Anatoly Konstantinovich Lyadov (Анатолий Константинович Лядов), often transliterated Liadov, (May 11, 1855 - August 28, 1914) was a Russian composer, teacher and conductor. May 11 is the 131st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (132nd in leap years). ... 1855 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... August 28 is the 240th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (241st in leap years), with 125 days remaining. ... 1914 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... A composer is a person who writes music. ... In education, teachers are those who teach students or pupils, often a course of study or a practical skill, including learning and thinking skills. ... Conducting is the act of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. ...

Biography

Lyadov was born in St. Petersburg into a family of eminent Russian musicians. He was taught informally by his conductor father 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. Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and Petrograd (Петрогра́д, 1914–1924), is a city located in Northwestern Russia on the delta of the river Neva at the east end of the Gulf of Finland... The St. ... This article is about the modern musical instrument. ... The violin is a stringed musical instrument that has four strings tuned a perfect fifth apart. ... Counterpoint is a very general feature of music (especially prominent in much Western music) whereby two or more melodic strands occur simultaneously – in separate voices, either literally or metaphorically (if the music is instrumental). ... In music, a fugue is a type of piece written in counterpoint for several independent musical voices. ... A pianist is a person who plays the piano. ... Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (Russian: Моде́ст Петро́вич Му́соргский) (March 21, 1839 – March 28, 1881; sometimes spelled Modeste Moussorgsky), was an innovative Russian composer famed for his colourful, exotic, and lush orchestral pieces dedicated to various subjects of medieval Russian history. ... The Mighty Handful (Moguchaya Kuchka / Могучая Кучка in Russian), better known as The Five in English-speaking countries, was a label applied in 1867 by the critic Vladimir Stasov to a loose collection of Russian classical composers brought together under the leadership of Mily Balakirev with the aim of producing... Nikolay Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov (Russian: ), also Nikolai, Nicolai, and Rimsky-Korsakoff, (March 18, 1844 – June 21, 1908) was a Russian composer and teacher of classical music particularly noted for his fine orchestration, which may have been influenced by his synaesthesia. ...

He taught at the St. Petersburg Conservatory from 1878, his pupils including Sergei Prokofiev, Nikolai Myaskovsky, Mihail Gnesin and Boris Asafiev. In 1905 he resigned briefly over the dismissal of Rimsky-Korsakov only to return when Rimsky-Korsakov was reinstated Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev (Russian: ) (April 271, 1891 – March 5, 1953) was a Russian composer who mastered numerous musical genres and came to be admired as one of the greatest composers of the 20th century. ... Nikolai Myaskovsky (ru: Николай Мясковский) (April 20, 1881 – August 8, 1950) was a Russian composer. ... Boris Asafiev (1884-1949) was a composer and writer. ...

He married in 1884, acquiring through his marriage a country property in Polïnovka, Novgorod district, where he spent his summers composing unhurriedly, and where he died in 1914. Velikiy Novgorod (Но́вгород) is the foremost historic city of North-Western Russia, situated on the highway (and railway) connecting Moscow and St Petersburg. ...

Lyadov possessed a technical facility which was highly regarded by his contemporaries, but his unreliability stood in the way of his advancement. It has been argued that he never completed a large-scale work. However many of his miniatures do have their place in the repertory. Sergei Diaghilev asked the composer for a new ballet score for his Ballets Russes for their 1910 season, but Lyadov's penchant for procrastination resulted in his never fulfilling the commission. Instead, famously, Diaghilev turned to Igor Stravinsky who provided his ballet The Firebird. Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev (Сергей Павлович Дягилев) (March 19, 1872 – August 19, 1929), often known as Serge, was a Russian ballet impresario and founder of the Ballets Russes from which many famous dancers and choreographers would later arise. ... The Waltz of the Snowflakes from Tchaikovskys The Nutcracker Ballet is the name given to a specific dance form and technique. ... Sheet music is written representation of music. ... The ballet company Ballets Russes created a sensation in Western Europe in the early years of the 20th century, due to the great vitality of Russian ballet, as compared with what was current in France at the time. ... Igor Fyodorovitch Stravinsky (Russian: ) (June 17, 1882 – April 6, 1971) was a Russian-American composer of modern classical music. ... LOiseau de Feu (The Firebird) is a 1910 symphonic poem and ballet by Igor Stravinsky, based on the Russian folk tales of the magical glowing bird (see Firebird) that is both a blessing and doom of its captor. ...

Music

His published compositions are relatively few in number through 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). He did compose a large number of piano miniatures, of which his Musical Snuffbox of 1893 is perhaps most famous.

Much of his music is programmatic, for example his tone poems Baba Yaga Op. 56, Kikimora Op. 63, The Enchanted Lake Op. 62. These are probably his most popular works. In his later compositions he experimented with extended tonality, like his younger contemporary Alexander Scriabin. Program music is music intended to musically represent, or accompany, an extra-musical theme, constrasting with absolute music. ... Tonality is the character of music written with hierarchical relationships of pitches, rhythms, and chords to a center or tonic. ... Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin (Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Скря́бин; sometimes transliterated as Skryabin) (January 6, 1872 – April 27, 1915) was a Russian composer and pianist. ...

Selected works

• Final scene from Schiller's Die Braut von Messina for solo voices, chorus and orchestra, Op. 28 (1878, published 1891). This was his graduation piece.
• Muzikalnaya tabakerka (A musical snuffbox), Op. 32 for piano (1893)
• Baba Yaga, Op. 56 (1905)
• Eight Russian Folksongs, Op. 58 (1906)
• Volshebnoye ozero (The Enchanted Lake), Op. 62 (1909)
• Kikimora, Op. 63 (1909)

References

Sadie, Stanley (ed.) (1980). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Macmillan Publishers Ltd., London. ISBN 1561591742.