Piano creativity of Balakirev. M.A. Balakirev: creator of the fate of Russian music Balakirev biography summary

He is remembered, first of all, as the founder and ideological inspirer of the “Mighty Handful,” but this does not limit the role he played in the history of Russian music. A very interesting part of Russian musical life in the second half of the 19th century was the performing activity of Balakirev the pianist. Like the Rubinstein brothers, he represented in Russia a new type of piano performance intended for a mass audience.

Balakirev did not perform particularly often as a pianist, but each of his performances was a success. Contemporaries compared his playing style to the speech of “an intelligent speaker who has something to say.” Balakirev the pianist's repertoire included works by , but he also performed works by Russian composers, becoming one of the first promoters of their work.

In his composing activities, Balakirev could not help but turn to his favorite instrument. He paid more attention to the creation of piano works than other composers of the “Mighty Handful”, who were more drawn to opera and symphonic music. Balakirev’s first piano works were created by him in his youth. In 1856 he made his debut as a pianist with the performance of his Concertante Allegro. In 1856-1857 he was working on a piano sonata. Its musical material is not without interesting moments, but is too heterogeneous to form a coherent cycle: the first movement, full of romantic pathos, was created under the obvious influence of Liszt, but in subsequent movements the influence of Chopin is evident. Apparently, the composer himself was aware of the shortcomings of the work, and therefore did not complete it.

At the turn of the 1850-1860s. Balakirev creates short plays written under the obvious influence of Chopin, as well as concert fantasies on the themes of works whose work Balakirev admired. In the transcription of "" the composer followed the same principles as Liszt in his transcriptions - to make the material pianistically advantageous, while maintaining as close as possible to the orchestral sound. This piece was brilliantly performed by Nikolai Rubinstein.

The same approach - maximum preservation of the features of the work and their organic fusion with the nature of the piano - is also manifested in the transcription of the romance "Lark". The lyrical spontaneity in which the charm of Glinka’s romance lies, and the same two-stanza form are preserved here, but the exquisite ornaments intertwining the melody give it a touch of romantic improvisation. This beginning is even more evident in the introductory section and conclusion, which are equally free in construction and virtuosic.

Work on the fantasy on the themes of the opera "" lasted for several years. At the age of eighteen, Balakirev created its first version; he subsequently revised the work, and the final edition, entitled “Memoirs of “A Life for the Tsar,” was created in 1899. The choice of themes used by Balakirev is noteworthy: he does not address key dramatic moments ( such as Polish themes or the final chorus “Glory”), but to those fragments of the opera that were especially close to him personally. Work on the work began with an arrangement of the trio “Don’t Tomi, Darling,” which Balakirev repeatedly performed in the presence of Glinka, receiving his approval. The trio's theme became the first - the lyrical theme of fantasy. The second section is based on the theme of the peasant choir “Now we are going into the forest,” but this theme is interpreted by Balakirev in the spirit of a bravura polonaise. The introduction introduces the main themes of the overture in combination with phrases from Susanin's aria.

The pinnacle of Balakirev’s piano work was the fantasy “,” which was the result of the composer’s three visits to the Caucasus. Balakirev develops the folk themes that form the basis of the work in the spirit of monumental pianism, characteristic of Liszt, but retains their originality.

Piano works created in the late period of creativity also show the influence of the pianism of Liszt and Chopin, but are distinguished by greater emotional restraint and contemplation. They contain both idyllically bright lyrics and melancholy, but there is never fiery passion. As a rule, these plays have a genre basis (nocturne, mazurka, waltz), but they are not intended for home music playing, but for concert performance. They could not enter the amateur repertoire, being very difficult to perform. Of these pieces, the most interesting are the mazurkas. They were created under the obvious influence of Chopin, but Russian and even oriental intonations penetrate them.

In 1905 - for the first time after an unsuccessful youth experience and the last time in his life - Balakirev created a piano sonata. In the four-movement Sonata in B-flat minor that he wrote then, the first movement is especially interesting and successful. Her main part is close to folk songs recorded by the composer on the Volga. A short side part in the spirit of Chopin does not play a special role - both the development and the coda are built on elements of the main part. The second movement is a reworking of a mazurka from a youthful unfinished sonata. Part three - Intermezzo - an example of contemplative lyricism. The main part of the finale resembles a trepak, the side part is lyrical and sing-song.

The fate of the piano heritage cannot be called happy - in the era of Scriabin, his pianism seemed already “outdated”. However, there are bright pages in his work - “Lark”, “Islamey”, which are still included in the repertoire of pianists today.

All rights reserved. Copying prohibited

BALAKIREV, MILIY ALEXEEVICH(1837–1910), Russian composer, pianist, conductor, head and inspirer of the famous “Five” - “The Mighty Handful” (Balakirev, Cui, Mussorgsky, Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov), which personifies the national movement in Russian musical culture of the 19th century .

Balakirev was born on December 21 (January 2, 1837) in Nizhny Novgorod, into an impoverished noble family. Brought to Moscow at the age of ten, he took lessons from John Field for some time; later, A.D. Ulybyshev, an enlightened amateur musician, philanthropist, author of the first Russian monograph on Mozart, took a great part in his fate. Balakirev entered the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Kazan University, but in 1855 he met in St. Petersburg with M.I. Glinka, who convinced the young musician to devote himself to composition in the national spirit, relying on Russian music - folk and church, on Russian plots and texts.

The “Mighty Handful” formed in St. Petersburg between 1857 and 1862, and Balakirev became its leader. He was self-taught and drew his knowledge mainly from practice, therefore he rejected the textbooks and methods of teaching harmony and counterpoint accepted at that time, replacing them with a wide acquaintance with the masterpieces of world music and their detailed analysis. The “Mighty Handful” as a creative association did not last long, but had a huge impact on Russian culture. In 1863, Balakirev founded the Free Music School - as opposed to the St. Petersburg Conservatory, the direction of which Balakirev assessed as cosmopolitan and conservative. He performed a lot as a conductor, regularly introducing listeners to the early works of his circle. In 1867 Balakirev became the conductor of concerts of the Imperial Russian Musical Society, but in 1869 he was forced to leave this post. In 1870, Balakirev experienced a severe spiritual crisis, after which he did not study music for five years. He returned to composition in 1876, but by this time he had already lost his reputation as the head of the national school in the eyes of the musical community. In 1882, Balakirev again became the director of concerts at the Free Music School, and in 1883, the director of the Court Choir (during this period he created a number of church compositions and transcriptions of ancient chants).

Balakirev played a huge role in the formation of the national music school, but he himself composed relatively little. In symphonic genres he created two symphonies, several overtures, music for Shakespeare's King Lear(1858–1861), symphonic poems Tamara(c. 1882), Rus(1887, 2nd edition 1907) and In the Czech Republic(1867, 2nd edition 1905). For piano he wrote the Sonata in B flat minor (1905), a brilliant fantasy Islamey(1869) and a number of plays in different genres. Romances and adaptations of folk songs are of high value. Balakirev’s musical style is based, on the one hand, on the folk origins and traditions of church music, on the other hand, on the experience of new Western European art, especially Liszt, Chopin, and Berlioz. Balakirev died in St. Petersburg on May 16 (29), 1910.

Mily Alekseevich Balakirev - Russian composer, pianist, conductor, musical and public figure, p.Born on January 2, 1837 in Nizhny Novgorod into an impoverished noble family.

Mily Balakirev studied at the Nizhny Novgorod gymnasium and the Nizhny Novgorod Alexander Noble Institute.

Balakirev discovered his musical abilities in early childhood - his mother and older sister taught him to play the piano. Seeing her son's musical talent, his mother took him to Moscow, where he studied with the famous pianist Dubuc. He also took lessons from John Field for a time.

For financial reasons, classes in Moscow did not last long, the boy returned to Nizhny Novgorod and began taking music lessons from the conductor of the local theater orchestra, Karl Eisrich, who not only gave him basic information on music theory, but also introduced him to the local philanthropist Ulybyshev (author of the first Russian monograph about Mozart), who had a magnificent library. Balakirev was able to get acquainted with the best examples of classical world literature. In addition, he had the opportunity to work with Ulybyshev’s home orchestra and learn the basics of instrumentation in practice and gain initial conducting skills.

In 1853-1855, Balakirev was a volunteer student at the Faculty of Mathematics of Kazan University, earning his living by giving piano lessons.

In 1855, Balakirev met in St. Petersburg with Glinka, who convinced the young composer to devote himself to composing music in the national spirit. Leaving for Berlin, Glinka gave him his portrait.

On February 12, 1856, Balakirev made a brilliant debut in St. Petersburg at a university concert as a pianist and composer, with his concert Allegro (fis-moll). The orchestra was conducted by Carl Schubert. “Balakirev is a rich find for our Russian music“,” Serov wrote, impressed by his performance.

The name of the young composer immediately becomes famous in the musical circles of St. Petersburg. They write about him in the newspapers. Representatives of the nobility willingly invite him to their home concerts. However, he is not attracted to the role of a fashionable virtuoso fulfilling the whims of noble patrons. He decisively breaks off secular ties, although he thereby dooms himself to a life full of need and deprivation. His main source of livelihood remains private music lessons. That's it. At the same time, he devotes all his energy, all his strength to the struggle for meaningful, highly ideological musical art.

Balakirev became close friends with Stasov, in whom he found a sensitive, loving friend and ideological inspirer. Acquaintance with Dargomyzhsky also influenced him.

From the end of 1858 to 1861, Mily Balakirev was busy composing music for Shakespeare's tragedy "King Lear". The impetus was a new production of the tragedy on the stage of the Alexandria Theater. Balakirev's music for "King Lear", which, according to Stasov, belongs to “among the highest and most important creations of new music”, is distinguished by its deep penetration into the character of Shakespearean drama, the relief of musical images and an organic connection with stage drama. However, in the theater this music is neverNotwas performed, and the overture, which acquired the character of a completely finished, independent work, became the first example of Russian program symphonism.

During the same period, the community of composers “The Mighty Handful” was formed. Back in 1856, Balakirev met the young military engineer Cui, with whom he quickly became friends based on common musical interests. In 1857 there was a meeting with a graduate of the military school Mussorgsky, in 1861 - with a seventeen-year-old naval officer Rimsky-Korsakov, and in 1862 - with Borodin, a professor at the Medical-Surgical Academy in the Department of Chemistry. This is how the circle formed. According to Rimsky-Korsakov, Balakirev “they obeyed unquestioningly, for his personal charm was terribly great. Young, with wonderful, moving, fiery eyes, with a beautiful beard, speaking decisively, authoritatively and directly; every minute ready for wonderful improvisation at the piano, remembering every bar known to him, memorizing instantly the compositions played to him, he had to produce this charm like no one else.”.

Balakirev built his classes with his fellow students according to the method of free exchange of creative thoughts. The works of all members of the circle were played and discussed together. By criticizing the writings of his friends, Balakirev not only pointed out how individual shortcomings should be corrected. He often wrote entire pieces of music himself, orchestrated and edited them. He generously shared his creative ideas and experiences with his friends, and suggested themes and plots to them. An important place in the classes was also occupied by the analysis of outstanding works of classics and contemporary composers. As Stasov wrote, Balakirev’s conversations “For his comrades they were like real lectures, a real gymnasium and university music course. It seems that no musician equaled Balakirev in the power of critical analysis and musical anatomy.” The disputes that arose in the circle often went far beyond purely musical issues. Problems of literature, poetry, and social life were hotly discussed.

Mily Balakirev was the first Russian musician to undertake an expedition trip to record songs on the Volga (summer 1860). He went by steamship from Nizhny Novgorod to Astrakhan together with the poet Shcherbina, a researcher and expert on Russian folklore. Shcherbina wrote down the words, Balakirev - the melodies of folk songs.

A.K. Glazunov and M.A. Balakirev.

The first creative result of the trip was a new overture (or picture) on the themes of three Russian songs from those recorded on the Volga. Balakirev gave it the name “1000 Years”, and later, in 1887, after reworking it, he called it the symphonic poem “Rus”. The external reason for the composition was the opening in 1862 in Novgorod of the monument “Millennium of Russia”.

Mily Alekseevich created a new type of musical arrangements that reproduced the features of folk song art using unique artistic means. In these arrangements, as well as in his own compositions on folk themes, he boldly combined the clear diatonic tone of peasant song with the coloristic richness of contemporary romantic harmony, found unusual instrumental colors, new interesting development techniques that emphasized the originality of Russian song and recreated characteristic pictures of folk life, nature.

A valuable contribution to the field of Russian musical ethnography is the “Collection of Russian Folk Songs”, published by Balakirev in 1866.

Balakirevvisited the Caucasus three times: in 1862, 1863 and 1868. Impressed by these travels, he wrote the piano fantasy “Islamey”, the main theme of which was the melody of a Kabardian dance heard during his travels. As a result of these travels, Balakirev began working on the symphonic poem “Tamara”.

On March 18, 1862, Balakirev, together with choral conductor Lomakin, founded the “Free Music School”. In the early days of its existence, this school developed a wide range of activities. In concerts organized by this school, vocal and choral pieces were conducted by Lomakin, and orchestral pieces by Balakirev. On January 28, 1868, after Lomakin refused to manage the school, Balakirev, as one of its founders, took over this work and, as director, managed the school until the fall of 1874.

Wagner, being in Russia and hearing Balakirev's performance, spoke with great praise of his conducting art and added that he saw in him his future Russian rival.

In 1867, Balakirev acted as a conductor in Prague, where he first introduced the Czech public to Glinka’s “Ruslan and Lyudmila”: “Ruslan” finally captivated the Czech public. The enthusiasm with which it was received does not diminish even now, although I have already conducted it 3 times.” Prague listeners presented Balakirev with wreaths, and he decided to take one of them to Glinka’s grave. Czech newspapers recognized Balakirev as a worthy student of Glinka, a successor of his work

From the autumn of 1867 to the spring of 1869, Mily Balakirev conducted symphonic concerts of the Imperial Russian Musical Society (in 1867 together with Berlioz), in which, mainly, works by Berlioz, Liszt and orchestral works by Russian composers were performed: Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin, Mussorgsky.

By the end of the sixties, friendly ties between Balakirev and Tchaikovsky began. Composers maintain a lively correspondence. Balakirev, with his advice, greatly helps the development of Tchaikovsky’s programmatic symphonic creativity, and he, in turn, helps to popularize Balakirev’s works in Moscow.

By this time, heavy blows were already beginning to rain down on Balakirev one after another.

In the spring of 1869, representatives of the court clique rudely removed him from conducting concerts of the Imperial Russian Musical Society. This caused deep indignation among the progressive music community. Tchaikovsky published an article in the Contemporary Chronicle in which he expressed the attitude of all honest musicians to the fact of the unceremonious expulsion from the highest musical institution of a man who constitutes the pride and adornment of Russian musical culture. Tchaikovsky wrote: “Balakirev can now say what the father of Russian literature said when he received the news of his expulsion from the Academy of Sciences: “The Academy can be separated from Lomonosov, but Lomonosov cannot be separated from the Academy.”

By this time, the financial situation of the “Free Music School” had greatly deteriorated. She was on the verge of closing. Balakirev took this very hard.

Serious troubles also arose in his personal life: the death of his father entailed the need to take care of supporting his unmarried sisters, while the composer himself had no means of subsistence.

By the early seventies they changedand Balakirev’s relationship with members of the “Mighty Handful”. Balakirev's pupils became mature, fully-fledged composers and no longer needed his daily care. There was nothing unnatural in such a phenomenon, and one of the members of the circle - Borodin - gave this the correct explanation, although dressed in a humorous form: “While everyone was in the position of eggs under the hen (meaning Balakirev by the last one), we were all more or less alike . As soon as the chick hatched from the eggs, it grew feathers. Everyone's feathers were necessarily different; and when the wings grew, each one flew where he was drawn by nature. The lack of similarity in direction, aspirations, tastes, nature of creativity, etc., in my opinion, is a good and not at all a sad side of the matter.” However, painfully proud, seriously wounded by failures, Balakirev could not come to terms with the loss of his former influence on his recent students.

Mily Alekseevich's failures ended with an unsuccessful concert in Nizhny Novgorod, conceived to improve his financial situation.

Difficult experiences caused an acute mental crisis. At one time, Balakirev was obsessed with the idea of ​​suicide. Forced to join the board of the Warsaw Railway as an ordinary employee in order to earn money, he distances himself from his former friends and refuses any musical activities for a long time.

Only towards the end of the seventies did he gradually revive his interest in music. He again takes up the interrupted composition of the symphonic poem “Tamara”. Balakirev’s return to musical activity was largely facilitated by the efforts of his friends. In particular, Shestakova played a significant role, inviting him to take part in editing Glinka’s scores that were being prepared for publication. Balakirev actively set to work on this work, inviting Rimsky-Korsakov and his student Lyadov to help.

But Balakirev returned to musical life no longer the same “eagle”, as Dargomyzhsky once called him. His mental strength was broken, and a painful isolation appeared. Friends were especially struck by Balakirev’s appeal to religion.

From 1883 to 1894 Balakirev was the manager of the Court Singing Chapel. He concentrated all the musical work of the singing choir in his hands, and he developed a program of scientific classes. He introduced Rimsky-Korsakov, who held the position of inspector of music classes, to work in the chapel. Balakirev paid special attention to the development of the orchestra class at the chapel.

Balakirev's last public performance as a pianist dates back to 1894. It was at celebrations in Zhelazova Wola, Chopin’s homeland, where, on Balakirev’s initiative, a monument to the great Polish composer was unveiled.

Until the end of his life, Balakirev maintained an ardent love for Glinka. In 1885 in Smolensk, he took part in the opening ceremony of the monument to the great composer and conducted two concerts there. In 1895, he achieved the installation of a memorial plaque on the house in Berlin in which Glinka died, he himself went to the celebrations as part of the Russian delegation and conducted his symphony in Berlin. And in 1906, in honor of the opening of the monument to Glinka in St. Petersburg (the initiator this time was Balakirev), a solemn cantata composed by him was performed.

Balakirev was directly involved in the creation of opera works by Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin, Cui, helping them in choosing plots and working on music, and promoted Russian operas as a conductor and publicist. Balakirev’s activities in the field of popularizing Glinka’s operas in Russia and abroad were especially significant.

Mily Alekseevich Balakirev died on May 16, 1910 in St. Petersburg, in his apartment on Kolomenskaya Street, 7. According to his will, Lyapunov completed a number of works he had not completed, including a piano concerto in E-flat major.

Balakirev was buried at the Tikhvin cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. In 1936, during the reconstruction of the Necropolis of Art Masters, Balakirev’s ashes were moved from the southern fence of the cemetery closer to the wall of the former Tikhvin Church, and buried on the Composer’s Path next to Rimsky-Korsakov, who died in 1908.

Mily Balakirev played a huge role in the formation of the national music school, although he himself composed relatively little. In symphonic genres, he created two symphonies, several overtures, music for Shakespeare’s “King Lear”, symphonic poems “Tamara”, “Rus”, “In the Czech Republic”. For piano, he wrote a sonata in B-flat minor, a brilliant fantasy “Islamey” and a number of plays in different genres. Romances and adaptations of folk songs are of high value. Balakirev's musical style is based, on the one hand, on the folk origins and traditions of church music, on the other hand, on the experience of new Western European art, especially Liszt, Chopin, and Berlioz.

enc.vkarp.com ›2011/04/24/b-balakirev-miliy…

More:

Russian empire

Mighty bunch

Miliy Alekseevich Balakirev

Mily Alekseevich Balakirev(December 21, 1836 [January 2], Nizhny Novgorod - May 16, St. Petersburg) - Russian composer, pianist, conductor, head of the “Mighty Handful”.

Memorial plaque on house 7 on Kolomenskaya street, St. Petersburg.

Biography

Mily Balakirev was born into the family of Alexei Konstantinovich Balakirev (1809-1869).

As a child, he took piano lessons from Alexander Dubuk. He was a volunteer student at the Faculty of Mathematics of Kazan University in 1853-1855. A. D. Ulybyshev, an enlightened amateur, philanthropist, and author of the first Russian monograph on Mozart, took a great part in his fate.

Music

Balakirev's compositional activity, although not extensive, is very respectable. He wrote several orchestral, piano and vocal works, of which the following stand out: orchestral music for King Lear (1860), consisting of an overture and intermissions; overture on Czech themes (); two overtures on Russian themes, the first of which was composed in 1857, and the second, entitled “Rus”, was written in 1862 for the opening of the monument to the Millennium of Russia in Novgorod; overture on a Spanish theme; symphonic poem “Tamara” (text by Lermontov), ​​performed for the first time at a concert of the Free Music School in 1882. Among Balakirev’s piano works the following are known: two mazurkas (As-dur and B-moll), a scherzo, a fantasy “Islamey” on oriental themes (1869); He also arranged for piano in two hands: “Chernomor’s March” from the opera “Ruslan and Lyudmila”, “The Lark’s Song” by Glinka, the overture (introduction) to the second part of “La Fuite en Egypte” by Berlioz, cavatina from Beethoven’s quartet (op. 130), “Aragonese Jota” by Glinka. Four hands: “Prince Kholmsky”, “Kamarinskaya”, “Aragonese Jota”, “Night in Madrid” by Glinka.

Among Balakirev’s vocal compositions, romances and songs are very popular (“Golden Fish”, “Come to Me”, “Bring Me in, O Night, Secretly”, “Advance”, “A Clear Moon Has Ascended to the Sky”, “Do I Hear Your Voice” , “Jewish Melody”, “Georgian Song”, etc.) - numbering 20 (according to other sources, 43. Apparently, the main part of the text is lifetime, compiled between and 1895.)

Among other unmentioned works are 2 symphonies ( ; ), Suite for orchestra ( - completed by S. Lyapunov), 2 piano concertos ( ; - completed by S. Lyapunov, a large number of piano works: sonata, mazurkas, nocturnes, waltzes, etc. A very valuable contribution to the field of Russian musical ethnography is the “Collection of Russian Folk Songs”, published by Balakirev in 1866 (40 songs in all).

M. A. Balakirev’s talent was especially evident in his first works and in his subtle understanding of orchestration; Balakirev's music is original, rich in melodic terms (music for King Lear, romances) and very interesting and beautiful in harmonic terms. Balakirev never took a systematic course. Balakirev’s most significant musical impressions during all this time were Chopin’s piano concerto (e-moll), which he heard from a lover as a child, and later the trio “Don’t Weary My Darling” from Glinka’s “A Life for the Tsar.” He remained faithful to these composers all his life. I.F. Laskovsky made a great impression on him as a pianist and composer. Participation in musical ensembles and especially studying scores and conducting an orchestra in Ulybyshev’s house greatly advanced his musical development. The first attempts at composing also date back to this time: a septet for piano, bowed instruments, flute and clarinet, which settled on the first movement, written in the spirit of Hancelt’s piano concerto, which he really liked, and a fantasy on Russian themes for piano and orchestra, which also remained unfinished. A handwritten sketch of her () is kept in the public library in St. Petersburg.

Balakirev spent less than two years at Kazan University, at the Faculty of Mathematics, living mainly on meager funds from music lessons. In Kazan, Balakirev wrote: a piano fantasy based on motives from “A Life for the Tsar”, the first romance: “You are full of captivating bliss” () and a concert Allegro. In 1855, he came to St. Petersburg with Ulybyshev, who introduced him to the musical circles of the capital.

Addresses in St. Petersburg

• 1861 - apartment building - Ofitserskaya street, 17;
• 1865-1873 - courtyard wing of the mansion of D. E. Benardaki - Nevsky Prospekt, 86, apt. 64;
• 1882 - 05/16/1910 - apartment building - Kolomenskaya street, 7, apt. 7.

Memory

Notes

Links

• Miliy Alekseevich Balakirev: sheet music of works on the International Music Score Library Project

Mily Alekseevich Balakirev. BALAKIREV Mily Alekseevich (1836/37 1910), composer, pianist, conductor, musical public figure. Head of the Mighty Handful, one of the founders (1862) and leaders (1868-73 and 1881-1908) of the Free Musical... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

Russian composer, pianist, conductor, musical public figure. Born into the family of an official from the nobility. Took lessons from pianist A. Dubuk and conductor K. Eisrich (Nizhny Novgorod).... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Balakirev Miliy Alekseevich- (18361910), composer, pianist, conductor, musical public figure. From 1855 he lived in St. Petersburg. In 1856 he made his debut as a pianist and composer (he performed the first part of his concert for music at the St. Petersburg University matinee for... ... Encyclopedic reference book "St. Petersburg"

- (1836/37 1910) composer, pianist, conductor, musical public figure. Head of the Mighty Handful, one of the founders (1862) and director (1868-73 and 1881-1908) of the Free Music School. Conductor of the Russian Musical Society (1867 69),... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Balakirev, Mily Alekseevich, famous Russian musician, creator of the new Russian music school. Born on December 21, 1836 in Nizhny Novgorod, died on May 16, 1910 in St. Petersburg. He studied at the Nizhny Novgorod gymnasium, Nizhny Novgorod... ... Biographical Dictionary

- (1836 1910), composer, pianist, conductor, musical public figure. From 1855 he lived in St. Petersburg. In 1856 he made his debut as a pianist and composer (he performed the first part of his concert for music at the St. Petersburg University matinee for... ... St. Petersburg (encyclopedia)

- (1836/1837 1910), composer, pianist, conductor. Head of the “Mighty Handful”, one of the founders (1862, together with G. Ya. Lomakin) and director (1868-73 and 1881-1908) of the Free Music School (St. Petersburg). Conductor of the Imperial Russian... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

BALAKIREV Mily Alekseevich- Mily Alekseevich (12/21/1836, N. Novgorod 05/16/1910, St. Petersburg), Russian. composer, head of the New Russian School (“The Mighty Handful”), teacher, musical public figure, conductor, pianist, editor. Hereditary nobleman (Balakirev family... ... Orthodox Encyclopedia

Mily Alekseevich Balakirev gained fame as a man who was better at creating great composers than great music. His "" is not as famous as "", and the romances are lost in the shadow of vocal masterpieces. But if it were not for Balakirev, there would probably be no masterpieces, and there would be no Russian music in the form as we know it now.

A native of Nizhny Novgorod, the son of a titular councilor, Balakirev showed musical abilities already in his childhood. His first piano teacher was his mother. When the boy was ten years old, his mother went with him to Moscow during the summer holidays, where Milius took several piano lessons from the composer Alexander Dubuk. Upon returning to his hometown, he began studying with conductor and pianist Karl Eiserich.

Balakirev studies at the Alexander Institute. A meeting with diplomat Alexander Ulybyshev played a significant role in his fate. This man is an amateur musician, one of the first music critics, the author of a biography, introduced the young man to classical literature, and in the amateur orchestra created by Ulybyshev, Balakirev mastered in practice the basics of conducting and instrumentation. The orchestra's repertoire was rich - it even included Beethoven's symphonies.

In 1853, Balakirev entered Kazan University, but after a year he left it to take up music. He creates romances, as well as piano works. Ulybyshev follows the successes of the young composer. In St. Petersburg he introduced Mily Alekseevich. Mikhail Ivanovich approved of Balakirev’s works and gave him some advice.

In the capital, Balakirev is gaining fame as a pianist, and he continues to compose music. Soon he meets Caesar Cui and, and later with and. This is how a community of young composers arose, which critic Vladimir Stasov later called the “Mighty Handful.” None of these people received a musical education: the officer, sailor, chemist, military engineer Cui, and Balakirev himself, who became the soul of this community, did not study at the conservatory. But, perhaps, that is precisely why they could say a new word in art, opposing the dominance of the West, which reigned in professional music, with works on a national basis.

Friends-composers gathered at Balakirev’s every week, played many works on the piano four hands - and, of course, demonstrated their own. Balakirev, according to , showed himself to be an “amazing technical critic,” carefully analyzing all the works, and he played a decisive role in the self-education of his friends. But, of course, he did not limit himself to giving advice. By that time, he had already created two dozen romances, which were highly appreciated by Alexander Serov. His symphonic creations, in particular the King Lear Overture, as well as his piano pieces, became famous.

Balakirev travels along the Volga and visits the Caucasus three times, during these trips he records folk songs. The result of communication with barge haulers on the Volga was the “Collection of Russian folk songs.” Mily Alekseevich created an Overture on the themes of three Russian songs, and conceived a symphony dedicated to the millennium of Rus', but this work was not completed. Caucasian impressions were reflected in the works created years later - “Islamee” and “”.

In 1862, the composer, together with Gavriil Lomakin, created the Free Music School. The choir that existed there gave everyone the opportunity to become familiar with the art of music. An orchestra conducted by Balakirev also took part in these concerts, including the works of the Kuchkists in the programs. Mily Alekseevich also conducted concerts of the Russian Musical Society.

1870s became difficult for Balakirev: unfair exclusion from RMO concerts, financial problems. All this leads to thoughts of suicide. The composer still did not do this, but came to the decision of “musical suicide” - he decides to abandon creativity forever. For some time he served in a railway office, then earned money by giving private lessons. Only towards the end of the 1870s. he gradually comes to his senses: he again begins to communicate with friends, again heads the Free Music School, completes "", creates piano plays and romances, and from 1883 for eleven years he heads the Court Singing Chapel. Through his efforts, an orchestra was created at the chapel.

Balakirev's music is performed not only in Russia, but also in Brussels, Berlin and Copenhagen.

Balakirev died in 1910. His last work, Suite for Orchestra, remained unfinished; it was completed by Sergei Lyapunov.

Musical Seasons