# Anatoly Lyadov



## Portamento

Anatoly Konstantinovich Lyadov (also spelled Liadov), was a Russian composer known for his orchestral works and poetic, beautifully-polished piano miniatures. I can't believe that there isn't a guestbook for him yet, so here we go!

The son of the conductor of the imperial opera, Anatoly entered the conservatory in 1870, studying composition with Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, but he was expelled for idleness in 1876. Readmitted in 1878, he later occupied various teaching posts in the conservatory and the imperial chapel. From 1897 he was much occupied with the arrangement of folk songs collected by the Imperial Geographical Society. Until 1900 he mainly composed piano pieces. Turning to orchestral music he wrote two of his most successful pieces, _Kikimora_ and _The Enchanted Lake_, which were based on sketches for a fantastic opera he never finished.

*Orchestral music.* The best-known orchestral compositions by Lyadov (as mentioned before) are the descriptive Russian fairytale pieces _Kikimora_ and _The Enchanted Lake_. Another notable orchestral work is _Baba-Yaga_ (



). His last in the genre was the symphonic poem _Threnody_. All are very much in the nationalist tradition exemplified by Rimsky-Korsakov.

*Piano music.* Lyadov wrote a number of shorter piano pieces, including fugues and a set of canons, testimony to his contrapuntal ability. Other pieces have characteristic titles, examples of pleasing and well-crafted compositions for which there was a ready market.

*Vocal and choral music.* Lyadov wrote a setting of the final scene of Schiller's _Die Braut von Messina_ for his Conservatory graduation. Of some 26 songs, 18 are children's songs.

―_Britannica and Naxos.com_ (more or less)​
_A few more notes about Lyadov:_

If you are new to Lyadov's music, orchestral works are probably the best of his ouevre. _A Fragment from the Apocalypse_ is one of my personal favorites. There are lots of other hidden gems on YouTube, so a long listen awaits you!

As to why Lyadov is so obscure. I'm not completely sure, but part of it may have to do with his laziness and perfectionism (the same curse that befell Balakirev and many others). For example, Baba-Yaga ―an orchestral miniature barely three minutes long ―took him 13 years to compose start to finish!

Any thoughts, comments, and questions about Anatoly Lyadov are welcome. Hopefully one day he will be more of a household name....


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## chromatic owl

I have seen this name a couple of times, merely referred to as an editor or some teacher at the conservatory but not as a composer. Thank you, this is really interesting.


> Lyadov wrote a number of shorter piano pieces, including fugues and a set of canons, testimony to his contrapuntal ability.


 I would really enjoy listening to some of those


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## Portamento

chromatic owl said:


> I would really enjoy listening to some of those


Cool. Try these:

_Three Pieces_, Op. 11 ―



_The Music Box_, Op. 32 ―



 (performed by Richter!)
_Two Fugues_, Op. 41 ―



_Variations on a Polish Theme_, Op. 51 ―



 (a testament to Lyadov's greatness as a composer)
_Three Pieces_, Op. 57 ―



_12 canons on a cantus firmus_ ―




This is just a start; some of Lyadov's piano works are quite appealing!


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