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Presents
Mikhail Gnesin
Little Pieces for Clarinet, Violin, Cello and Piano, Op.60
Mikhail Gnesin (1883-1957) was born in the Russian town of Rostov on Don. He studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory with Georgi Conus, Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov. After graduating he taught in Germany and then back in his home town of Rostov. In 1923, he traveled to Palestine where he collected folk music. Returning to Russian, he taught at the Gnesin Conservatory, founded by his family, in Moscow. Gnesin’s oeuvre falls into two periods or categories. In the first and earliest period he associated with Russian avant garde composers such as Nikolai Roslavets and Alexander Mosolov among others. Their music subsequently has be labeled as a movement known as Russian Futurism. His second and later period was devoted to music involving Jewish folk music. He was one of the founders of the Russian Society for Jewish Folk Music.
The Op.60 Little Pieces is a work from his second period. It was published in 1953, a few years before his death but probably composed several years before that. The first piece is titled Dzheren's Little Song. It is based on a Turkmen melody. It is a sad song, the tempo marking is Maestoso con tristezza. The second piece, a short, brisk Allegro, is titled Ukrainian Dance. The final piece is the longest of the set and is titled Lyrical Intermezzo. It begins as an Andantino, has a quicker middle section and then return to the opening tempo.
Out of print for many decades, we are pleased to make it available and hope it will interest professionals and amateurs alike.
Parts: $19.95
