Balakirev - Symphony No. 1 In C Major

Mily Balakirev was a brilliant pianist and composer who had an impact on the development of Russian national music, but could have had an even greater impact if he would have completed some of his early compositions in a timely fashion. The reasons for the delay in finishing some of his major works have been written about, with the main reason being that Balakirev suffered a nervous breakdown (whatever that is) in the early 1870's, as friends that visited him found his personality had shifted to lethargy and lack of interest in music. His interest in music gradually returned, but he had changed. He retreated into a strict and severe belief in the Russian Orthodox Church, and lived as a recluse with a house full of animals.

The first symphony is an example of the time it took for him to complete a work, as sketches were begun in 1864 with some of the first movement being completed by 1866, but the entire work wasn't finished until 1897, thirty-three years after it was started.  Despite the length of time the work was on the shelf, the music written later matched the style of the earlier music,  but by that time the current trends in music had past Balakirev by, and his music was considered old-fashioned.

Balakirev conducted the premiere of the work in 1898. Symphony No. 1 In C Major is in four movements:

I. Largo - Allegro vivo -  The movement begins with a slow introduction that contains fragments that are expanded into the two themes of the exposition. After the introduction, the first theme (which is built from the opening measures of the introduction) is played. The second theme is then played in the cellos. These two themes undergo a type of ongoing development throughout the movement, which is in a highly individual type of sonata form. Once the first go-round of the two themes has played through, the first theme is played and developed, then a different theme is played that begins in the clarinet. Then an actual development section begins. There is no formal recapitulation section as the themes continue to be developed until a coda brings the movement to a rousing close.

II. Scherzo: Vivo - Poco meno mosso -  A bustling scherzo in A minor with the flavor of a Russian folk song leads to a slightly sad middle section in D minor.  After the scherzo repeats, the theme of the trio appears in the coda in a different guise and the movement ends with harmonics in the divided first and second violins.

III. Andante -  Written in D-flat major, the initial theme of the movement is played by the clarinet over a gently moving accompaniment by the harp, muted violins and violas and pizzicato cellos and bass. This theme is developed until another theme (in E major) is heard in the low strings which leads ot a variant of the initial theme.  The movement proceeds with  variants of the two themes in a combination of sonata and rondo form. The movement returns to the clarinet to play its rendition of the main theme, after which there is a transitional section for harp that leads the way to the finale that is played without pause.

IV. Finale: Allegro moderato -  The low strings begin the movement with a Russian theme in C major that is played and developed until transitional material leads to a second theme in D major that is first played by the clarinet. A very short third theme is then heard in the violas and then violas and strings. The three themes (all of which are Russian folksongs) are varied and developed throughout with Balakirev showing his skill in handling orchestral color. The movement ends with a coda for full orchestra in Tempo di polacca (in the tempo of a Polonaise). 

Balakirev - Tamara

Mily Balakirev's influence as a mentor, pianist and conductor was substantial. He was the guiding light to the group of Russian composers known as The Five, and also gave advice to the young Tchaikovsky. His influence was most strongly felt in the development of nationalism in Russian music. He championed the use of Russian folk tales and literature as inspiration for Russian composers, along with a kind of orientalism that stemmed from the vast expanse of the country itself and all of the differing cultures it contained.  But his work as a composer was sporadic. He had the tendency to begin a work but not finish it until years later. His second piano concerto was begun in 1861, was taken up again years later but remained unfinished after his death in 1910 (his protege Sergei Lyapunov finished the concerto). His tone poem Tamara was started in 1867 and was completed in 1882.

Shortly after Balakirev began the work in 1867 he went through depression so severe that his friends hid all of his works in progress for feat that he would destroy them. In 1876 he had recovered enough to take up the work again but it took him another three yeas to finish the piano score. He waited another two years before he orchestrated the work and it finally had its premiere in 1883. It is dedicated to Franz Liszt and he asked for a four handed arrangement of the work for study, which Balakirev did shortly after the request.

Mikhail Lermontov

Tamara is based on the poem Tamara by  Mikhail Lermontov, a highly influential writer, poet and artist of Russian romanticism, who died in a duel at the age of 26.  Lermontov based the poem on a local legend of the Caucasus region where he had been exiled. The poem deals with a beautiful but evil princess named Tamara that lives in a tower in a ravine that the river Terek flows. She is a temptress and lures male travelers to her castle. She has sex with them all night long, kills them in the morning and throws the corpse into the river to float away.

The work begins with music that represents the water of the river. The main body of the work focuses on two love themes representing Tamara's seductiveness. Balakirev expands these two themes and develops them until the music reaches a climax as Tamara murders the traveler. The work ends as it began with the rippling of the river Terek as it carries away the corpse.

Balakirev was one of the most naturally gifted musicians of 19th century Russia, and while he was influential he may have been even more so if not for the mental illness he suffered from. After his so-called recovery from depression he was never the same person. He coped with mental illness enough to function, but he didn't really develop past the point where he was at in 1867.  Nevertheless, he managed to write some great works, with Tamara being one of the best.

Balakirev - Piano Concerto No.2

Mily Balakirev (1837 - 1910) was a Russian pianist, conductor and composer. He was instrumental in creating a sense of musical nationalism in Russia in the 19th century.  He promoted the music of Tchaikovsky and was the leader of the Russian group of musicians known as The Five.

As a composer he had the habit of beginning a composition but not finishing it until years later. He began his first symphony in 1864 but did not complete it until 1897.  His influence on Russian composers is not as obvious because of this. One piece that he did start and complete in  1869 was  Islamey ,an oriental fantasy for solo piano that was highly advanced technically. 

Balakirev was exposed to much music in his youth, but had no formal training in composition, harmony, or counterpoint. His musical talents were recognized early on and he had opportunity to study piano and attend many concerts. his natural musicality and keen mind allowed him to begin composing early on.
Balakirev urged the composers he knew to learn the art of composition by composing without wasting a lot of time on formal study of music theory. Rimsky-Koraskov, one of  The Five, came to thses conclusions about his former mentor:

"Balakirev, who had never had any systematic course in harmony and counterpoint and had not even superficially applied himself to them, evidently thought such studies quite unnecessary.... An excellent pianist, a superior sight reader of music, a splendid improvisor, endowed by nature with a sense of correct harmony and part-writing, he possessed a technique partly native and partly acquired through a vast musical erudition, with the help of an extraordinary memory, keen and retentive, which means so much in steering a critical course in musical literature. Then, too, he was a marvelous critic, especially a technical critic. He instantly felt every technical imperfection or error, he grasped a defect in form at once."

Balakirev suffered what has been called a nervous breakdown in 1871. After a few years of practically no music activity, he began to recover and slowly return to musical life in Russia. But he was never quite the same, and he demanded that his close associates be in complete artistic agreement with him or he would sever the relationship.  He reverted to a strict following of Russian Orthodoxy and became a rabid antisemite.

Balakirev's 1st Piano concerto was written when he was a teenager in 1856. It is in only one movement and it is a composition Balakirev never returned to. He preformed the one movement with orchestra in 1856.  The 2nd Piano concerto was begun in 1861 and is in the key of E flat. His influences for this concerto were Liszt's First Concerto in the same key, Rubinstein's Second Concerto and Litolff's Fourth Concerto.  By the end of 1862 he had completed the first movement and played through the second movement for his colleagues.  After that, Balakirev didn't resume work on the concerto until 1906 and by the time of his death in 1910 he still hadn't finished it.  His close associate Sergei Liapunov knew as well as anyone how Balakirev wanted the concerto to be finished so he completed the work.

The Concerto is full of spirit, dynamism and artistry and deserves to be heard more often than it is .

Balakirev Piano Concertos