Stephen Coombs - Liadov: Marionettes, A Musical Snuffbox & Other Piano Music (1998)

Tracklist

01. Variations on a Polish Folk Theme, Op. 51
02. Marionettes, Op. 29
03. 3 Pieces, Op. 11: I. Prelude in B Minor
04. 3 Pieces, Op. 11: II. Mazurka in the Dorian Mode
05. 3 Pieces, Op. 11: III. Mazurka in F-Sharp Minor
06. 2 Pieces, Op. 24: I. Prelude in E Major
07. 2 Pieces, Op. 24: II. Berceuse in G-Flat Major
08. 3 Pieces, Op. 57: I. Prelude in D-Flat Major
09. 3 Pieces, Op. 57: II. Waltz in E Major
10. 3 Pieces, Op. 57: III. Mazurka in F Minor
11. Little Waltz in G Major, Op. 26
12. 3 Preludes, Op. 36: No. 1 in F-Sharp Major
13. 3 Preludes, Op. 36: No. 2 in B-Flat Minor
14. 3 Preludes, Op. 36: No. 3 in G Major
15. A Musical Snuffbox, Op. 32
16. Barcarolle in F-Sharp Major, Op. 44
17. 4 Pieces, Op. 64: I. Grimace
18. 4 Pieces, Op. 64: II. Gloom
19. 4 Pieces, Op. 64: III. Temptation
20. 4 Pieces, Op. 64: IV. Reminiscences
21. Variations on a Theme By Glinka, Op. 35

'A new talent has appeared in our midst, a genuine, thoroughly original, thoroughly Russian talent … he is bright and unaffected, he has boldness and power. Cui, Borodin and my humble self are delighted with him … as for his own scribblings, well, you will judge for yourself. Korsakov has been holding forth on them quite a lot.' So wrote Mussorgsky of the young Liadov.

And yet his works have remained little known. A Musical Snuffbox will be familiar to most listeners, but the majority of Liadov's canon has fallen into obscurity, not least because the composer dedicated his life to indolence and seems to have been utterly without ambition either for himself or for his music.

The two major piano works are the 'Glinka' variations and the 'Polish' variations; as for the rest of his output, it is of miniatures as finely crafted as they are few in number.

DOWNLOAD ALBUM [flac]