Before Jenny Lin performs and discusses experimental piano music from revolutionary Russia here on Tuesday, November 22, we thought we’d give a little background on the music.

Ivan Vishnegradsky was a perfect example of the experimental-leaning classical pianists of pre-WWI Russia, revolutionary Russia and the early Soviet years. Specializing in microtonal compositions spurred by a mystical vision, Vishnegradsky emigrated to Paris in 1920, where he joined a community of exiled musicians. Similarly, there was Arthur Lourié, who arrived in 1924, fusing Schoenberg’s atonalism with elements of medieval liturgical music. 

Classical musicians who stayed on in the Soviet Union, both experimenters and traditionalists, did not have an easy time in the worker’s paradise. Composers and musicians were monitored, harassed and persecuted and some (Roslavets) were even made “non-persons” by Stalin or his successors—their compositions burned, performances banned and unable to take part in the public sphere.

This is the type of music Lin performs on her new CD, Preludes to a Revolution. The New York Times gave her a rave review. It’ll be an interesting time.