Lev Tolstoy: Waltz in F Major

The Music of Lev Tolstoy

Tolstoy's only known musical composition was this Waltz in F which was written down by the Russian pianist and composer Alexander Goldenweiser after it had been played to him by the composer in February 1906. It appears in a Russian book by N. Gusev and A. Goldenweiser, Leo Tolstoy and Music (Moscow, 1953), where it is attributed to Tolstoy's youth. In his contribution to the book, A. Goldenweiser writes (p. 31):“In his youth Lev Nikolaevich composed a waltz for the piano. When, in 1906, I was at Yasnaya Polyana with Taneev, Lev Nikolaevich played it to us, and we noted it down. This was the only time that we heard Lev Nikolaevich play.”� The waltz (in the key of F major) is printed as an appendix to the book. It was recorded for the National Sound Archive by Imogen Cooper on 17 October 1997, and has been played once on Radio 3 by Brian Kay. It lasts less than a minute, and has great charm. Henry Hardy rediscovered this piece after hearing it mentioned by Isaiah Berlin, while being interviewed for Humphrey Carpenter's history of the Third Programme/Radio 3, The Envy of the World. The note at the back of the page compiled from information provided by Henry Hardy.
We also know that Tolstoy’s favourite composer was Chopin and I thought that Tolstoy has inspired from Chopin’s waltzes when I heard this piece at first. Then I read those lines by Tolstoy:
“Chopin, he offers as an example, imparted sweet melancholy to certain of his works, intended for listeners to receive it, and often succeeds in doing so. All of us have had experiences in which we have been moved by art, and communication between artist and perceiver can take place in such cases through common knowledge of expressive properties.”�



You can have a look at this site if you want to listen to the waltz:

http://www.nymetmusic.com/Pages/PianoSolo.html#Tolstoy

P.S.: Those who cannot open the link and interested in this waltz may send me message and I can send them this pretty little waltz by Tolstoy.