Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Performed by Jenny Lin.
I - Grandioso - Lento: 0:00
II - Allegro irato: 1:34
Wyschnegradsky's Two Preludes Op.2 were composed in spring of 1916, as the Great War was raging on and the Russian Empire was close to its collapse. The preludes were apparently lost at some point, as the composer had to reconstruct them from memory on 1949, then performed at the Maison de Radio France in Paris on January 7 of 1977, performed by Jean-François Heisser just two years before the composer's death. It is the earliest piece in Wyschnegradsky's catalogue, showing the early influences of Sergei Rachmaninoff, and most notably, Alexander Scriabin.
The first prelude begins with a longing, ascending theme that becomes increasingly tense and dissonant. The music however fails to resolve in a climax, instead ending with a bittersweet fragmentation. The second prelude features a grim and menacing theme reminiscent of a march. A more melodic variation offers some contrast before the material returns in its original shape, ending the prelude with a determined gesture.
Picture: "Königstein Station" (1916) by the German painter Ernst Ludwig Kirchner.
Musical analysis written by myself.
To check the score: tinyurl.com/2ayh2jdl
Performed by Jenny Lin.
I - Grandioso - Lento: 0:00
II - Allegro irato: 1:34
Wyschnegradsky's Two Preludes Op.2 were composed in spring of 1916, as the Great War was raging on and the Russian Empire was close to its collapse. The preludes were apparently lost at some point, as the composer had to reconstruct them from memory on 1949, then performed at the Maison de Radio France in Paris on January 7 of 1977, performed by Jean-François Heisser just two years before the composer's death. It is the earliest piece in Wyschnegradsky's catalogue, showing the early influences of Sergei Rachmaninoff, and most notably, Alexander Scriabin.
The first prelude begins with a longing, ascending theme that becomes increasingly tense and dissonant. The music however fails to resolve in a climax, instead ending with a bittersweet fragmentation. The second prelude features a grim and menacing theme reminiscent of a march. A more melodic variation offers some contrast before the material returns in its original shape, ending the prelude with a determined gesture.
Picture: "Königstein Station" (1916) by the German painter Ernst Ludwig Kirchner.
Musical analysis written by myself.
To check the score: tinyurl.com/2ayh2jdl
