The 11^th of May, 1855, a joyful event took place in the family of Konstantin Lyadov, the Imperial Opera and Ballet Theatre conductor, well-known among the St. Petersburg musical Establishment – a boy was born to the family.

Anatole Lyadov belonged to the younger generation of a long line of the Russian composers of the second half of the 19^th century.
He proved himself as a talented composer, conductor, teacher, public person. Creative work of Lyadov work most basically is based on the images of Russian epos; his work is steeped in musical folklore and fairytale fantasy, and is characterized by the lyricism imbued with contemplation and a subtle sense of nature. The composer's works contain elements of genre typical nature and humor.

A significant part of Liadow works was written for piano. Notable among them are: ”Pushpin”, “Arabesques”, “About the olden days” (later an orchestral version was created), “idyll”, “Musical Box”, pieces, preludes, waltzes.
Musical style of Liadow was heavily influenced by his older contemporaries, the composers of the ‘Russian Five’, most notably Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, under whom he studied at the St Petersburg Conservatoire. Like his teacher, Liadow often turned to fantastical images. The most striking examples are his symphonic miniatures, or, as Liadow himself called them, ‘fairy-tale pictures’ – the witch Baba Yaga, The Magic Lake and The Kikimora.

The favorite musical form of Anatole Liadow is a small instrumental or vocal piece. The composer jokingly said of himself that he could not stand more than five minutes of music. All his compositions are miniatures, succinct and polished in form. The oeuvre of Liadow is not large in volume: a cantata, 12 compositions for symphony orchestra, 18 children's songs based on folk lyrics for voice and piano, 4 romances, about 200 adaptations of folk songs, several choirs, 6 chamber instrumental works, about 50 pieces for piano. The importance of music by Liadow is demonstrated by the fact that it is often performed at concerts. First of all, these are his symphonic and piano miniatures.

Despite relatively short life of Anatole Liadow, the composer left large footprint in the history of Russian music. His works, characterised by their inimitable style and perfection of form, continue to delight listeners all over the world. In the history of Russian music, Anatole Liadow can be classified as one of a group of composers linking the 19^th and 20^th centuries. Lyadov was not only a gifted composer; he also had a talent for drawing and poetry. In his creative work Anatole Liadow strictly adhered to his position of refined aestheticism. The somewhat cold lyricism of Liadow and the striving for exquisite precision of form – testify to the emergence of new aesthetic trends inherent in the group of the World of Art movement and Russian Symbolist poets.

Waltz-joke for piano ‘The Musical Box’ – a composition that Anatole Liadow dedicated to his eldest son Mikhail is posted in the museum Phonotheque.