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piano
and
forte
contrasts, one of the few instanc-
es of dynamic indications in Bach’s keyboard
works.
ANATOLY KUSYAKOV (1945–2007)
Autumnal Sceneries
Russian composer Anatoly Ivanovich Kusyakov
completed a degree in composition at the Music
Pedagogical Institute in Rostov-on-Don in
before continuing his studies at the Moscow
Conservatory. Following graduation in
,
Kusyakov returned to the Music Pedagogical In-
stitute (now named the Rostov State Rachmani-
no Conservatory) as an instructor of compo-
sition and instrumentation, later becoming a
rector ( – ) and a professor (
– ).
He was a prizewinner in the
All-Russian
Competition and received the title of Meritori-
ous Artist of Russia in
. In recognition of his
lifetime contributions to the accordion, Kusya-
kov received the Confédération Internationale
des Accordéonistes Merit Award in
.
e
following year, he was honored at the Interna-
tional Moscow Festival “Bayan and Bayanists”
with its Silver Disc award and a concert dedicat-
ed to his compositions for the bayan (a Russian
chromatic button accordion).
Autumnal Sceneries
is a musical portrayal of
the Russian landscape in six movements, all in
Kusyakov’s bold harmonic language, sonorous
e ects, and contrapuntal movement. e accor-
dion evokes seasonal sounds of rain and wind in
Autumnal Reveries
. Swirling breezes loosen the
dry leaves, which plummet to the ground in
Au-
tumnal Leaf-Fall
. Slow, lyrical music alternates
with fast and ery outbursts in
Soiree Mood
.
For-
gotten Chimes
is a dissonant, yet majestic hymn
emanating from a distant church.
Cranes
is de-
rived from a poem by Rasul Gamzatov, which
begins (in a translation by David M. Bennett):
“It seems to me sometimes that soldiers fallen, /
Whom bloody battle elds have rendered dead, /
Were buried not in soil to be forgotten, / But
turned into white cranes in ight instead.”
e
author notices an empty space where he will one
day join the formation.
Wind Dance
provides a
whirling conclusion to the suite.
ALEXEY ARKHIPOVSKY (b. 1967)
Cinderella
(arranged by Alexander Poeluev)
e playing of balalaika virtuoso Alexey Vital-
yevich Arkhipovsky has been described as “a
cross between the guitar gods Je Beck and Steve
Vai” and “no less than the great Jimi Hendrix”;
amazing comparisons since his triangle-body
instrument has three strings, not six. Arkhipov-
sky began balalaika studies at age , winning
numerous local and regional contests before en-
tering the Gnessin State Musical College in
,
where he studied in the folk music department
with balalaika professor Valery Zazhigin. He
was named a laureate of the Contest of Folk In-
strument Performers in
, the year before his
graduation. Arkhipovsky became a soloist with
the Smolensk Folk Orchestra in
and joined
the State Academic Folk Ensemble “Rossiya,”
led by Lyudmila Zykina—the “queen of Russian
folksong.”
As a solo artist, Arkhipovsky has performed
at Russian music and jazz festivals around the
world.
Cinderella
is Arkhipovsky’s fairytale in-
terpretation of the “little glass slipper” folk story
about the beautiful, oppressed maiden Zolush-
ka. Arkhipovsky conjures a world of wonder
with arpeggiated harmonies and high-pitched
melody, which accordionist Alexander Poeluev
has arranged for accordion.
IGOR STRAVINSKY (1882–1971)
Tango
Stravinsky’s ight from Europe in
– came
at a heavy price. He lost all nancial holdings
in France, where he was a citizen. As the Na-
zis overran one country a er another, the ban
on performances and publications of his mu-
sic spread. ( ough a French citizen, Stravin-
sky was considered Russian, thus an enemy, by
the Nazis, and rumors circulated periodically
in Germany that he was Jewish.) By June, Igor
and his second wife, Vera, changed settled into
a modest house on Wilshire Boulevard in Bev-
erly Hills, CA. Like so many émigré musicians
during World War II, Stravinsky had hoped to
capitalize on opportunities in Hollywood, espe-
cially a er the November release of Disney’s
animated lm
Fantasia
, which included a seg-
ment depicting the formation of the Earth and
its evolution through the time of the dinosaurs
set to selections from his ballet score
e Rite of
Spring
, but that proved not to be.
Running short on cash, Stravinsky sought quick
income in another musical medium: arrange-
ments and original compositions for dance
band.
Tango
, a short work composed between
October and ,
, ful lled that commercial
purpose.
e autograph manuscript contains
three lines of music and, as Stravinsky scholar
Stephen Walsh has recognized, represented a
short score. In fact, the well-known piano ver-
sion was the rst of several intended arrange-
ments.
e violinist Samuel Dushkin pro-
grammed his own arrangement for violin and
piano in March
. Four months later, Benny
Goodman conducted a version for full orchestra
in Philadelphia. Finally, Robert Cra presented
Stravinsky’s chamber arrangement on a “Stra-
vinsky jazz” night on October ,
, as part of
the Evenings-on-the-Roof concert series in Los
The cover page of
Clavier-Übung, Part II
(1735)
Anatoly Kusyakov
Alexey Arkhipovsky
Igor Stravinsky
JUNE 2 – JULY 8, 2018 | RAVINIA MAGAZINE
115