The Russian composer and pianist Nikolai Medtner was a younger contemporary of Scriabin and Rachmaninov, who wrote a substantial amount of works, all including the piano, amongst others piano and violin sonatas, piano concertos, songs and a few shorter pieces for piano. 38 of these pieces are collected under the name Skazki (Fairy Tales) and contain Medtners most appealing and original music. Despite his declining health, Medtner succeeded in recording several of his works before his death in 1951. His compositions became neglected in the following 25 years. Nowadays he is more and more often recognized as one of the most significant Russian piano composers, and several recordings of his piano works and a few of his songs are available.