Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Performed by Marina Lomazov.
I - Elder Brothers and Ivan. Allegro risoluto (𝅗𝅥 = 108) - Sostenuto (𝅗𝅥 = 76) - Allegretto (𝅘𝅥 = 104): 0:00
II - Girls' Roundelay. Moderato (𝅘𝅥 = 96): 1:39
III - Scherzino. Vivace leggierissimo (𝅘𝅥 = 176): 4:08
IV - I'm Playing the Balalaika. Allegro (𝅘𝅥 = 138-44): 5:11
Shchedrin's Four Piano Pieces were extracted from the 1955 ballet "The Humpbacked Little Horse" in the same year of its composition. The ballet is based on a Russian folk fairy-tale about the travels of a simple young boy, Ivan, and his faithful friend the Humpbacked Horse. After Ivan's two fine stallions are stolen, the wondrous Humpbacked Horse and a magical feather lead him from his abject state into the service of the Tsar himself. Ivan has many spectacular adventures: he travels to the top of the Silver Mountain, retrieves a ring from the bottom of the sea, bathes in a boiling cauldron, wins the love of the Tsar-Maiden, and, when Ivan eventually takes the throne, the Humpbacked Horse wishes the young couple happiness and flies away into the sky.
The story has fascinated dramatic artists since the late nineteenth century and has inspired numerous musicians. Shchedrin's version, which is notable for its invocation of hearty laughter that is mixed with an arousal of sympathy in tender lyrical spots, such as the celebrated love theme, became acclaimed for how close it came to the original Yershov story. Staged in collaboration with librettists Vasily Vaionen and Pavel Malyarevsky in 1956, the ballet had its premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow during the 1959-60 season. The work's popularity has endured in Russia and elsewhere.
The first piece describes how Ivan and his brothers are spending time in the country, in a lazy way of living where the brothers do not have anything to do but sing silly songs. Ivan, the youngest, spends time playing his flute. The piano version is vivid and cheerful with a marked folk flavour. It is written in polyphonic style. At the beginning we hear the entrance of each of the brothers. The theme appears first in the middle register, and it will appear several times between measures 1 to 33, creating a fugal effect. There are sections where the theme appears in a stretto. The tempo marking indicates allegro risoluto, which immediately gives us the idea of the character of the piece, as do the indications in the first two measures of/and ben marcato sempre. Also, the use of staccato markings accents and sforzandos confirm the idea of a march in polyphonic style.
The second movement is based on one idea repeated throughout the piece. The composer recreates the voices of the girls singing a folk song in duet. The entrance of the moderato shows the voices of the girls singing in thirds. The ornament is very characteristic and features idiomatic gestures of Russian folk singing, as is the interval of a fourth. It is based on the Aeolian scale of D, which contributes to its typical Russian flavour. It starts pianissimo and as it progresses toward the middle section it increases in dynamic and thickens in texture. The naive motive of the beginning transforms into a more energetic one, simulating that all the girls of the little town are singing. At the close of the movement the texture becomes transparent again, with only the opening two voices remaining. The form is a loosely constructed theme and variations/ostinato. The six-bar theme appears ten times, each time with new material.
The third movement is the fastest. The specific combination of eighth and sixteenth notes brings out the playful character. The rhythmic element dominates here. The chromaticism in measures 1 to 4 and 12 to 15 accentuates the character, and makes the harmony ambiguous. The main melody moves with an alternation of half and whole steps. It is written in binary form (A-A'), with the addition of a Coda, and it is based on a four-bar motive. Section A extends from measure 1 to 30, section A' from measure 31 to 60, and the Coda from 61 to the end.
The fourth movement serves as a festive ending to this suite. Here, the composer takes the same thematic material presented in Girls' Roundelay and transforms its character. In Girls' Roundelay the melody represents the singing of the girls; here the same melody with two voices imitates the playing of the balalaika: a stringed Russian folk instrument from the lute family, with a triangular body, with the back slightly bowed. Shchedrin uses several techniques to suggest the sound of the instrument. He uses the upper register of the piano, since the balalaika has a very high register, also staccato markings imitate the plucked nature of the instrument. Both elements appear together in the very opening of the movement.
Picture: Illustration of the "The Humpbacked Little Horse" by Russian illustrator Dmitriev Dmitry Pavlovich
Sources: tinyurl.com/284bj234 and tinyurl.com/298aslbk
Unfortunately, the score isn't available.
Performed by Marina Lomazov.
I - Elder Brothers and Ivan. Allegro risoluto (𝅗𝅥 = 108) - Sostenuto (𝅗𝅥 = 76) - Allegretto (𝅘𝅥 = 104): 0:00
II - Girls' Roundelay. Moderato (𝅘𝅥 = 96): 1:39
III - Scherzino. Vivace leggierissimo (𝅘𝅥 = 176): 4:08
IV - I'm Playing the Balalaika. Allegro (𝅘𝅥 = 138-44): 5:11
Shchedrin's Four Piano Pieces were extracted from the 1955 ballet "The Humpbacked Little Horse" in the same year of its composition. The ballet is based on a Russian folk fairy-tale about the travels of a simple young boy, Ivan, and his faithful friend the Humpbacked Horse. After Ivan's two fine stallions are stolen, the wondrous Humpbacked Horse and a magical feather lead him from his abject state into the service of the Tsar himself. Ivan has many spectacular adventures: he travels to the top of the Silver Mountain, retrieves a ring from the bottom of the sea, bathes in a boiling cauldron, wins the love of the Tsar-Maiden, and, when Ivan eventually takes the throne, the Humpbacked Horse wishes the young couple happiness and flies away into the sky.
The story has fascinated dramatic artists since the late nineteenth century and has inspired numerous musicians. Shchedrin's version, which is notable for its invocation of hearty laughter that is mixed with an arousal of sympathy in tender lyrical spots, such as the celebrated love theme, became acclaimed for how close it came to the original Yershov story. Staged in collaboration with librettists Vasily Vaionen and Pavel Malyarevsky in 1956, the ballet had its premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow during the 1959-60 season. The work's popularity has endured in Russia and elsewhere.
The first piece describes how Ivan and his brothers are spending time in the country, in a lazy way of living where the brothers do not have anything to do but sing silly songs. Ivan, the youngest, spends time playing his flute. The piano version is vivid and cheerful with a marked folk flavour. It is written in polyphonic style. At the beginning we hear the entrance of each of the brothers. The theme appears first in the middle register, and it will appear several times between measures 1 to 33, creating a fugal effect. There are sections where the theme appears in a stretto. The tempo marking indicates allegro risoluto, which immediately gives us the idea of the character of the piece, as do the indications in the first two measures of/and ben marcato sempre. Also, the use of staccato markings accents and sforzandos confirm the idea of a march in polyphonic style.
The second movement is based on one idea repeated throughout the piece. The composer recreates the voices of the girls singing a folk song in duet. The entrance of the moderato shows the voices of the girls singing in thirds. The ornament is very characteristic and features idiomatic gestures of Russian folk singing, as is the interval of a fourth. It is based on the Aeolian scale of D, which contributes to its typical Russian flavour. It starts pianissimo and as it progresses toward the middle section it increases in dynamic and thickens in texture. The naive motive of the beginning transforms into a more energetic one, simulating that all the girls of the little town are singing. At the close of the movement the texture becomes transparent again, with only the opening two voices remaining. The form is a loosely constructed theme and variations/ostinato. The six-bar theme appears ten times, each time with new material.
The third movement is the fastest. The specific combination of eighth and sixteenth notes brings out the playful character. The rhythmic element dominates here. The chromaticism in measures 1 to 4 and 12 to 15 accentuates the character, and makes the harmony ambiguous. The main melody moves with an alternation of half and whole steps. It is written in binary form (A-A'), with the addition of a Coda, and it is based on a four-bar motive. Section A extends from measure 1 to 30, section A' from measure 31 to 60, and the Coda from 61 to the end.
The fourth movement serves as a festive ending to this suite. Here, the composer takes the same thematic material presented in Girls' Roundelay and transforms its character. In Girls' Roundelay the melody represents the singing of the girls; here the same melody with two voices imitates the playing of the balalaika: a stringed Russian folk instrument from the lute family, with a triangular body, with the back slightly bowed. Shchedrin uses several techniques to suggest the sound of the instrument. He uses the upper register of the piano, since the balalaika has a very high register, also staccato markings imitate the plucked nature of the instrument. Both elements appear together in the very opening of the movement.
Picture: Illustration of the "The Humpbacked Little Horse" by Russian illustrator Dmitriev Dmitry Pavlovich
Sources: tinyurl.com/284bj234 and tinyurl.com/298aslbk
Unfortunately, the score isn't available.
