Performed by Christian Dillig (piano)
With the publication of Grandfather Dances and Russian Dance, I am completing the 8 pieces from the Album for the Young that the Russian composer and pianist Genari Korganov (1858 - 1890) composed in the year of his very early death. Korganov had studied in the West and in St. Petersburg and was inspired by the music of Peter Tchaikovsky and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. As a native Armenian, however, he is considered a co-founder of Armenian classical music. Korganov has written several piano pieces related to the Caucasus. In the Album for the Young, The Old Nurse's Tale and the Russian Dance best reveal Korganov's origins in the region and his relationship to regional music.
The Russian Dance takes up elements of folk music and is certainly inspired by Tchaikovsky's Russian Dance Kamarinskaya from his Children's Album for piano. The minor-key character, the short block-like sections, the somewhat unusual accentuation and the exuberant character of the piece with its fast sixteenth figurations point to Korganov's inspiration from Russian and Armenian folk music.
These are the tracks from the album for the youth of Genari Korganov with the recording links:
1. March of the Leaden Soldiers (Marsch der bleiernen Soldaten) www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmuQnUODcKo
2. Gorelky - A Game of Patience (Gorelky - ein Geduldspiel) www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIIf0p-C25Q
3. Little Waltz (Kleiner Walzer) www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hqigz7Oxar0
4. Grandfather Dances (Grossvater tanzt) www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hhMRQwdaO0
5. Prayer (Gebet) www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRZO-P57oPs
6. At the Brooklet (Am Bache) www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWz1e3uKoX4
7. The Old Nurse's Tale (Erzählung der alten Wärterin) www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hhMRQwdaO0
8. Russian Dance (Russischer Tanz) www.youtube.com/watch?v=SM9NJyYcp28
