PROGRAM NOTES PRELUDE AND FUGUE NO. 2 IN A MINOR, OP. 29 (1963-1964) Rodion Konstantinovich Shchedrin (b. 1932) is a leading composing figure in Russia. He was inspired by Dmitri Shostakovich’s Twenty-Four Preludes and Fugues and decided to write his own twenty-four, dedicating it to his father. Shchedrin completed his first book Op. 29 during 1963-1964, covering the sharp keys, and the second book Op. 45 (1964-1970) covers the flat keys. The cycle tonal plan is similar to Shostakovich’s with Book I following the circle of fifths, increasing in sharps; Book II also follows the circle of fifths, but decreases in flats instead. Both books pair major keys with each relative minor key. The A minor prelude is neoclassical in style and playful in nature, imitating a Bach two-part invention in conjunction with twentieth-century tonality. In contrast, the fugue is slow and hauntingly beautiful, employing dissonance to remain unsettled and unresolved to the end.
PRELUDE AND FUGUE NO. 14 IN E-FLAT MINOR, OP. 45 (1964-1970) Highly chromatic and jarring, the first half of the E-flat minor prelude consists of two aggressive descending passages, each concluding in crashing impacts. The second half is an upward ascent into the void. The ascending fugue subject radiates power and dominance with its aggressive rhythmic content. The highly dissonant fugue concludes with the prelude’s opening descending passages.
TWO CONCERT PIECES FROM THE BALLET ANNA KARENINA (1976) Premiering in 1972, Rodion Shchedrin’s ballet Anna Karenina follows the story of Leo Tolstoy’s novel, and Russian pianist Mikhail Pletnev transcribed two sections of the ballet music: the Prologue and Horse Racing. The Prologue is the haunting introduction to the ballet and is seemingly a reflection of Anna’s life. Many bell tones and abrasive sounds abruptly burst into the scene and leave no resolution for the listener in the end, alluding to the dark ending of the story. Anna’s lyrical theme contrasts the dark atmosphere and is a quotation of the third movement of Tchaikovsky’s second quartet. The Horse Racing scene features a constant galloping rhythmic motif throughout the entire work, and several cascading runs signify the neighing of a horse. The horse racer however cannot manage the horse, and this is shown through a gradual rise of dramatic tension throughout. The ending is musically horrific and clashing as the scene concludes with the horse becoming very injured and forced to be shot by its racer.
ETUDES-TABLEAUX, OP. 39 (1916-1917) Mostly known for his piano works, Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninov (1873-1943) was considered as one of the best pianists in his time and one of the last major figures of Romantic Russian classical music. Rachmaninov composed two set of etudes-tableaux, the first being Op. 33 (1911) and the second and darker set Op. 39 (1916-1917). Op. 39 was his last work composed in Russia before he departed to the West (due to the Russian Revolution) and part of a memorial recital for his friend well-known composer Alexander Scriabin. Rachmaninov used the French title étudetableaux for both sets where perhaps he thought of étude not in terms of exercises on the piano but an art sketch adding tableaux which translates to paintings. These studies however are not referring to literal paintings, but instead are figuratively portraying a landscape or picture. Rachmaninov took an ambiguous approach and said, “I do not believe in the artist that discloses too much of his images. Let [the listeners] paint for themselves what it most suggests.”