I've been trying to find the complete parts for a concerto by this Ukrainian/Georgian composer. IMSLP has a 2-piano reduction here:
https://imslp.org/wiki/Piano_Concerto%2C_Op.15_(Aizberg%2C_Ilya)
I have already transcribed it as a reduction (it's one of the first pieces I did in fact, though I never posted it as I didn't have a complete score), but obviously, I could only guess at the orchestra parts. I've done the 2nd piano part as just a string ensemble for now, much as I did with the Borgstrom concerto, which was what brought this forum to my attention. I'm hoping that as in that case, someone here might know how to go about finding this piece as well. I've found very little information about him anywhere, let alone manuscripts. I imagine that it would be found somewhere in Ukraine, and I'd guess that people there have bigger things to worry about right now, but on the off-chance anyone knows of other sources, I figured I'd reach out.
(I realize this might be borderline for the romantic era, though for what it's worth, IMSLP at least considers him to be in the Romantic Period, which seems to have lasted somewhat longer in the Soviet Union than in other parts of Europe. I'll understand if you all feel like this is off topic here though.)
I've asked my contact at the Tbilisi Conservatoire if they have it - so far they have only found that they have his "Capriccio Hebraique", arranged for 2 pianos. My contact also searched the Russian National Library catalogue. It lists the same 2-piano version of the piano concerto, but also a full-orchestra+piano score of the Capriccio Hebraique.
https://nlr.ru/e-case3/sc2.php/note/lc/110/8 (https://nlr.ru/e-case3/sc2.php/note/lc/110/8) - piano concerto (2-piano version)
https://nlr.ru/e-case3/sc2.php/note/lc/110/4 (https://nlr.ru/e-case3/sc2.php/note/lc/110/4) - Capriccio Hebraique (full orchestral score - piano +orchestra)
Thanks for looking into it. IMSLP also has the Capriccio I see, but only the 2-piano version. Definitely not the same piece, but it could be another project I could look at.
I'm not sure what to do with the links you posted, it seems only to be the card catalog entries and not the actual scores? So maybe they have only a physical manuscript but nothing digitized? Useful if I was in St. Petersburg maybe. I don't read Russian, so I'm relying on the browser translation, which is less than perfect, and might have mangled some things. (It did translate the composer's name to "iceberg", which, I guess that's probably accurate but you shouldn't be translating proper nouns like that, oh well.)
Unfortunately, I am near the other St. Petersburg (in Florida) which is about to get hit with a major hurricane, so I may be out of communication for the next several days. Crossing fingers on that one.
The full score of the capriccio is at FLP, I think, but no such luck with the piano concerto.
Quote from: Darrel Hoffman on Tuesday 08 October 2024, 13:44Thanks for looking into it. IMSLP also has the Capriccio I see, but only the 2-piano version. Definitely not the same piece, but it could be another project I could look at.
I'm not sure what to do with the links you posted, it seems only to be the card catalog entries and not the actual scores? So maybe they have only a physical manuscript but nothing digitized?
Yes the links are catalogue entries, not the actual works. From my experience with libraries and archives in that part of the world, it is most likely, as you suggest, a physical manuscript and you would need to make a request for it to be scanned (or, more likely, ask someone who has the right to make the request), with an associated fee.
Quote from: eschiss1 on Tuesday 08 October 2024, 19:00The full score of the capriccio is at FLP, I think, but no such luck with the piano concerto.
So my impression of FLP is they seem to only carry physical manuscripts, and mostly only loan them out to orchestras? Every time I've looked there they don't seem to have digital copies of anything. I'm not sure if I'm prepared to go that deep on these. My process involves taking a lot of notes on the score, which you can do easily on digital, but obviously that kind of thing is not okay with a paper copy. I suppose the other option is to get someone to scan it, but I doubt they do that for free, and I don't really have a budget for this project, at least until I get enough of a following that it actually earns me money, which probably won't be for a while.
I've finished my rendition of this concerto. Still just a reduction with the 2nd piano rendered as strings, but until the score turns up, this is all I can do.
Thanks!
Someone should someday find the parts, record it and add the Sonata-Skazka Op.19 (pub.1929) too ;) (I personally am fond of Russian music from this time, whether it's Medtner's 2nd piano concerto or, rather less Romantic, Prokofiev's 3rd symphony...) And the rhythms and tunes of this work seem rather catchy.
I might consider doing the Capriccio as well if I can get the parts, but it's not public domain until next year. Incidentally, I'd also like to add a picture of the composer to the thumbnail, but I was unable to find one, which is surprising for someone so recent - that's usually more of a problem with the older composers. If anyone can find one, I'd appreciate it.
He spent a lot of his career in Azerbaijan, where his name is spelt "İlya Aysberq".
There seem to be a lot of references to him in this document but it has to be purchased -
https://www.scribd.com/document/733262208/terlan-seyidov (https://www.scribd.com/document/733262208/terlan-seyidov)
One section reads "Another rector of those years (1923–1928) – Professor Ilya Semyonovich Aysberg was also an outstanding pianist. Having graduated from the St. Petersburg Conservatory in piano in the class of K.K. Fan-Arkin and in composition in the class of N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, Aysberg taught at the Azerbaijan Conservatory until 1934 and left a significant mark in musical education as an outstanding pianist and methodologist. The creation of a number of arrangements for the piano of Azerbaijani folk songs belongs mainly to him. These arrangements, based on national material, were used in piano classes. His numerous scientific works on the problems of the piano art – "On the placement of hands", "On the natural order of the instrument on the piano", "Modern methods of work in performance classes", "Hand diseases", "Methodology of playing by heart" and others – are widely used in piano pedagogy in Azerbaijan." (using google translate)
His 4 Pieces (Op.13) for solo piano are here, played by Tomoya Moriura:
1. Prélude (Lento lugubre in E♭ minor) -
2. Poème-arabesque (Scherzando in C major) -
3. Désolation (Lento doloroso in E♭ minor) -
4. Tendresse (Piacevole in D♭ major) -
Quote from: Christopher on Monday 06 October 2025, 13:36He spent a lot of his career in Azerbaijan, where his name is spelt "İlya Aysberq".
Searching under that spelling found nothing relevant - I just keep getting references to an anime character, the Tsarina of kingdom of Iceberg. "Iceberg" is the legitimate translation of "Aizberg", but the use of "Ilya" as a woman's name is very unusual. I guess some people just mistakenly believe anything ending in "a" must be feminine, but it's apparently just a variant of "Elijah".
But that does suggest an alternate approach to searching for info - does anyone have any contacts in Azerbaijan?