chandos, is excellent. The Naxos disc is mediocre by comparison.

[vandermolen]

Oh absolutely, I definitely hear traces of Rimsky-Korsakov, but Lyadov had a unique composing all of his own.

I totally agree - there is something unique and oddly endearing about this composer, even though his students Miaskovsky and Prokofiev didn't really like him.

[Sergeant Rock]

I had a Lyadov orchestral LP when I was in college (around 1970) that I liked a lot.

I had a LP of the Enchanted Lake too around that time: Szell and Cleveland. A few years ago Ari Rasilainen and the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz played Kikimora at a BASF concert. First time I'd ever heard the piece. The audience loved it and it made me realize I had nothing by Liadov in my CD collection. I was going to order a disc or two then but it slipped my mind. Thanks, MI, for making me aware of Liadov again. I have ordered that Chandos disc.

Sarge

[Cato]

Years ago the commentator on an LP of Liadov's orchestral miniatures compared the composer to the fictional Oblomov the main character of a great satiric novel of the same name by Goncharov.

It takes several pages at the begininng of the book for Oblomov just to get out of bed!  One is reminded of Diaghilev's story about asking Liadov how much progress had been made on the new ballet: months had passed.

"Oh, I just bought some music paper today!" said Liadov.

Diaghilev hired Stravinsky instead.   0:)

[mc ukrneal]

Years ago the commentator on an LP of Liadov's orchestral miniatures compared the composer to the fictional Oblomov the main character of a great satiric novel of the same name by Goncharov.

It takes several pages at the begininng of the book for Oblomov just to get out of bed!  One is reminded of Diaghilev's story about asking Liadov how much progress had been made on the new ballet: motnhs had passed.

"Oh, I just bought some music paper today!" said Liadov.

Diaghilev hired Stravinsky instead.   0:)

Liadov's laziness is well known, He never did finish a work of any large size, Still, I do love the 'minatures'...