- This piece comes from a set of two “Melodies” for piano solo (one in F, one in B) which Rubinstein had published in Vienna in 1852.
- Rubinstein preferred to publish his music in Europe rather than in Russia due to Russia’s weak copyright protection.
- Rubinstein dedicated this work to his friend and patron the Grand Duchess Yelena Pavlovna. She was the sister-in-law of Tsar Nicholas I and a friend and patron of Rubinstein. Together they founded the Russian Musical Society and the St. Petersburg Conservatory.
- Though he was a prolific composer, this is Rubinstein’s only work to achieve lasting popularity after his death. Rubinstein’s Grove article suggests that the bulk of the composer’s music suffers from hasty writing and a lack of original ideas.1
Sources
- Edward Garden, “Rubinstein [Rubinshteyn], Anton Grigor′yevich,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed October 18, 2021, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000024053.
Cut IDs
41081