"Art is not an end in itself, but a means of addressing humanity."
Modeste Moussorgsky

Lush and beautiful Russian and Ukrainian piano songs performed by Alvin Lloyd Masters .

RUSSIAN FAIRY TALES is a unique collection of amazing piano music , little known rare gems and songs that the world needs to hear played well . The recording is lush and dark , with a beautiful world class tone .

The recording featuring several composers including Rheinhold Gliere ‘s best loved work the flowing Prelude op.43, no. 1 unfortunately played far too fast by many expert pianists today. A more moderato tempo as indicated in the score allows more sensitivity and depth of expression. His works for students are not known nearly enough in the United States and are exceptional in charm and artistic construction.

The works are expressive and of great beauty some venturing away from neo-Romanticism as in the small works of Myaskovsky. Madrigal and Disheartened are modern sounding minimalist masterpieces . Rebikov adheres to impressionistic ideas and relies more on beauty than technic in most of his works .

Some of the Russian composers in the late 1800s were great composers of neo- Baroque fugues , each standing as a masterpiece in it’s own right. Rimsky -Korsakoff ‘s Romance and Tchaikovsky’s Chanson Triste are better known favorites .

Kosenko died during the starving of the Ukraine by Stalin , his works for children reveal a melodic genius that is appealing .

Moussorgsky is most famous today perhaps for Night on Bald Mountain , which he never heard himself due to jealousy of a conductor. A few of his individual piano works are outstanding and the Pictures of an Exhibition are profound .

In this recording perhaps the most significant , well played and best written work is the Romance op31. No7 of Rachmaninoff . You have to have a refined sense of expression to pull off a work of this profundity . Technic alone won’t do it.

The Berceuse of Illyinsky is a truly forgotten gem in need of resurrection from oblivion . Performed dozens of times by the famous Fraulein As der Ohe with the Boston Symphony before the Great War , her name appearing on the old original score. She went from world fame to an unknown artist in a mere few years after her return to Germany. There are many interesting side tragedies in Russian Fairytales.

Either salon living room recitals or large concert halls Kopyloff, Pachulski , and Liadov were geniuses. Their chords and sublime resolutions emanate deep and ominous atmosphere as paintings by Aivazovsky , stories by Tolstoy and Chekov.

Reflect with respect , these are not light hearted Chopinesque crowd pleasers. There is great tragedy and nobility of spirit in these works and suffering it is said makes good art for the world. It’s our own loss if we don’t discover lost art or find things in every country of the world that are our cultural heritage belonging to all of us.

Performed , recorded , audio mastered and produced by Alvin Lloyd Masters .

piano tuning by Jeff Gato .

Recorded on a New York Steinway M Grand piano , using AGK 414 and CK Cardiod 91 microphones and Avid’s M Box pro . All natural reverberation and mild processing
with Izotope’s Ozone .

Special thanks to Paolo D’Emilio for expert professional mastering advice and
Peter Pritchard .
Blue Jay Music
Atlanta , Georgia

copyright 2017 Alvin Lloyd Masters, all rights reserved.