UC Davis Symphony Orchestra
Christian Baldini, music director & conductor
Anatoly Lyadov, Kikimora
Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts

Anatoli Liadov studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory under Rimsky-Korsakov, but was known as a lazy student, never getting his work done on time, and generally irresponsible. Eventually, Rimsky- Korsakov kicked him out of his class.

Ultimately Liadov did manage to become a professor at the Conservatory and remained there most of his life. Prokofiev, one of his students, noted, “Laziness was his most remarkable feature.” This procrastination cost him the chance to write The Firebird for Diaghilev, a commission grabbed by Stravinsky who was launched onto the world stage with his version of the ballet.

When Liadov could harness himself to compose, his works were brilliant and often fantasy-like. Three of his most famous programmatic tone poems are Baba-Yaga, Kikimora, and The Enchanted Lake.

Kikimora
Opus 63, Kikimora was produced in the same year as The Enchanted Lake, 1909. Her kinship to Baba-Yaga is close. A malevolent (although sometimes nice) old household witch who torments children at night (by tickling them), makes squeaky mouse-like sounds, lives behind a stove or in the cellar, and spends her nights breaking dishes and spinning. Should you see her at this task, however, you will die. She traverses the household by slipping through keyholes in the doors. Once she is established, it is almost impossible to get her out of the house. Some tales mention her as “the goddess of the house” who rewards good housekeepers and terrorizes those who do not keep a clean house.

Liadov wrote, “She grew up in the mountains with a magician. From dawn to sunset, the magician’s cat regales Kikimora with fantastic tales of ancient times and faraway places as Kikimora rocks in a cradle made of crystal. It takes her seven years to reach maturity, by which time her head is no larger than a thimble and her body no wider than a strand of straw. Kikimora spins flax from dusk to dawn with evil intentions for the world.”

The music begins softly with a dense, heavy atmosphere from which the English horn surfaces with a melancholy, somber melody. Like Baba-Yaga, Kikimora (at midpoint) gains acceleration, and she is off on her malevolent, spiteful plans. The tone poem takes us on a frightening course as Kikimora seeks vengeance on the world and its inhabitants. Small wicked snippets sound from the winds over shuddering strings: excitement is enhanced by rapidly repeating notes, coaxing the music into nervous advance. An aggressive segment dominates the final section: there is a sudden pause, and Kikimora disappears with a peep from the piccolo.

© Marianne Williams Tobias, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, 2015
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