Maxim Shalygin wrote his 9 Preludes for Piano when he lived in St. Petersburg and finished the composition in Kiev, 2006. The preludes are a cycle of nine intimate and spiritual movements, filled with emotional contrasts, introspection and nostalgia.
“ The 9 preludes for piano are perhaps the first large-scale work in which I managed to find the subtle connections inside musical matter that invite the listener to move inward. Everything in the preludes is aimed at gradual immersion, avoiding the use of external effects.
I consciously relied on well-known historical genres in order to give the listener the opportunity to enter with ease into the gate of introspection. From there on, the labyrinths of various and new feelings can be discovered and we start to experience a different sense of time.
While writing the work I often composed at the piano or played the preludes for my friends. Always in company of candlelight. This intimate and dark atmosphere allowed me to become one with myself without the distraction of external factors. This is what i wish for the listeners as well; sometimes the music is so quiet that we start to hear our own breath..” Maxim Shalygin, April 2019.
Duration: 50 min