Zaderatsky - Prelude No. 24

No. 24 in D minor from the Preludes (1933)

Vsevolod Petrovich Zaderatsky (1891-1953) was a Ukrainian-born Russian composer who belonged to the circle of avant-garde Soviet composers of the 1920s-30s. He may be one of the most dramatic examples of a composer who suffered and yet survived Stalinist repression in the 1930s.

He studied music at the Moscow Conservatory with Sergei Taneyev and later became music teacher of Alexei Nikolaevich, the Tsarevich of Russia, between 1915-16. During the 1917 Revolution, he joined the White Army and was subsequently captured by the opposing Bolsheviks. He averted execution by playing piano for one of the Russian generals, who then arranged for Zaderatsky to be freed. Unfortunately, Zaderatsky was arrested in 1926, most likely because of his association with Tsar Nicholas II, and all of his compositions were destroyed.

He was released after two years and composed, conducted, and taught music wherever he could. He also joined the Association for Contemporary Music. However, he never achieved any notoriety. It appears his music was banned even before the Stalinist onslaught. None of his works were published at the time and only his arrangements and stage works were permitted performance. As a result, he remained totally unknown to the public and even to his colleagues in the ACM.

In 1937, he was sentenced to ten years in the Gulag - specifically the Kolima labor camp, which was one of the worst. He was released after only two years. Astonishingly, during his imprisonment, he composed 24 preludes and fugues, notating them on whatever materials he had available including blank telegram forms. His cycle therefore presages Shostakovich's published in 1953.

Despite his status as a persona non grata in the Soviet music scene, Zaderatsky composed prolifically: opera, ballet, orchestral music, concertos, transcriptions and various instrumental works. His piano music is no doubt the most interesting and many of them have been published. Of his early period, he wrote two dark and harmonically astringent piano sonatas resembling those of his friend, Alexander Mosolov, and a set of preludes (1933) showing an impressive stylistic range. Later in the 1940s he would compose a pessimistic piano cycle entitled "Legends", piano suites, and three other tonal piano sonatas.

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[fierydog]

Please continue uploading obscure pieces such as this! It is excellent for us who are trying to expand our musical boundaries past a few dozen popular composers.

[Sword1479]

This is awsome!

[MRCHNK]

Очень экспрессивно, что есть хорошо :)

[JMCYutz]

c'est vraiment très laid

[scottlum]

Who is playing this fascinating piece?

[iltonjardim]

the idea of sound basses and following four notes motif is very original! never heard something similar!

[minasgekos]

I don't know what's more obscure, the man's music or the things that happened to him during his lifetime. In both cases, it's very inspirational... thank you.

[TheMisterJibs]

@StarWarseu i'm intersted :my email is jbs148@hotmail.fr

thank you

[lovingboarding]

No problem anymore... I assembled them from here.

[lovingboarding]

Where can I buy the sheet?!