Born in Yaroslavl, to the north east of Moscow in Tsarist Russia, Sergei Lyapunov studied first at the Moscow Conservatoire before moving to St Petersburg where he fell under the influence of Mily Balakirev.
Rather as Vaughan Williams in England, Lyapunov was interested in collecting Russian folk songs especially from Northern Russia. These would influence a number of compositions during his life.
He rose to become assistant director of music at the Imperial Chapel, whilst also being appointed as head of the Free Music School and a professor at the St Petersburg Conservatoire, teaching piano and theory.
Given the success he had at the Imperial Court it is perhaps unsurprising that he found the revolution distasteful and fled to Paris a year before his death.
The piece below was written as a tribute to Chopin, the title referencing the composer’s birthplace. Once again Lyapunov used local Polish folk music as inspiration for the composition.
I was a bit underwhelmed but OK, wasn't sure I got the Chopin connection either
If I had been listening to this blind, I might have identified the composer as George Butterworth. Anyway, I loved it. Thank you, Andrew …