Balakirev: Symphony No. 1 / Islamey / Tamara

Description

Mili Alexeyevich Balakirev (1837 -1910) Symphony No.1 in C Major Islamey (orch. Liapunov)Balakirev occupies an important if equivocal position in the history ofRussian music of the later part of the nineteenth century. He was born inNizhny-Novgorod in 1837 and had his first piano lessons from his mother, wholater arranged some lessons for him with Alexander Dubuque, a pupil of JohnField. Through a later teacher, the German Karl Eisrich, he was introduced tothe circle of Alexander Ul?»b?»shev, an enthusiastic amateur, author of books onMozart and Beethoven and owner of a useful music library. At Ul?»b?»shev's househe was able to hear chamber music and occasionally orchestral works, theinspiration for his own early compositions. It was through the agency of thispatron that Balakirev was able in 1855 to travel to St. Petersburg, where hemet Glinka and other well known musicians and made his own debut as a pianistand composer.Supporting himself with difficulty by giving piano lessons and privateperformances, Balakirev managed to survive in St. Petersburg, where he met twoyoung army officers, Cesar Cui and Modest Mussorgsky, both keen amateurcomposers, over whom he began to exercise some influence. He had, at the sametime, formed a friendship with Dmitry and Vladimir Stasov, the latter animportant figure in the intellectual support of Russian musical nationalism. In1861 he met Rimsky-Korsakov and the following year Borodin, completing thegroup of five Russian nationalists described by Vladimir Stasov as the MightyHandful, the Five who would follow Glinka's example in the creation of adistinctively Russian musical tradition. At the same time Balakirev hadincreasing involvement with the Free School of Music in St. Petersburg, set upin opposition to the 'German' Conservatory established by Anton Rubinstein,with the encouragement of the Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, who did her best toremove Balakirev from the conductorship of the Russian Music Society concerts,which were under her patronage. Balakirev's own character, obstinate andtactless, did much to increase the division between the Conservatory and hisown followers, castigated by Anton Rubinstein as amateurs, a charge that couldnever have been levelled at him. Balakirev's later relationship with NikolaiRubinstein and the Moscow Conservatory, where Tchaikovsky taught, was moresatisfactory, and it was Nikolai Rubinstein who introduced the oriental fantasyfor piano, Islamey, to the St. Petersburg public in 1869.Religious conversion led to a brief retirement from musical life andfrom familiar society between 1871 and 1874, but gradually thereafter Balakirevresumed something of his old activities, particularly, in 1881, the directionof the Free School, which he had surrendered to Rimsky-Korsakov in 1874. In1883 his friends found for him a position as director of the Imperial CourtChapel, where he was assisted by Rimsky-Korsakov. A breach with the latter camein 1890, as Belyayev, an important patron and pu