Balakirev: Symphony No. 2 / Russia

Description

Mili Alexeyevich Balakirev (1837- 1910)Symphony No.2 in D MinorRussiaBalakirev occupies an important if equivocalposition in the history of Russian music of the later part of the nineteenthcentury. He was born in Nizhny-Novgorod in 1837 and had his first piano lessonsfrom his mother, who later arranged some lessons for him with AlexanderDubuque, a pupil of John Field. Through a later teacher, the German KarlEisrich, he was introduced to the circle of Alexander Ul?»b?»shev, anenthusiastic amateur, author of books on Mozart and Beethoven and owner of auseful music library. At Ul?»b?»shev's house he was able to hear chamber musicand occasionally orchestral works, the inspiration for his own earlycompositions. It was through the agency of this patron that Balakirev was ablein 1855 to travel to St. Petersburg, where he met Glinka and other well knownmusicians and made his own debut as a pianist and composer.Supporting himself with difficulty by givingpiano lessons and private performances, Balakirev managed to survive in St.Petersburg, where he met two young army officers, Cesar Cui and ModestMussorgsky, both keen amateur composers, over whom he began to exercise someinfluence. He had, at the same time, formed a friendship with Dmitry and VladimirStasov, the latter an important figure in the intellectual support of Russianmusical nationalism. In 1861 he met Rimsky-Korsakov and the following yearBorodin, completing the group of five Russian nationalists described byVladimir Stasov as the Mighty Handful, the Five who would follow Glinka'sexample in the creation of a distinctively Russian musical tradition. At thesame time Balakirev had increasing involvement with the Free School of Music inSt. Petersburg, set up in opposition to the 'German' Conservatory establishedby Anton Rubinstein, with the encouragement of the Grand Duchess ElenaPavlovna, who did her best to remove Balakirev from the conductorship of theRussian Music Society concerts, which were under her patronage. Balakirev's owncharacter, obstinate and tactless, did much to increase the division betweenthe Conservatory and his own followers, castigated by Anton Rubinstein asamateurs, a charge that could never have been levelled at him. Balakirev'slater relationship with Nikolai Rubinstein and the Moscow Conservatory, whereTchaikovsky taught, was more satisfactory, and it was Nikolai Rubinstein whointroduced the oriental fantasy for piano, Islamey, to the St. Petersburgpublic in 1869.Religious conversion led to a briefretirement from musical life and from familiar society between 1871 and 1874,but gradually thereafter Balakirev resumed something of his old activities,particularly, in 1881, the direction of the Free School, which he hadsurrendered to Rimsky-Korsakov in 1874. In 1883 his friends found for him aposition as director of the Imperial Court Chapel, where he was assisted byRimsky-Korsakov. A breach with the latter came in 1890, as Belyayev, animportant patron and publisher of Russian mus