V. Zolotaryov - Accordion Sonata No. 3 Mvt. 4, 1972 (orch. by B. Jessep, 2023)

I came across this piece earlier this year, and immediately appreciated the craft and storytelling of a piece written for an unusual instrument. After a few more listens, I wanted to study the piece further and also thought it would work for a larger ensemble, so I orchestrated it in only about four days.
Vladislav Andreyevich Zolotaryov (Владислав Андреевич Золотарёв) was born in 1942 in a small village on the eastern coast of Russia, and received his first bayan (accordion) from his father around age 11. Zolotaryov was among the first students at the "musical university" in Magadan, but was forced to interrupt his studies for military service, a difficult period in his life. After finishing school, he moved to Moscow where he began to work as a composer and bayan teacher. He worked with important contemporary Russian musicians such as F. Lips, E. Denisov, and S. Gubaidulina, and experimented extensively with his instrument, especially with the chords of the left hand.
Zolotaryov was prone to depressive episodes. After his wife sold his bayan and destroyed many of his manuscripts, he committed suicide at the age of 32.
In addition to the leading works for bayan of the period, he wrote vocal pieces, string quartets, other chamber music, and short poems in the Japanese style.
Sources:
web.archive.org/web/200804240...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladisl...
Instrumentation:
1 piccolo
2 flutes
2 oboes
1 cor anglais
2 clarinets in B♭
1 tenor saxophone
1 bass clarinet
2 bassoons
1 contrabassoon
4 horns in F
3 trumpets in B♭
3 trombones (1st doubling euphonium)
1 tuba
3 percussionists playing bass drum, hand cymbals, suspended cymbal, xylophone, marimba, and tubular bells
strings
Corrected version; originally uploaded November 5, 2023.
Created with Dorico Pro 4 and NotePerformer 3.