Lyapunov - Piano Sonata in F minor (Part 1/3)

Piano Sonata in F minor Op. 27 (1908)

Sergei Lyapunov (1859-1924) belongs to the group of pre-revolutionary Balakirev disciples and conservative Russian composers. Like Medtner and Glazunov, Lyapunov rejected the new aesthetics of Scriabin, Prokofiev, and Stravinsky, preferring the models and sound world of late Romanticism. Lyapunov attended the Moscow Conservatory, studying piano with Karl Klindworth, an eminent pupil of Liszt, and composition with the renowned Taneyev. After graduation, Lyapunov became a student of Balakirev and taught at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. The 1917 October Revolution brought changes that Lyapunov would not accept and, like so many other Russian composers and musicians, he fled to France in 1923. A year later he died of a heart attack. In the late 19th-century, critics and composers praised Lyapunov as a first-rate composer of piano music comparable to Balakirev. Indeed, Lyapunov was given the fanciful appellation of "Black Balakirev" due to the severity and expressive power of his works.

Lyapunov's only Piano Sonata is a large-scale single-movement monothematic piece in cyclical form. The expert thematic transformation, Romantic gestures, and virtuosic nature of Lyapunov's sonata compares best to Liszt's Sonata in B minor. In my opinion, this sonata is grossly underrated and neglected. Few know Lyapunov by name, but even fewer know of this exciting and gorgeous piano sonata.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• liszt
• balakirev
• rachmaninov
• medtner
• tchaikovsky
• liapunov

[JCHBONNET]

Although some courageous pianists start to defend lesser known Russian composers such as Lyapunov or Medtner, I am just wondering how many wonderful works and extraordinary composers may never have a chance to be re-discovered.

[Hexameron]

The list of late Romantic early 20th-century Russian composer-pianists who have written worthy piano music is long. I have seen a number of impressive scores, but no one is recording them: Akimenko, Rebikov, Eiges, Dobrowen, Drozdov, Melkikh, Dianov, Pawlov, Abrahmsky... it goes on and on.

[cedricrlongreen]

I never get tired of listening to this

[cedricrlongreen]

Yay! I've decided to learn this piece

[MikJFr]

I LOVE all those late-late Romantics who, as Mr.Hexameron's 'blurb' puts it, "rejected the new aesthetics of Scriabin, Prokofiev, and Stravinsky, preferring the models and sound world of late Romanticism." Many of them seem to be Russians, possibly an expression of the conservative and spiritual side of the Russian psyche.

[Bakerd8]

How many movements are there? 3?

[dolcesfogato]

i played this really astonishing piece a few times in concert, the audience loved it, so did I, but how to convince the world that this is as good as the Liszt-sonata, or better, well, to say the least: ' different' , it's Liszt's pianistics combined with the ' Mighty Handful ' , and a lot more pianistic than the eternal Pictures...

[Nielsenesque]

By the way, the opening movement of this work reminds me a lot of the first movement of Medtner's Piano Sonata in F minor.

[Nielsenesque]

Thanks for posting this. I love Lyapunov's work, and I keep coming back to listen to this. I agree: the influences of Liszt and Balakirev are present, but there's a lot of unique music going on, as well. Lyapunov is great at creating harp sounds and running water noises on the piano.