Role

:

Composer

Country

:

Russia

Birth

:

January 2, 1837 in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia

Death

:

May 29, 1910 in St. Petersburg, Russia

Period

:

Romantic

Genre

:

Keyboard

 

 

Orchestral

 

Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who played a significant role in the development of Russian classical music during the 19th century. He was born on January 2, 1837, in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, to a family of modest means. His father was a government official, and his mother was a talented amateur musician who played the piano and sang. Balakirev showed an early interest in music and began taking piano lessons at the age of six. He was a quick learner and soon surpassed his teacher's abilities. At the age of nine, he began composing his own music, and by the time he was a teenager, he had already written several works for piano and orchestra. In 1853, Balakirev moved to St. Petersburg to study mathematics at the University of St. Petersburg. However, he soon became more interested in music than in mathematics and began attending concerts and meeting other musicians. He became friends with several young composers, including Modest Mussorgsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and César Cui, who would later become known as "The Mighty Handful" or "The Five." Balakirev's early compositions were heavily influenced by the music of Franz Liszt and Robert Schumann. However, he soon began to develop his own style, which was characterized by its use of Russian folk melodies and rhythms. His first major work, the Overture on Three Russian Themes, was composed in 1856 and premiered the following year. The piece was well-received and helped establish Balakirev's reputation as a composer. In 1862, Balakirev was appointed conductor of the Imperial Chapel Choir in St. Petersburg. He held this position for several years and used it to promote the music of his fellow composers, including Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Borodin. He also conducted several premieres of his own works, including the Symphony No. 1 in C major, which was composed between 1864 and 1866. Balakirev's most famous work is probably his Islamey, an Oriental Fantasy for piano. The piece was composed in 1869 and is known for its virtuosic piano writing and exotic melodies. It has been performed by many of the world's greatest pianists, including Vladimir Horowitz and Martha Argerich. In addition to his work as a composer and conductor, Balakirev was also a respected music teacher. He taught piano and composition to several students, including Sergei Rachmaninoff and Nikolai Medtner. He was known for his strict teaching methods and his insistence on the use of Russian folk melodies in composition. Balakirev's later years were marked by personal and professional difficulties. He suffered from depression and alcoholism and was forced to resign from his position as conductor of the Imperial Chapel Choir in 1876. He also had a falling out with several of his fellow composers, including Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov, and became increasingly isolated. Despite these difficulties, Balakirev continued to compose and teach until his death on May 29, 1910. His legacy as a composer and teacher has had a lasting impact on Russian classical music. His use of Russian folk melodies and rhythms helped to establish a distinctively Russian style of classical music, which would later be developed by composers such as Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Tchaikovsky. His influence can still be heard in the works of contemporary Russian composers, such as Sofia Gubaidulina and Valentin Silvestrov.

More....