Popov A. Postlude for viola and piano. Piano score and part

Alexander Georgiyevich Popov (born in 1957) is the Petersburgian composer, author of symphonic compositions, chamber-instrumental and vocal music. 

Alexander Popov tries to solve the problem of relations between the Human Being and the Time in different aspects of this word’s meaning, i. e. the course of time and its perception, concentration and rarefaction, accelerations and stops. Thus all these relations grow at last to the contiguity between the Time and the Eternity on the one hand and between the Human Being and cultural heritage (including musical one) nowadays. The composer resorts to various cultural traditions, e. g. the European Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Oriental Nirvana music and ecclesiastic Armenian music. Among Popov’s most significant works there are the Requiem for soloists, old instruments’ ensemble, prepared piano and metronome, «Theory of Affects» for chamber orchestra, «Sinfonia da camera» to Frescobaldi’s memory, Sinfonia Brevis for full symphony orchestra, Chamber cantata “W” for contra tenor and octet to the folk Slavonic texts about the Doomsday. Popov is the laureate of the «International Tribune of Composers» (Paris, 1995). Among his works there are the silent film «Earth» (produced by Alexander Dovzhenko), which the composer wrote music to and «Johan» (produced by Moris Stiller), ordered by the German TV programme ZDF/ARTE. 

The Postlude for viola and piano was composed by Alexander Popov in 1993. The author marks the incompatibility between the timbre spheres of the strings and keyed instruments. The viola and the piano seem to exist in dissimilar sounding strata therefore the composer manifests it through the discrepancy of performing styles (the author’s directions for sound making should be treated most attentively). These spaces get conjugated in the final movement (from the time the pianist stops usual keyboard playing). 

Popov resorts to the toy barrel organ.

The premiere took place on November 15, 1993 at the Petersburgian Composers’ House (viola — Mikhail Anikeyev, piano — Alexander Popov himself). Subsequently the piece was not once performed in Russia and abroad.