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In the 1970s, the fame of Nicolai Andreievic Roslavec amounted to no more - in the West, at least - than a few lines in the “New Oxford History of Music“. In the chapter entitled “The culmination and decline of Romanticism“, 1890-1914, the author, Gerald Abraham, writes: “Another Russian, the younger Nicolai Roslavec (1881-1944), in reality stands closer (for example), in the Two compositions for piano of 1915) than Skrjabin to dodecaphonic techniques“. Roslavec, he goes on, was regarded as a leading representative of Soviet culture immediately after the Revolution, and was removed from the centre of power during the Stalinist era. Today, we know somewhat more about Roslavec, and, above all, it is also possible to hear a number of his compositions. The picture, which is emerging, however, corresponds neither to that of a precursor or supporter of Schonberg nor to a victim of Stalinismus. Despite his ability to avoid making his language appear traditional, Roslavec, is still rooted in the past. The proof is contained in the Prelude of 1915, dedicated to the “memory of my teacher and friend, A. Abaza“. The melody has connotations, traditional outlines and an openly “logical-expressive“ meaning, the pianistic “orchestration“ abounds in doublings, and the harmony displays the colours of seventh and ninth chords. Indeed, the Prelude seems something of a modern paraphrase of a piece which enjoyed popularity in late 19th century Russia: the so-called Largo of Handel. It is, in fact, quite possible that we are actually dealing with a paraphrase, perhaps dictated by circumstances and autobiographical reasons; it is obvious that Roslavec feelings are quite sincere. It is, however, equally evident that the composer looks firmly in the direction of safety and tradition. (Naxos Music Library) Please take note that the audio AND sheet music ARE NOT mine. Change the quality to a minimum of 480p if the video is blurry. Original audio: (Performance by: Massimiliano Damerini) Original sheet music: (Roslavets,_Nikolay)
