The genre of Skazka, translated into English as Fairy Tale , created by Medtner , became one of his favorite. The 38 Fairy Tales fall into a category of small form compositions, and contain some of Medtner’s most original and captivating music and many critics agree that Medtner’s best compositional features are fully revealed in this genre.
Many musical compositions of romantic and post-romantic eras originated from literary forms. Among these works are Novelettes by Schumann's, Ballades by Chopin, Brahms, and Grieg, Legends by Liszt, Poems by Chausson, Poems by Scriabin “Pro Stariny” (Eng. “About the old days”) by Liadov, Skazka (The Tale) by Rimsky-Korsakov, Skazka (Tale) from the violin suite