Balakirev m a composing and social activities. M.A

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

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  Mily Balakirev was born into the Balakirev noble family, the son of the titular adviser Alexei Konstantinovich Balakirev (1809-1869).

  In childhood, the initial piano lessons were given by the mother. At the age of 10, during the summer holidays, he was taken to Moscow, where, in 10 lessons from Alexander Dubuc, he learned the correct techniques of piano playing. In Nizhny Novgorod, he continued his musical studies with the pianist and conductor - Karl Eiserich. A. D. Ulybyshev, an enlightened amateur, philanthropist, author of the first Russian monograph on Mozart, took a great part in his fate.

  On January 28, 1868, after Lomakin's refusal to manage the music school, Mily Balakirev, as one of its founders, took over this work and, as a director, was in charge of the school until the fall of 1874. In the 1870s, Balakirev was removed from the leadership of the symphony meetings of the RMS in St. Petersburg, retired from music studies and on July 6, 1872 began working as an ordinary employee in the shop office of the Warsaw Railway. At this time, he was preparing to leave for a monastery, but through the efforts of the priest Ivan Verkhovsky, he remained in the world. A return to musical and social affairs did not occur until the late 1870s. In 1881 he again headed the music school. Became a vegetarian.

  In 1883, Balakirev was appointed to head the court  singing chapel. Balakirev concentrated all the musical work of the choir in his own hands, he developed a program of scientific classes, and he invited Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, who held the position of inspector of music classes, to be his assistant. Under Balakirev, the building of the singing chapel was rebuilt anew, it acquires an elegant appearance with luxurious halls and spacious rooms for students. Balakirev paid special attention to the development of the orchestra class at the chapel. This had a beneficial effect on the chapel singers, who, due to the loss of their voice, had to stop their studies in the choir. They were given the opportunity to earn new money, as they remained in their familiar environment, and there was no need to look for employment in some other specialty alien to them.

  Music

  Balakirev's composing activity, although not extensive, is very respectable. He wrote several orchestral, piano and vocal compositions, of which the following stand out in particular: orchestral music for King Lear (1860), consisting of an overture and intermissions; overture on Czech themes (1856); two overtures on Russian themes, of which the first was composed in 1857, and the second, entitled "Rus", was written in 1862 for the opening of the monument millennium of Russia in Novgorod; overture on a Spanish theme; symphonic poem "Tamara" (to the text of Lermontov), ​​performed for the first time in 1882 (in a concert of the Free Music School). Of the piano compositions, Balakirev is known for: two mazurkas (As-dur and h-moll), a scherzo, a fantasy "Islamey" on oriental themes (1869). The virtuoso piece "Islamey" is one of the most technically difficult pieces of piano music. She inspired Maurice Ravel when creating the Gaspard by Night cycle. So about "Skarbo" Ravel said that he specifically wanted to compose a play even more difficult than "Islamey" by Balakirev.

  Balakirev arranged for piano two hands Chernomor's March from the opera Ruslan and Ludmila, Glinka's Song of the Lark, overture (introduction) to the second movement of Berlioz's La Fuite en Egypte, cavatina from the Beethoven Quartet (op. 130) , "Jota of Aragon" Glinka. Four hands: "Prince Kholmsky", "Kamarinskaya", "Jota of Aragon", "Night in Madrid" by Glinka.

  Of Balakirev's vocal compositions, romances and songs are very popular ("Goldfish", "Come to me", "Introduce me, oh night, secretly", "Fursion", "A clear month has ascended into heaven", "Do I hear your voice" , “Jewish melody”, “Georgian song”, etc.) - number 20 (according to other sources 43. Apparently, the main part of the text is lifetime, compiled between 1882 and 1895.)

  Among other unmentioned works - 2 symphonies (1897; 1908), Suite for orchestra (1909 - completed by S. Lyapunov), 2 piano concertos (1855; 1910 - 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).

  The talent of M. A. Balakirev was especially manifested in his first works and in a subtle understanding of orchestration; Balakirev's music is original, rich in melodic terms (music for King Lear, romances) and very interesting and beautiful in terms of harmonics. 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 one lover as a child, and later - the trio "Do not burn dear" from Glinka's "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 the study of 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 stopped at the first movement, written in the spirit of Henselt's piano concerto, which he liked very much, and a fantasy on Russian themes for piano and orchestra, which also remained unfinished. Her handwritten sketch (1852) is kept in the public library in St. Petersburg.

  General list of works

  Orchestral works

  • "King Lear" (Music for Shakespeare's tragedy)
  • Overture on the themes of three Russian songs. Spanish March Overture
  • "In the Czech Republic" (symphonic poem for three Czech folk songs)
  • "1000 years" ("Rus"). Symphonic poem
  • "Tamara". Symphonic poem
  • First symphony in C-dur
  • Second symphony in d-moll
  • Suite composed of 4 pieces by Chopin
  Romances and songs
  • You are full of captivating bliss (A. Golovinsky)
  • Link (V. Tumansky)
  • Spanish song (M. Mikhailov)
  • Song of the robber (A. Koltsov)
  • Hug, kiss (A. Koltsov)
  • Barcarolla (A. Arsepyev from Heine)
  • Lullaby (A. Arsepyev)
  • A clear month ascended into the sky (M. Yapenich)
  • When carefree, child, you frolic (K. Vilde)
  • Knight (K. Vilde)
  • So the soul breaks (A. Koltsov)
  • Come to me (A. Koltsov)
  • Song of Selim (M. Lermontov)
  • Enter me, oh night (A. Maikov)
  • Jewish melody (M. Lermontov from Byron)
  • Enrage (A. Koltsov)
  • Why (M. Lermontov)
  • Song of the goldfish (M. Lermontov)
  • Song of the old man (A. Koltsov)
  • Do I hear your voice (M. Lermontov)
  • Georgian song (A. Pushkin)
  • Sleep (M. Mikhailov from Heine)
  • Above the lake (A. Golenishchev-Kutuzov)
  • Desert (A. Zhemchuzhnikov)
  • The sea does not foam (A. Tolstoy)
  • When the yellowing field worries (M. Lermontov)
  • I loved him (A. Koltsov)
  • Pine (M. Lermontov from Heine)
  • Nachtstiick (A. Khomyakov)
  • How they fixed it (L. May)
  • Among the flowers of the autumn season (I. Aksakov)
  • The ruddy sunset is burning down (V. Kulchinsky)
  • Chorus (Mei)
  • Dream (Lermontov)
  • Starless midnight breathed coolness (A. Khomyakov)
  • November 7th (A. Khomyakov)
  • I came to you with greetings (A. Fet)
  • Look, my friend (V. Krasov)
  • Whisper, timid breathing (A. Fet)
  • Song (M. Lermontov)
  • From under the mysterious cold half-mask (M. Lermontov)
  • Sleep (A. Khomyakov)
  • Dawn (A. Khomyakov)
  • Cliff (M. Lermontov)
  • Collection of Russian folk songs (40) for one voice and piano

  Piano works

  • "Islamey"
  • Sonata b minor
  • Lullaby
  • capriccio
  • Song of the Fisherman
  • Dumka
  • Extravaganza. spinning wheel
  • Song of the gondolier. Humoresque
  • Impromptu on the themes of Chopin's two preludes
  • Seven mazurkas
  • spanish melody
  • Three nocturnes
  • Novellette
  • dreams
  • Three scherzos
  • spanish serenade
  • Tarantella
  • Toccata
  • Polka
  • In the garden (Idyll)
  • melancholy waltz
  • Bravura waltz
  • Waltz Impromptu
  • Seven Waltzes
  • Sketches, Tyrolienne
  • Concerto Es-dur for piano and orchestra

  Arrangements that have the meaning of independent works

  • Fantasy on themes from the opera "Ivan Susanin"
  • Transcription on "The Lark" by Glinka
  • to Glinka's "Arragonian Jota"
  • to "Night in Madrid" by Glinka
  • Introduction to The Flight into Egypt by Berlioz
  • Neapolitan song by F. Liszt
  • "Don't Speak", Glinka's romance
  • Berceuse V. Odoevsky
  • Cavatina from the Beethoven Quartet, op. 130
  • Romance from the Chopin Concerto, op. eleven
  • Overture to the opera Ondine by A. Lvov (arrangement and 4 hands)
  • Two waltzes-caprice (arrangement of waltzes by A. S. Taneev)
  • For piano four hands
  • Collection of 30 Russian songs
  • Suite: a) Polonaise, b) Song without words, c) Scherzo

  For two pianos 4 hands

  • Beethoven. Quartet op. 95, f moll
  For cello with piano accompaniment
  • Romance
  Choral works
  • Lullaby (for women's or children's voices with small orchestra or piano accompaniment),
  • Two epics for a mixed 4-voice choir: a) Nikita Romanovich, b) Korolevich from Krakow
  • Cantata for the opening of the monument to Glinka
  • Chopin's Mazurka (arrangement for mixed choir a capella, lyrics by L. Khomyakov)

  Addresses in St. Petersburg

  • 1861 - tenement house - Officerskaya Street, 17;
  • 1865-1873 - courtyard wing of the mansion of D. E. Benardaki - Nevsky Prospekt, 86, apt. 64;
  • 1882-1910 - tenement house -

  BALAKIREV, MILIY ALEKSEEVICH(1837-1910), Russian composer, pianist, conductor, head and inspirer of the famous "Five" - ​​"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 briefly took lessons from John Field; 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.

  A "mighty handful" took shape in St. Petersburg between 1857 and 1862, and Balakirev became its leader. He was self-taught and drew 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 it had a huge impact on Russian culture. In 1863, Balakirev founded the Free Music School - in contrast to the St. Petersburg Conservatory, the direction of which Balakirev assessed as cosmopolitan and conservative. He performed a lot as a conductor, regularly acquainting listeners with the early works of his circle. In 1867 Balakirev became the conductor of the 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 that 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 head of the concerts of the Free Music School, and in 1883 - the manager of the Court Singing Chapel (during this period he created a number of church compositions and arrangements of ancient chants).

  Balakirev played a huge role in the formation of the national music school, but he composed relatively little himself. 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 various genres. Romances and adaptations of folk songs are of high value. Balakirev's musical style relies 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, Berlioz. Balakirev died in St. Petersburg on May 16 (29), 1910.

  Mily Alekseevich Balakirev is a Russian composer, pianist, conductor and musical and public figure. Head of the "Mighty Handful", one of the founders (in 1862) and leader (in 1868-1873 and 1881-1908) of the Free Music School. Conductor of the Russian Musical Society (1867-1869), director of the Court Choir (1883-94). "Overture on the themes of three Russian songs" (1858; 2nd edition 1881), symphonic poems "Tamara" (1882), "Rus" (1887), "In the Czech Republic" (1905), oriental fantasy for piano "Islamey" ( 1869), romances, adaptations of Russian folk songs.

  Mily Alekseevich Balakirev was born on January 2, 1837 (December 21, 1836 according to the old style), in Nizhny Novgorod, in the family of an official from the nobility. He took lessons from pianist Alexander Ivanovich and conductor Karl Eisrich (in Nizhny Novgorod). The musical development of Milia was facilitated by his rapprochement with the writer and music critic Alexander Dmitrievich Ulybyshev. In 1853 - 1855, Mily Alekseevich was a volunteer at the Faculty of Mathematics of Kazan University. In 1856 he made his debut in St. Petersburg as a pianist and conductor.

  "Ruslan" finally conquered the Czech public. The enthusiasm with which he was received does not diminish even now, although I have already conducted him 3 times. (about "Ruslan and Lyudmila" by Glinka)

  Balakirev Mily Alekseevich

  A great influence on the formation of Balakirev's ideological and aesthetic positions was his friendship with art and music critic, art historian, honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences Vladimir Vasilyevich Stasov.

  In the early 60s, under the leadership of Mily Alekseevich, a musical circle was created, known as the New Russian Musical School, the Balakirev Circle, and the Mighty Handful. In 1862, the composer, together with the choir conductor and musical figure Gavriil Yakimovich Lomakin, organized the Free Music School in St. Petersburg, which became the center of mass musical education, as well as the center for the promotion of Russian music. In 1867 - 1869 he was the chief conductor of the Russian Musical Society.

  M. A. Balakirev contributed to the popularization of the operas by Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka: in 1866 he conducted the opera Ivan Susanin in Prague, and in 1867 he directed the Prague production of the opera Ruslan and Lyudmila.

  The late 1850s - 60s were a period of intense creative activity for Milius. Works of these years - "Overture on three Russian themes" (1858; 2nd edition 1881), the second overture on three Russian themes "1000 years" (1862, in a later edition - the symphonic poem "Rus", 1887, 1907) , Czech overture (1867, 2nd edition - symphonic poem "In the Czech Republic", 1906) and others - developed the traditions of Glinka, they clearly manifested the characteristic features and style of the "New Russian School" (in particular, reliance on genuine folk song). In 1866, his collection "40 Russian Folk Songs for Voice and Piano" was published, which was the first classic example of processing folk songs.

  In the 70s, Balakirev left the Free Music School, stopped writing, giving concerts and broke with the members of the circle. In the early 80s, he returned to musical activity, but it lost its militant "sixties" character. In 1881 - 1908 he again headed the Free Music School and at the same time (in 1883 - 1894) was the director of the Court Choir.

  The central theme of the composer's work is the theme of the people. Folk images, pictures of Russian life, nature run through most of his writings. Mily Balakirev is also characterized by an interest in the theme of the East (Caucasus) and the musical cultures of other countries (Polish, Czech, Spanish).

  The main field of creativity of Mily Alekseevich is instrumental (symphonic and piano) music. He worked primarily in the field of program symphonism. The best example of his symphonic poem is "Tamara" (circa 1882, based on the poem of the same name by the Russian poet Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov), ​​built on the original musical material of a visual-landscape and folk-dance character. The birth of the genre of Russian epic symphony is associated with the name Milia. The idea of ​​the 1st symphony dates back to the 60s (the outlines appeared in 1862, the first part - in 1864, the symphony was completed in 1898). In 1908, the 2nd symphony was written.

  Mily Balakirev is one of the creators of the original Russian piano style. The best of his piano works is the oriental fantasy "Islamey" (1869), which combines vivid picturesqueness, originality of folk-genre coloring with virtuoso brilliance.

  A prominent place in Russian chamber vocal music is occupied by romances and songs by Mily Alekseevich.

  Mily Alekseevich Balakirev died on May 29 (May 16 according to the old style), 1910, in St. Petersburg.

  Mily Alekseevich Balakirev, an outstanding man who made a huge contribution to the development of Russian music, was born on December 21, 1836 (old style). The work of this talented person and public figure left a bright mark on the spiritual and cultural development of our country.
  

  For a long time, history could not give a proper assessment of the contribution that he made to Russian musical culture. The ideological wars that took place in our country in the last century made it impossible to appreciate the merits of this outstanding person. At the present time, when she began to pay tribute to those who had been forgotten for a long time, the works of Balakirev were appreciated by the descendants. Finally, history put everything in its place.
  

  Balakirev possessed not only a brilliant musical gift. An excellent journalist and teacher by vocation, he was constantly looking for ways of Russia's spiritual growth. Thanks to him, today we know what such a great composer means for Russian culture as. It was Mily Alekseevich who collected and edited Glinka's manuscripts and presented them to the general public.
  

  It is Balakirev who is the creator of the brotherhood of outstanding composers, which is known in world culture as the "Mighty Handful". , Cui, Borodin and Balakirev himself formed a community of truly powerful talents. They wrote their first works, guided by the instructions given by Balakirev. He did not escape his influence in his work and. He was not part of the "Mighty Handful", but Balakirev's enormous talent could not but influence the young Pyotr Ilyich.
  

  Balakarev did everything for the creative development of his students, helped them rise to the highest levels in Russian culture and never reminded them who helped them become outstanding. But later, when his students found their convictions, he firmly defended his convictions and did not compromise. Mily Alekseevich is not only a brilliant composer. His talent as a conductor and pianist became the basis for the work of Gilels and Mravinsky, Oistrakh and Richter.
  

  However, Balakirev's pedagogical activity is almost unknown. The free music school where he taught music became the basis of that system of children's music education. It exists in Russia now and is recognized all over the world. Another brainchild of the teacher Balakirev, the Court Singing Chapel, was transformed by him, together with Rimsky-Korsakov, into a brilliant choir, which is remembered as a legend of Russian culture.
  

  Little has been studied about his publicistic activity. The reason for this was the spiritual worldview that Balakirev came to by the end of his life. His state, similar to scheming, was not understood and not appreciated by society. They did not accept him later. The theomachists could not appreciate the feat of the Christian and visionary Balakirev, and his name was forgotten.
  

  Mily Alekseevich died in St. Petersburg on May 16 (29), 1910. At present, the creative feat of the great composer is appreciated. put everything in its place.

  Mily Balakirev started playing the piano when he was four years old. At the age of 25, he headed the Mighty Handful of Composers and ran the Free Music School. Balakirev's works were known in many cities of Russia and Europe.

  "Healthy flowers on the basis of Russian music"

  Mily Balakirev was born in 1837 in Nizhny Novgorod, his father was a titular adviser. Balakirev became interested in music at an early age. Already at the age of four, he learned to play the piano under the guidance of his mother, later taking lessons from the conductor Carl Eisrich, the Spanish composer John Field and the music teacher Alexandre Dubuc.
  

  The young pianist met the Nizhny Novgorod philanthropist and famous writer Alexander Ulybyshev. In his house, Mily Balakirev found himself in a creative environment: writers and artists met here, actors Mikhail Shchepkin and Alexander Martynov visited, composer Alexander Serov lived for a long time. At Ulybyshev's house, Mily Balakirev studied musical literature and scores, performed with the home orchestra - first as a pianist and then as a conductor.

  In 1854, Balakirev, at the insistence of his father, entered as a volunteer at the Faculty of Mathematics of Kazan University. He dropped out after a year to pursue music. Mily Balakirev began to write his first works - romances and piano pieces. Soon the aspiring composer left with Alexander Ulybyshev for St. Petersburg, where he met Mikhail Glinka. On the advice of Glinka, Balakirev began performing at concerts as a pianist and writing his own music with folk motifs. He composed overtures on Russian and Czech themes, music for Shakespeare's tragedy "King Lear" and romances, which the composer Alexander Serov called "fresh healthy flowers on the basis of Russian music."

  Balakirev Circle and Free Music School

  During these years, Mili Balakirev met Caesar Cui, Modest Mussorgsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Borodin. In 1862 they formed the "New Russian Musical School" circle, which the critic Vladimir Stasov nicknamed "The Mighty Handful". The composers of the Balakirev circle studied folklore and church singing in order to use folk motifs in their compositions. Fabulous and epic stories appeared both in symphonic works and in the chamber vocal work of each member of the Mighty Handful. Balakirev traveled a lot in search of new topics. From a trip to the Volga, he brought the idea of ​​a collection of "40 Russian songs", and from the Caucasus - developments for the piano fantasy "Islamei" and the symphonic poem "Tamara".

  None of the composers of the circle studied at the conservatory: they did not yet exist then. Cui, Rimsky-Korsakov and Mussorgsky received a military education, and Borodin was a chemist with a doctorate in medicine. Mily Balakirev evaluated the compositions of his comrades and made recommendations. Rimsky-Korsakov wrote: "... a critic, namely a technical critic, he was amazing." Balakirev at that time was considered an experienced composer and was the leader of the circle.

  

  “Balakirev was obeyed unquestioningly, for his personal charm was terribly great. ... Every minute ready for excellent improvisation at the piano, remembering every measure known to him, memorizing compositions played to him instantly, he had to produce this charm like no one else.
  

  Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

  In the year of the formation of the Mighty Handful, Mili Balakirev, with conductor Gavriil Lomakin, opened the Free Music School. Residents of both capitals studied here without social and age restrictions "to ennoble their aspirations and to make decent church choirs out of them ... as well as to develop new talents from them through the preparation of soloists." Students were taught singing, musical literacy and solfeggio. Concerts of "new Russian music" - Mikhail Glinka, Alexander Dargomyzhsky and composers of the "Mighty Handful" were held here. The proceeds from the concerts went to the development of the school.

  World famous soloist of the "Weimar Circle"

  In the 1870s, Mily Balakirev became one of the most respected musicians in St. Petersburg. He was invited to conduct at the Imperial Russian Musical Society. Here, too, the music of the composers of the Mighty Handful sounded, the premiere of Alexander Borodin's First Symphony was held. However, two years later, Balakirev had to leave his post as a conductor: in court circles, they were dissatisfied with the composer's harsh statements about musical conservatism.

  He returned to work at the Free Music School. Balakirev was pursued by material failures, there were no opportunities for creativity left. At this time, the "Mighty Handful" broke up: Balakirev's students became experienced and independent composers.

  

  “While everyone was in the position of eggs under the hen (meaning Balakirev's last one), we were all more or less alike. As soon as the chicks hatched from the eggs, they were overgrown with feathers. Everyone flew where he was drawn by his nature. The lack of similarity in direction, aspirations, tastes, the nature of creativity, etc., in my opinion, is a good and by no means a sad side of the matter.
  

  Alexander Borodin

  Mily Balakirev decided to leave the art of music and got a job at the Warsaw Railway Administration. He earned money with piano lessons, but did not write music and did not perform at concerts, he lived in seclusion and seclusion.

  Only in the 1880s did the composer return to the music school. During these years, he completed "Tamara" and the First Symphony, wrote new piano pieces and romances. In 1883-1894, Balakirev managed the Court Singing Chapel and, together with Rimsky-Korsakov, organized professional training for musicians there. The composer was a member of the Weimar Circle, which met with Academician Alexander Pypin. At these evenings, Balakirev performed entire musical programs with his own comments. According to the memoirs of the academician's daughter, only in 1898-1901 there were 11 such programs in his repertoire. Mily Balakirev's symphonic music during these years was known throughout Russia and abroad - in Brussels, Paris, Copenhagen, Munich, Heidelberg, Berlin.

  Mily Balakirev died in 1910 at the age of 73. He was buried at the Tikhvin cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.