Mily Balakirev: Nizhny-Novgorod [now Gorky] January 2, 1837 - Petersburg May 29, 1910

 

An excellent pianist since childhood, at the age of fifteen, he conducted the orchestra of Alexandr Ulibiscev while continuing his musical studies as a self-taught. In 1855 he was in Petersburg, where he made himself known as a conductor and enrolled at the University, coming into contact with the city's most democratic and progressive circles. Admired as a composer by Glinka in 1861 he founded the "Group of Five" which broke up after a year also due to the authoritarian character of Balakirev. However, the seeds of the new Russian school were now sown. In 1862 he founded a free musical school, later organizing popular concerts: but this initiative, like the first, was destined to fail, and then Mily abandoned all musical activities, retiring for some time to be a stationmaster in a nearby location from Petersburg. Only in 1877 did he gradually resume his interest in music to cover the position of choirmaster at court from 1883 to '95.

Balakirev was the first Russian composer to be aware of the need for a musical renewal in the national sense: while in Glinka, this need arises uncertainly, and his music is still hampered by the formal bonds of the Italian and French tradition, in him, there is it is a precise will to break those barriers, on the way to a precise definition of the characters of Russian music. It was not for nothing that Balakirev was in contact with the progressive circles of Tsarist Russia. It was not for nothing that he was considered a real revolutionary by the official circle of Petersburg, by Serov, Pavlova, and the other popes of musical life. And the failure of his popular initiatives (both school and concerts) was due precisely to the hostility of that environment, which saw in him a dangerous subversion of the existing situation. Therefore, it could only be Balakirev who understood the need to unite with other musicians to create a real national school. And here is the birth of the famous "Group of Five," which Mussorgsky, Cui, Borodin, and Rimski-Korsakov joined.

Although this group had an ephemeral life, its importance in the history of Russian music was enormous. They were five musicians who had become aware of the need for renewal. Even when they separated due to personal incomprehension, this aspiration remained alive in them and gave birth to one of the most important national schools of the 1800s.

If Balakirev's tireless, original activity is, therefore, due to the formation in Russia of an environment ready to welcome and continue the "revolution" of the "Group of Five," it is due to his genius as a composer, whether some lively and inspired works enriched the music. His not very extensive production of him includes, among other things, two symphonies, two symphonic poems, four overtures, incidental music, two concertos for piano and orchestra, and the famous piece for piano solo Islamey.

Overture on three Russian songs (1858)

Composed at the age of twenty-one, this Overture is already typical of the best Balakirev, with its personal and colorful orchestration and evocative reference to three popular themes. And it is worth noting that, of these themes, the second was later used by Tchaikovsky in the "Finale" of Symphony n. 4, and the third from Stravinski in Petruska. On the other hand, the influence of Glinka and certainly Beethoven's symphonism is also recognizable but already resolved in a completely unique way.

The Overture consists of an opening part in "Adagio" time and a second part in "Allegro."

Tamara, symphonic poem (1867-82)

Lermontov is the author of the homonymous poem Balakirev was inspired by for this symphonic poem: it tells of a beautiful and cruel queen who draws her lovers to her to slaughter them after a night of love.

Although it is a relatively little-known page, it is at the origin of much later Russian music, particularly the symphonic poems of Rimski-Korsakov and certainly Stravinski.

Composed in the happiest period of the musician's creative activity, it is a work full of motifs taken from popular music, masterfully elaborated in an evocative orchestral fabric, in which there is no lack of some exotic appeal. Tamara is depicted using penetrating and voluptuous melodies, which indicate that Balakirev is a true master in identifying compelling psychological atmospheres, anticipating much later music not only by Russian composers.

Symphony n. 2 in D minor

 

Composed in 1908, one of Mily Balakirev's last works, the Symphony No. 2 in D minor was performed for the first time on March 17, 1909, in St. Petersburg under the direction of Sergej Lyapunov, a pupil of Balakirev. It was received with little interest and rarely re-proposed to the public; it is recognized, moreover, as one of the last expressions of the Russian Nationalist School of the nineteenth century.

Unlike Tamara's symphonic poem, composed over three decades, the Second Symphony was written in a few weeks. It has no connections between one movement and another and, therefore, appears closer to an orchestral suite; the instrumental ensemble is also more streamlined than the typical Balakirev orchestra.

The first movement, Allegro ma non molto, opens with two fast chords, such as Beethoven's Eroica; there are two contrasting themes, the first is reminiscent of a dance movement. The two motifs, elaborated and transformed, lead to a traditional coda announced by the revival of the initial theme.

The second movement, Scherzo alla Cossack: Allegro not too much, but with fire and energy, is initiated by a snare drum that immediately introduces the Russian atmosphere of the Group of Five. The march's rhythm and rich orchestral colors are reminiscent of the "Procession of the Nobles" of Rimsky-Korsakov's Opéra-ballet Mlada.

The third movement, Romanza: Andante, the longest part of the symphony, is characterized by not particularly important thematic material; the orchestral atmosphere is well crafted, but the repetitive melodies make it somewhat dull.

The fourth movement, Finale: Polonaise, begins with a fanfare from which a Polish dance is unraveled, energetically supported by the strings. Balakirev enriches the melody with figurations similar to sharp blows, short imitative chromatic passages in the bass instruments, and sudden interruptions, making listening enjoyable and fun.

Islamej, oriental fantasy Op. 18

Islamej is the most famous piece by Mily Alekseevič Balakirev, founder of the Group of Five and one of the key figures of the Russian nationalist movement. Composed in 1869 and fraught with difficulties, Islamej was described by Nikolaj Rubinštejn as a wonderful piece that few will be able to master. The subtitle “oriental fantasy” seems inappropriate because the work is decidedly Russian. It is based on melodies that Balakirev had picked up a few years earlier during a long journey through the Caucasus and Crimea; recent musicological studies indicate that those melodies are still present in the popular music of what was once the Soviet Union.

Islamej is divided into three sections. The initial Allegro agitato, which introduces the central theme derived from "Lezginka," an energetic and fast dance of the Caucasian region Kabardino-Balkaria, is contrasted by an intermediate part, Tranquillo, Andantino expressive, which uses the melody of a love song of the Crimean Tatars. The third and final section, Allegro vivo, Presto furioso, is occupied mainly by the first theme; the conclusion is entrusted to the romantic melody transformed into a lively “Trepak,” a Russian dance of Cossack origin.

Living Balakirev, Islamej was orchestrated by both Alfredo Casella and Sergej Lyapunov.