Kazhlayev, Prelude No. 4 from Six Preludes

[rachfan]

Murad Kazhlayev, a composer and conductor, was born in Baku, Russia in 1931.  He graduated from the Baku State Conservatory. There he studied composition with Boris Zeidman. Kazhlayev was a teacher at the Tchaikovsky Music School in Makhachkala.  He was the chief conductor of the Dagestan Radio Symphonic Orchestra and later the Artistic Director of the Dagestan Philharmonic Hall Orchestra. And for 10 years he was in charge of the Variety Symphonic Orchestra named after Y. V. Silantyev. Most recently he established the Dagestan Musical School for Gifted Children.  He also founded a museum dedicated to the musical culture of Dagestan affiliated with the school.  Kazhlayev has been recognized and awarded several times including the prestigious People’s Artist of the USSR and the Order for the Merit for Dagestan Republic.  

I hope you'll enjoy hearing this piece.  Be prepared for some dissonance! 

Comments welcome.

Piano: Baldwin Model L Artist Grand (6’3”) with lid fully raised.
Recorder: Roland R-44
Mics: Matched pair of Earthworks TC-20 small diaphragm, omni-directional condenser mics in A-B configuration

[pianiststrongbad]

Nice performance! It is a pretty piece which I'm completely unfamiliar with - I always like hearing new pieces. Out of curiosity, how did you learn of this piece and composer?

[rachfan]

Hi pianiststrongbad,

Thanks for your compliment on my playing!

It's been awhile!  As for Kazhlayev's "Six Preludes", recently I attempted several times to send the sheet music to his email address. Even when it displayed "Sent" at my end, it never arrived at the destination. And I had tried two different email facilities. You might want to try  pianophilia.   

David   

[ajlongspiano]

Rachfan (David, right?),

   This was a wonderful performance of a beautifully penned composition. Thank you for sharing lesser known music with us all. I do love Kazhlayev's preludes. My first time hearing the was several months ago and I just thought to myself: " Why don't more people play these?! " Thank you again for posting this. Myself and the rest of PS are really grateful to have you here!

Best,

AJ

[visitor]

This is lovely playing as always David, and again, a dark/warm "American" sound from a great vintage Baldwin such as yours (I suspect would sound good on a Mason Hamlin as well) does the piece justice.
I hear glimpses of Gershwin here with pops of more tonally provocative spots dispersed throughout, I liked it a lot.
I have  a hard time suggesting much in the way of things to 'improve' or look for, however my only though is that within the texture and your phrase planning, perhaps trying to find ways to emphasize those spicier harmonies more, maybe a little accent, or tenuto, or slight cresc into them with a backing off in the resolution, std stuff you might do in a Beethoven or Mozart work where more complex harmonies  highlight opportunities for more emotive playing, but this is a minor 'taste' suggestion and  not suggesting your piece was lacking, it just something I might try to look at.

I'm working on a prelude at theme moment that's almost done and these are things I'm trying to apply given some similarities in the work I'm prepping and this fine one you presented thanks for
sharing.

[rachfan]

Hi AJ,

Yes, David is correct. 

Thank you for your kind words. I really appreciate it.  I've had some similar comments from others too.  To some extent we all enjoy the "standard repertoire".  But then again, listeners also like to break away to hear something that's relatively unknown or forgotten.  There are some real gems out there. And of course the music isn't new as such, but it's "new" because it has surfaced from obscurity.  I like nothing better than giving a boost to an unknown composer. 

Thanks again.

David   

[rachfan]

Hi visitor,

Thanks for the kudos, I really appreciate it. 

I too noted that Gershwin pops sound.  Turns out he also wrote "I Got Rhythm" which plays a prominent part in this prelude. 

Thanks too for your thoughts on pianism and performance.  Those are all good suggestions you shared.

David

[ted]

I didn't register anything particularly dissonant to my ears, just a series of interesting harmonies, well thought out and, as usual, sensitively played. His influences in this one, however, unlike the previous prelude you posted, were clearly American rather than from the British school of Ireland and company. He was (oops, is, he is still alive !) clearly a very eclectic musician, who must have found the Russian system intolerably stifling to his creative spirit. Thanks again for drawing him to our attention.

Ted.

[goldentone]

Fine playing, David.  This sounds to me like a variation of "I Got Rhythm."  I was able
to withstand the dissonances.

[rachfan]

Hi Ted,

Thanks for your thoughts on Kazhlayev as composer.  I have to agree with you.  Thanks for listening and commenting.

David

[rachfan]

Hi goldentone,

Thanks for your compliment!  I'm glad you enjoyed this recording.

David

[rachfan]

Hi AJ,

I just looked at my longevity here.  Looks like I joined Piano Street on January 4, 2003.  So 13 years to date here!  My memorization is gone, so it takes longer to prepare a piece now.  But I really enjoy doing and posting recordings.

David

P.S.  The temps have been in the 90s with uncomfortable humidity too. It's probably worse in FL.  Have a good night.

David