Lourié - Five Preludes Fragiles

Five Preludes Fragiles Op. 1 (1908-10)

Arthur Lourié (1892-1966) was an important musical figure in post-1917 Russia and a composer of decidedly avant-garde music. In the wake of the October Revolution, Lourié was appointed chair of the Music division of Soviet Education Ministry, which was established to cultivate a new and revolutionary music suitable for the Soviet citizen. During the 1910s, Lourié was viewed as a fanatical advocate of all modern art and some of his early compositions anticipate the musical advances of the West vis-à-vis the Second Viennese School and "Les Six". His extreme policies eventually clashed with a number of musicians and Soviet bureaucrats, causing him to bitterly resign his post, and in 1921, Lourié followed the footsteps of other Russian émigrés and left Russia for good. He settled in Berlin and then Paris, joining Stravinsky's circle, but when WWII engulfed Europe, Lourié fled again to America, where he remained in obscurity for the rest of his life. His early works show tangible influences from Scriabin, but the trajectory of his aesthetics is far-reaching: one can find Scriabinesque, Rachmaninovian or Webern-like piano works, orchestral compositions hinting at Prokofiev, and choral music recalling Mussorgsky.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• scriabin
• rachmaninov
• medtner

[Barnaldomort]

unprecedentedly beautiful!

I'm lost for words, as all these different preludes exude beauty in their own ways.

It's like debussy mixed with rachmaninoff.

Now for the task of finding the sheet music ; )

[pianoman6584]

If anyone needs a (free) PDF of this, I found one at scorser.com, just search for "lourie" and click PDF under "Cinq Prelūdijas Fragiles Op. 1." Looks like there's other pieces by Lourie as well. Enjoy.

[thaesino]

Why has this suddenly lost its sound? I can hear all your other Lourie videos, but this one.

[alexbericheath]

For all of the uploads in fact!

[alexbericheath]

Thank you so much for this upload.

[RodneyFerret]

@MINORSECONDXXI Si, la verdad es que es un poco difícil expresar ideas totalmente intangibles en un idioma que no dominas. Pero gracias por ayudarme a practicar mi inglés jaja.

[MINORSECONDXXI]

@RodneyFerret Ahora he mirado su canal y he visto que usted es mexicano. Pero bueno, por lo menos le he dado la oportunidad para practicar su inglés...

[RodneyFerret]

@MINORSECONDXXI Yup, sorry if I didn't say the correct words, english is not my native language.

[MINORSECONDXXI]

@MINORSECONDXXI But wait a minute... The F major chord at about 3.32 is preceeded by C, not G flat (and C is the fifth of the F major chord), now that I have double checked it on the video, as opposed to reading your comment. So maybe I don't understand your comment, RodneyFerret? Sorry! Or maybe you are mistaken?

[MINORSECONDXXI]

@RodneyFerret Yes, it's true that the Gb diminished chord has Bbb and Dbb, but these are just the third and the fifth. In many cases, there would also be a seventh. Normally, it would be the diminished seventh: Fbb. However, in a semi-diminished chord, which has a minor seventh, it would be Fb, and in a diminished chord with a major seventh, it would be F.

Anyway, now I understand you. It's Gb FOLLOWED by a pure F major chord rather than by a chord with Gb as a fundamental.

[RodneyFerret]

@MINORSECONDXXI The diminished Gb has Bbb and Dbb... Excuse me but if Lourié wanted a Gb he would have wrotte it... I'm not talking about the harmony in a vertical form, When he uses the note Gb makes you think that the harmony is somewhere near of that tone, but then he uses a -pure major chord- gives a nice sense, totally different from Baroque or Romantic music. That's what I'm talking about.

[MINORSECONDXXI]

@niazi1985 Do you mean atonality? Well, if you don't like atonal music that doesn't mean there is something in it that you don't understand! Anyway, composers have the right to compose what they want to. There are people who like atonal music, and there will always be composers who will compose it.

By the way, on my channel there are some atonal compositions of my own that should be easy to listen to even for those people who usually prefer tonal music. You should check them out!