Anatoly Lyadov: Valse, Op. 9/1

Composed in 1884. Anatoly Lyadov (1855 – 1914) was a Russian composer, teacher and conductor. Lyadov was born in St. Petersburg, into a family of eminent Russian musicians. He was taught informally by his conductor step-father Konstantin from 1860 to 1868, and then in 1870 entered the St. Petersburg Conservatory to study piano and violin. He soon gave up instrumental study to concentrate on counterpoint and fugue, although he remained a fine pianist. His natural musical talent was highly thought of by, among others, Modest Mussorgsky, and during the 1870s he became associated with the group of composers known as The Mighty Handful. He entered the composition classes of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, but was expelled for absenteeism in 1876. In 1878 he was readmitted to these classes to help him complete his graduation composition. He taught at the St. Petersburg Conservatory from 1878, his pupils including Sergei Prokofiev, Nikolai Myaskovsky, Mikhail Gnesin, Lazare Saminsky and Boris Asafyev. Consistent with his character, he was a variable but at times brilliant instructor. Conductor Nikolai Malko, who studied harmony with him at the conservatory, wrote, “Lyadov’s critical comments were always precise, clear, understandable, constructive, and brief.... And it was done indolently, without haste, sometimes seemingly disdainfully. He could suddenly stop in midword, take out some small scissors from his pocket and start doing something with his fingernail, while we all waited.“ Igor Stravinsky remarked that Lyadov was as strict with himself as he was with his pupils, writing with great precision and demanding fine attention to detail. Prokofiev recalled that even the most innocent musical innovations drove the conservative Lyadov crazy. “Shoving his hands in his pockets and rocking in his soft woollen shoes without heels, he would say, ’I don’t understand why you are studying with me. Go to Richard Strauss. GO TO DEBUSSY.’ This was said in a tone that meant ’Go to the devil!’“ Still, Lyadov told his acquaintances about Prokofiev. “I am obliged to teach him. He must form his technique, his style—first in piano music.“ In 1905 he resigned briefly over the dismissal of Rimsky-Korsakov, only to return when Rimsky-Korsakov was reinstated. In November 1887, Lyadov met Tchaikovsky. Nearly seven years earlier Tchaikovsky had given a negative opinion a publisher about a piano arabesque Lyadov had written. Even before this visit, though, Tchaikovsky’s opinion of Lyadov may have been changing. He had honored Lyadov with a copy of the score of his Manfred Symphony. Now that he had actually met the man face-to-face, the younger composer became “dear Lyadov.“ He became a frequent visitor to Lyadov and the rest of the Belyayev Circle, beginning in the winter of 1890. While Lyadov’s technical facility was highly regarded by his contemporaries, his unreliability stood in the way of his advancement. His published compositions are relatively few due to his natural indolence and a certain self-critical lack of confidence. Many of his works are variations on or arrangements of pre-existing material (for example his Russian Folksongs, Op. 58). It has been argued that Lyadov never completed a large-scale work. However, many of his miniatures have their place in the repertory. In 1905 Lyadov began work on a new ballet score, but when the work failed to progress, he shifted gears to work on an opera instead. Lyadov never finished the opera, but sections of the work found realization in the short tone poems Kikimora and The Enchanted Lake.