superhorn
New member
Russian composer Mily Balakirev was born in 1837 and died 100 years ago.
He was a very important and influential figure in 19th century Russian music, but unfortunately,his music is very rarely performed live,although there have been a fair number of recordings of it.
His best-known work is probably the fiendishly difficult piano piece Islamey,which is inspired by the music of the Caucasus,and which has been orchestrated by Sergei Liapunov and Alfredo Casella.
But his two symphonies and several other orchestral works,such as the symphonic poem Tamara,and two piano concertos are very seldom heard in concert halls,which is a pity.
Any one who enjoys the music of Mussorgsky,Rimsky-Korsakov and Borodin should find Balakirev's music highly appealing.
The symphony no 1 in C major is a marvelous work which would make a refreshing change at concerts from the same old Tchaikovsky symphonies, wonerful as those are. It is chock full of memorable themes and colorfully orchestrated, and has a decidedly oriental and Asian flavor.
I'm sure audiences would love it if they got a chance to hear it live.
It has been recorded Sir Thomas Beecham and other notable conductors such as Neeme Jarvi and Yevgeny Svetlanov. If you love Russian music and are unfamiliar with it, you owe it to youself to hear it.
He was a very important and influential figure in 19th century Russian music, but unfortunately,his music is very rarely performed live,although there have been a fair number of recordings of it.
His best-known work is probably the fiendishly difficult piano piece Islamey,which is inspired by the music of the Caucasus,and which has been orchestrated by Sergei Liapunov and Alfredo Casella.
But his two symphonies and several other orchestral works,such as the symphonic poem Tamara,and two piano concertos are very seldom heard in concert halls,which is a pity.
Any one who enjoys the music of Mussorgsky,Rimsky-Korsakov and Borodin should find Balakirev's music highly appealing.
The symphony no 1 in C major is a marvelous work which would make a refreshing change at concerts from the same old Tchaikovsky symphonies, wonerful as those are. It is chock full of memorable themes and colorfully orchestrated, and has a decidedly oriental and Asian flavor.
I'm sure audiences would love it if they got a chance to hear it live.
It has been recorded Sir Thomas Beecham and other notable conductors such as Neeme Jarvi and Yevgeny Svetlanov. If you love Russian music and are unfamiliar with it, you owe it to youself to hear it.
