These replace two atrocious live recordings we had on the site until I scratched them last year or so. The last bit of perfection still eludes me in the Mazurka, in that last flourish, which is worthy of Liapounov or Liszt, some little thing or another will always go wrong no matter how much I practice it. But I think these have the spirit.

Liadov - Op. 9 - Deux Morceaux - 1: Valse (1:51)
Liadov - Op. 9 - Deux Morceaux - 2: Mazurka (3:16)

Hi Chris,

Both these pieces sound great--very nice compositions very well played indeed. I especially liked the mazurka. This is a very early opus number, but Liadov does not disappoint. I found that the more Liadov pieces I played, the more interested I became in his music. Sometimes the polyphony he creates and intertwines between the hands is remarkably stylish. He deserves more recognition than he receives.

David

Thanks David. I thought you did not like Mazurkas ?
This one has more than a whiff of Balakirev - and the difficulty to match. I might have a try if I can get these closing bars a bit cleaner.
My 4 books of the complete Liadov piano works are a right treasure trove. I would not want to record all of it, sometimes he can get rather too saccharine, but there is much more that is really worth hearing.

Hi Chris,

I don't dislike mazurkas (although like everyone I enjoy some more than others). The thing is that I would much rather listen to them being played by others than playing them myself. Probably sounds weird, but....

David

Chris,
Since these are replacement recordings, I did not download the score.
They're delightful pieces. The waltz was a little Chopinesque, but not the Mazurka. I preferred the latter because it was a little more "oriental", and not just a European rehash.
You played really well on both; I did not catch the problems to which you alluded at the end of the Mazurka. What it just a matter of "crispness"?

Thanks Stu. In the final run my LH invariably goofs up 2 or 3 times. Apparently it is not too apparent, in the heat of the moment, but it irritates me.
I'll need to practice even more on it. It being difficult is not really an excuse anymore I guess.

Very interesting pieces with particularly wonderful codas. The pentatonic idiom Lyadov uses is really appealing and tasteful, and your playing gave me much pleasure (the slips at the coda of the mazurka didn't impact much of the piece at all). Thanks for posting.

Thanks Jon ! I am always amazed at Liadov's natural flair for great melodies and his expertly pianistic writing. He seems to have been a fine pianist is maybe not a virtuoso like some other Russian composers. His codas, as you noted, are often spectacular. Definitely one the the great Russian piano composers.

Hello Chris,

I really enjoyed listening to these. The waltz has a nice open and breathing quality, just the right amount of rubato. If the coda is meant to be piu mosso (I haven't seen the score or played these so I do not know) it might make sense to reduce the amount of ritard between the phrases, as they hold up the flow a bit, but it's very enjoyable as is.

I don't like the composition of the mazurka as much -- it's a bit repetitive. (But one could say the same thing about some of Chopin's mazurkas.) You play it well, for sure. The coda is big and satisfying and no wrong notes jumped out at me either. Perhaps you know exactly where they are but we don't

Thanks for that. Yes the coda of the Prelude is Piu Mosso. I've come to hold back at the end of phrases as a matter of course, and should probably take care not to let what is basically a good practice degenerate into an idiosyncratic habit.
I don't find the Mazurka repetitive, not in the way some pieces of Tchaikovsky, or indeed Chopin, can be. I think it is a pretty balanced piece, with more than a nod to Balakirev. The final run is actually much too fast compared to the preceding bars, because I had to play it so many times before it was sort of acceptable.

Both of these are nicely played and have a pleasing rustic quality. I do hear the problem you allude to at the end of the Mazurka, but think it's one of these things that's annoying primarily to the person who has recorded it! I had a quick look at the score - it sounds like you've upped the tempo (out of frustration? or because of the rapide marking?) and my feeling is that if you keep it clearly organised in groups of 3 the way everything preceding is, it will be easier. I take it you've tried experimenting with note redistribution on the 6th quaver (taking the lh one in the rh)? I tried it but didn't particularly like it: it means the left hand has to switch position less often and the biggest span is removed but it adds another problem with double notes in the right hand.

It's not faster out of frustration but because I had repeated it about zillion times. Somehow I always speed up in that process.
The problem is not the RH double notes but the wide and very uncomfortable LH arpeggio over almost the entire keyboard. I'm sure I can get this nailed with some (a lot) more practice but it's like spending 99% of the effort on 1% of the job.