Mily Alekseevich Balakirev - Russian composer, pianist, conductor and musical public figure. Chapter " Mighty bunch", one of the founders (in 1862) and director (in 1868-1873 and 1881-1908) of the Free Music School. Conductor of the Russian musical society(1867-1869), manager 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, Russian adaptations 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 N. Novgorod). Musical development Milia was facilitated by his rapprochement with the writer and music critic Alexander Dmitrievich Ulybyshev. In 1853 - 1855, Mily Alekseevich was a volunteer student at the Faculty of Mathematics of Kazan University. In 1856 he made his debut in St. Petersburg as a pianist and conductor.
"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. (about "Ruslan and Lyudmila" by Glinka)
Balakirev Miliy Alekseevich
His friendship with art and music critic, art historian, honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences Vladimir Vasilyevich Stasov had a great influence on the formation of Balakirev’s ideological and aesthetic positions.
In the early 60s, under the leadership of Mily Alekseevich, it was created music club, known as the “New Russian Music School”, “Balakirev Circle”, “Mighty Handful”. In 1862, the composer, together with choral conductor and musical figure Gavriil Yakimovich Lomakin, organized the Free music school, which became a hotbed of mass music education, as well as a 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 of 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 Milia. Works of these years - “Overture on Three Russian Themes” (1858; 2nd ed. 1881), the second overture on three Russian themes “1000 Years” (1862, in the later edit - the symphonic poem “Rus”, 1887, 1907) , Czech overture (1867, in the 2nd ed. - symphonic poem “In the Czech Republic”, 1906), etc. - developed Glinka’s traditions, they clearly manifested character traits and the style of the “New Russian School” (in particular, reliance on authentic folk songs). In 1866, his collection “40 Russian folk songs for voice and piano” was published, which was the first classical example of the treatment of folk songs.
In the 70s, Balakirev left the Free Music School, stopped writing, giving concerts, and broke with 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 Singing Chapel.
The central theme of the composer's work is the theme of the people. Folk images, pictures of Russian life and nature run through most of his works. Miliya Balakirev is also characterized by an interest in the topic of the East (Caucasus) and musical cultures other countries (Polish, Czech, Spanish).
The main sphere of creativity of Miliya Alekseevich is instrumental (symphonic and piano) music. He worked primarily in the field of program symphony. 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 fine-landscape and folk-dance character. The birth of the Russian epic symphony genre is associated with the name Milia. The idea for the 1st symphony dates back to the 60s (sketches appeared in 1862, the first movement 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 it piano works- oriental fantasy “Islamey” (1869), combining bright picturesqueness, originality of folk genre coloring with virtuosic brilliance.
A prominent place in Russian chamber vocal music is occupied by romances and songs by Miliy Alekseevich.
Mily Alekseevich Balakirev died on May 29 (May 16, old style) 1910, in St. Petersburg.
Miliy Alekseevich Balakirev(January 2, 1837 - May 29, 1910), Russian composer, pianist, conductor, head of the “Mighty Handful”.
The enormous role of M. A. Balakirev in the history of Russian culture is well known, and yet his significance remains not fully appreciated. Perhaps this is due to the fact that he evoked a complex and ambiguous attitude towards himself from his contemporaries - both through his creativity and social activities.
“In Balakirev, I always felt there were two people: one - a charming and cheerful interlocutor, ready to tell a not entirely decent joke; the other is some kind of schismatic abbot, despotically demanding, even cruel, capable of completely unexpectedly offending a person who is friendly towards him,” recalled M. M. Ippolitov-Ivanov.
Being in the spotlight cultural life or going into the shadows, he never compromised with the opinion of society - even in contradiction with it. In silence and solitude, he continued to do the same as at the height of fame - to serve art, sacrificing everything else: health, personal life, friendship of close people, good opinion of fellow musicians. Balakirev is one of the most tragic figures in the history of Russian musical XIX culture century.
His life was long and covered several periods in the history of Russian musical culture. While still a young man (at the age of 19), A.D. Ulybyshev brought Balakirev to the Christmas tree with Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka, who immediately predicted a “brilliant musical future” for him. Later, he even gave him the theme of the Spanish march, for which he composed the Overture. And at the end of his life, fate brought him into contact with Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninov, who conducted the symphonic poem “Tamara” in 1905. For more than half a century, he communicated with various outstanding musicians of Russia and Europe, in every possible way contributing to the prosperity of true art.
He was born in Nizhny Novgorod on December 21, 1836 in the family of an official. Initial musical information received from his mother, later studied with K.K. Eisrich and took individual lessons from various musicians, including A. Dubuk, but he mainly owed his musical education to himself. Eisrich introduced him to the house of A.D. Ulybyshev, a lover and connoisseur of music who wrote a monograph on Mozart. Balakirev participated in his musical evenings and studied music literature.
In 1853, he moved to Kazan and enrolled as a volunteer student at the University’s Faculty of Physics and Mathematics, but two years later he left from there for St. Petersburg. In the northern capital, Balakirev quickly became close to a circle of musicians - M. I. Glinka, A. S. Dargomyzhsky, A. N. Serov, V. V. Stasov, and also S. Monyushko. In the late 1850s and early 1860s, a circle formed around him, which was later called the “Mighty Handful.”
This name first appeared in 1867 in Stasov’s article “ Slavic concert Mr. Balakirev”, where there are the following lines: “God grant that our Slavic guests will forever retain the memory of how much poetry, feeling, talent and skill a small but already mighty group of Russian musicians have.” The circle itself called itself the “New Russian School”.
After active creative life In the 1860s, a severe crisis began that lasted almost the entire decade. During these years, Balakirev almost completely abandoned communication with his former friends and creative activities; for a short time he even became an official in the Warsaw Store Department railway. The second period of the composer's creative activity began in the 1880-1900s. Before recent years In his life he is actively involved in creative, social and performing activities.
These are the most significant milestones in his biography. But how can one describe how much spiritual strength and inner fire Balakirev put into his works? All his life he burned with a bright fire, awakening ebullient creative energy in others. His era - the time when he fully and happily revealed the potential of his creative talent - was the 1860s. At this time, after Nicholas I left the throne, art was perceived as a means to improve the life of society. Subsequently, these ideas faded into the background, but for Balakirev they always remained significant.
He devoted most of his life to active musical and social activities, which did not always find an appropriate response from his contemporaries. His most important and difficult undertaking was the creation in 1862, together with G. Ya. Lomakin, of the Free Music School (FMS), the goals of which were the same as for the Russian Musical Society (RMS) - training Russian musicians and the availability of appropriate education for everyone.
In addition to Balakirev, from 1873 to 1882 the BMS was headed by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, and from 1908 by S. M. Lyapunov. After October revolution she ceased to exist.
However, the opening of the St. Petersburg Conservatory by A. G. Rubinstein in the same year on the basis of the Russian Musical Society diverted public attention from Balakirev’s noble undertaking and contributed to the emergence of two parties in it - adherents of the ideas of Balakirev and Rubinstein. Balakirev himself had a very ambivalent attitude towards Rubinstein’s undertaking. The main objection to the conservatory was that a standardized music education should, in his opinion, kill the individuality of students. With his friends, he sneered at Rubinstein, calling him Dubinstein, Tupinstein and even Grubinstein. However, perhaps this was also due to personal resentment for his own initiative - the BMS, which, being aimed at the same goals, did not attract such attention from either patrons or the public.
Difficulties in the affairs of the BMS were largely the cause of the crisis that befell Balakirev in the 1870s. At the same time, over time, the negative attitude towards RMO smoothed out. In 1871, he approved of Rimsky-Korsakov's decision to work at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. Although Rimsky-Korsakov believed that Balakirev had the selfish intention of “inducting his own into a conservatory hostile to him.” Nevertheless, Balakirev respected his knowledge of harmony and counterpoint and sent to him those of his students who needed consistent study of these subjects. This is how young A.K. Glazunov came to Rimsky-Korsakov in 1879. And in 1878, the Moscow branch of the RMO even invited Balakirev to take the place of P.I. Tchaikovsky, who had left the Conservatory by that time. He did not accept the offer, but was touched by it.
In addition to the BMS, in the 1870s Balakirev was actively involved in teaching and inspectorate activities in women's institutes. Since 1873, he was an inspector of music classes at the Mariinsky Women's Institute, and since 1875 - at the St. Elena. Finally, from 1883 to 1894 he was the manager of the Court Singing Chapel, after which he retired.
Pedagogical activity accompanied Balakirev throughout his life. He trained a galaxy of composers who made up an entire era of Russian music. It was around him that the “New Russian School” united the most talented composers of his time - Caesar Antonovich Cui (familiar with Balakirev since 1856), Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (since 1857), Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov (since 1861), Alexander Porfirievich Borodin (since 1862), as well as A. S. Gussakovsky (since 1857 , after 1862 he retired from the circle) and N. N. Lodyzhensky (since 1866).
Music critics and public figures A.N. Serov and V.V. Stasov also joined the circle (both from 1856, however, by 1859 the relations of Balakirev and Cui with Serov were hopelessly damaged). However, Balakirev was not a teacher in the usual sense of the word. The “New Russian School” was a friendly circle where Balakirev was perceived as an older and more educated comrade. Not without humor, he wrote about the circle meetings, for example, the following: “Our entire company lives as before. Mussorgsky now looks cheerful and proud, they wrote the Allegro - and thinks that he has already done a lot for art in general and Russian art in particular. Now every Wednesday I have a meeting of all Russian composers, our new (if anyone composes) works and generally good works by Beethoven, Glinka, Schumann, Schubert and so on are played.” (letter to A.P. Zakharyina dated December 31, 1860, quoted from: M.A. Balakirev. Chronicle of Life and Creativity).
The playing of works (both their own and those of others) was accompanied by their detailed analysis. Stasov recalled that at the meetings of the circle, “everyone gathered in a crowd around the piano, where either M.A. Balakirev or Mussorgsky accompanied them as the most powerful pianists of the circle, and then testing, criticism, weighing of advantages and disadvantages, attack and defense immediately took place.”
Every young person who came to the circle again felt the irresistible charm of Balakirev’s personality and his amazing ability to kindle the fire of inspiration in people. Rimsky-Korsakov recalled that “From the first meeting, Balakirev made a huge impression on me. He demanded that I start composing a symphony. I was delighted". Mussorgsky wrote to Balakirev: “You were very good at pushing me while I was dozing.” And E. S. Borodina said that “The fruits of (Borodin’s) newly established acquaintance with Balakirev were felt in a fabulous way in terms of strength and speed. Already in December he played me almost the entire first Allegro of his symphony in Es major.”
But not everything was rosy. Very soon, the members of the circle realized the despotism of their older friend, his unshakable conviction that he was absolutely right and his desire to actively participate in all the details of their creative process. He told Rimsky-Korsakov: “You can trust in my critical ability and in the ability of musical understanding, but let my opinions not be immutable for you.”
However, Balakirev’s intervention in literally every bar, every note of the barely emerging works of young composers gradually became painful for them. In 1861, Mussorgsky wrote to Balakirev: “As for the fact that I get stuck and have to be pulled out, I’ll say one thing - if I have talent, I won’t get stuck. It’s time to stop seeing me as a child who needs to be led so that he doesn’t fall.”
By the end of the 1860s, the circle gradually began to disintegrate - the chicks fledged and gradually flew further and further from the nest. Balakirev became lonely and a creative crisis set in. Subsequently, he had other students, but only after long years, in 1884, he met Sergei Mikhailovich Lyapunov, who became his only completely devoted and faithful student, who continued the traditions of Balakirev’s music in his work.
Of great importance in Balakirev’s life was his performing activity, which he was engaged in from his youth until the last years of his life. Having become acquainted with the capabilities of the piano from the age of four, by the age of eighteen he was already an established virtuoso pianist, “the pianists who came to Kazan - Seymour Schiff and Anton Kontsky - treated him as a colleague.”
In a letter to Rostislav, published in “Northern Bee” (No. 290), A.D. Ulybyshev recommended Balakirev as a virtuoso: “He should listen once to a large piece performed by an orchestra in order to convey it without notes in all accuracy on the piano. He reads all kinds of music and, accompanying the singing, immediately translates the aria or duet into another tone, whatever he wants.”
In the second half of his life, Balakirev was recognized as a pianist not only in Russia, but also abroad, in particular in Poland. In 1894, his last public concert took place there, dedicated to his beloved composer, Chopin, in connection with the opening of a monument to him. This was a time when political relations between Russia and Poland were strained, and friends discouraged Balakirev from traveling there. He was “scared both by the fact that the hall would be empty and by the fact that they could arrange a demonstration for him as a Russian, a patriot. But Balakirev was not afraid, he went, and the concert took place. The entire Polish Warsaw was in Zhelazova Wola. Balakirev can never talk about this without emotion. This was his last appearance in front of the public, he never played again.”
Balakirev also picked up the conductor's baton with young age. Already at the age of 15, he made his debut with Beethoven's Eighth Symphony in a concert in Nizhny Novgorod, replacing his teacher Karl Eisrich who had left. However, as he later recalled, at that time “He didn’t even know in which direction the beats of the bar were pointed with a stick.”
Later he became a major, recognized conductor. After the founding of the Free Music School (FMS) in 1862, he conducted concerts for it and for its benefit (since 1863). In 1866-1867, Balakirev was invited to Prague to stage Glinka's operas. The matter was not without misunderstandings; in a letter to L.I. Shestakova, he indignantly wrote that “The local vile conductors decided to lose the clavier of “Ruslan” somewhere, it’s good that, to the surprise of everyone, I accompanied the entire opera from memory.”
In 1868, the directorate of the Russian Musical Society entrusted him with the management of its concerts (10 concerts in total). Co next season Balakirev increased the number of concerts of the Free Music School, but for a long time he could not compete with the Russian Musical Society. A year later he was replaced by E. F. Napravnik, and this caused a great resonance in the press, in particular, an article by P. I. Tchaikovsky “Voice from Moscow” was published music world" with an expression of protest about this. This event became one of the reasons for the severe crisis that befell the composer in the 1870s.
In 1872, the last of the announced RMO concerts could no longer take place. The distressed Balakirev also left the Free Music School in 1874. Rimsky-Korsakov was elected its director. The failures ended with an unsuccessful concert in Nizhny Novgorod. The dejected Balakirev was close to suicide. Needing funds not only for himself, but also for his sisters, who were left in his care after the death of his father, he entered the service of the Store Administration of the Warsaw Railway and began again giving music lessons. He moved away from his musical friends, avoided society, became unsociable, became very religious, and began to perform rituals that he had previously denied.
Later he returned to active conducting work, including abroad. In 1899, Balakirev was invited to Berlin to conduct a symphony concert of Glinka's works in honor of the unveiling of a memorial plaque on the house where he died. Later, due to health reasons, Balakirev retired from conducting.
Balakirev did not write many works during his life. The composer's creative inactivity often surprised his contemporaries - after all, it was he who stimulated the creative energy of his friends, condemned them for laziness, and created so little himself. However, the reason for this was not laziness at all, but something else. Balakirev was a man with demanding and impeccable taste. In any music he immediately sensed something new or banal, something new or a repetition of old cliches. From himself, as well as from his friends, he demanded only something new, original, and individual. This is the secret of his overly detailed intervention in creative process their comrades. But he was no less demanding of himself. Every note written was subjected to severe criticism the author's inner hearing - and it did not always pass. As a result, works could take decades to create. Most shining example- First symphony. Back in the 1860s, he encouraged all his friends to create a symphony, considering it the pinnacle of the genre system. He began his own symphony in 1864 and finished it in 1897.
When Glinka, at the end of his life, gave Balakirev the theme of a Spanish march for his future overture, he thereby appointed him as his successor. Indeed, Balakirev inherited a lot from his older contemporary, and in particular a colossal breadth of interests and creative ideas, but his own path was completely original. One of the most important principles of Balakirev's work was not to repeat - neither the music of other composers, nor himself. Each of his compositions was unique.
Balakirev was the only composer of The Mighty Handful who never wrote an opera. The idea for an operatic work called “The Firebird” was never realized. Balakirev's only work for the theater is music for Shakespeare's tragedy "King Lear", which includes an overture, symphonic intermissions and other numbers for orchestra. In general, Balakirev’s largest creations were works for symphony orchestra. In addition to two symphonies, this includes various overtures: on the theme of the Spanish march given to the author by Glinka (1857, 2nd edition 1886), on themes of three Russian songs (1858, 2nd edition 1881), Czech overture (written under the impression of a trip to Prague, 1867, 2nd edition 1905). Here you can also find the symphonic poems “Rus” (originally the musical picture “1000 Years”, 1864, 2nd edition 1887, 1907), “Tamara” (1882) and Suite in three parts(1901-1909, completed by S. M. Lyapunov).
As a concert pianist, he composed many works involving the piano. Of these, two piano concertos (1st 1855, 2nd 1862-1910, completed by S. M. Lyapunov), Octet (1856), as well as just piano ones - among them the fantasy “Islamey” (as well as “ Tamara”, associated with impressions from trips to the Caucasus in the 1860s, 1869), sonata (1905), many piano miniatures, transcriptions and arrangements of vocal and symphonic music etc.
Balakirev’s work in the Court Chapel was associated with the creation of choral music - arrangements for the choir Acapella Glinka's romances and Chopin's mazurkas. In addition, throughout his life Balakirev created many romances for voice with piano or orchestra (“Georgian Song”, 1863).
Balakirev made a great contribution to the history of collecting and recording folk songs. After a trip along the Volga, specially undertaken to record folk songs, Balakirev published a collection of “40 Russian folk songs for voice and piano” (1866), which had a great public response. Later, the composer was offered to participate in the commission for the compilation and publication of Russian folk songs collected by expeditions of the Russian Geographical Society. The result of this work was the publication of the collection “30 Russian folk songs for piano 4 hands” (1898). In his work, Balakirev often turned to authentic Russian melodies, and with this he continued in music the traditions laid down by Glinka’s “Kamarinskaya”.
His editorial work was of particular importance in Balakirev’s creative activity. Beginning in the 1860s, she accompanied Balakirev throughout his entire career. Probably, if we compare the number of editorial and original works of the composer, there will be almost more of the former. This includes work with the emerging music of close friends and students (Cui, Lyapunov, etc.), and editions of works by composers who have already passed away (such as Berlioz and Chopin). This includes simple transcriptions of symphonic works for piano (2 or 4 hands), and creative reinterpretations of existing works by other authors (this includes various piano transcriptions, concert arrangements, and others).
Back in 1877, M. I. Glinka’s sister L. I. Shestakova asked Balakirev to edit and publish Glinka’s opera scores at her expense. By the end of 1878, the score of the opera “Ruslan and Lyudmila” was published, and in 1881, “A Life for the Tsar,” edited by M. A. Balakirev, N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov and A. K. Lyadov. At the same time, he was engaged in editing and proofreading other works by Glinka, published in various publishing houses. Yours logical conclusion work with Glinka’s music began at the end of Balakirev’s life - since 1902 he actively participated in the editing and publication Full meeting Glinka's works. As for Chopin, work with his music has remained in the shadows, but it is no less important.
It is little known that it was Balakirev who became the editor of the world's first Collected Works of Chopin, published in Russia in the edition of Stellovsky in 1861-1864. Subsequently, he also worked on editions of various works by Chopin and crowned his creative biography two large-scale works, associated with the work of Chopin - the re-arrangement of the First Piano Concerto in 1909, and the orchestral Suite from his own works in 1910.
In the last period, Balakirev was surrounded by musical youth, but the most dear person to him during these years was S. Lyapunov. According to his will, Lyapunov completed a number of unfinished works by the composer, including the concerto in E-flat major. Balakirev died on May 16, 1910.
Balakirev was buried at the Tikhvin cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
G. in Nizhny Novgorod. He was educated at Kazan University. Balkirev owes his musical education to himself. In the city he first performed before the St. Petersburg public as a virtuoso pianist. On March 18, he, together with G. A. Lomakin, founded the “Free Music School,” which was under the highest patronage of His Imperial Majesty; From the very first days of its existence, this school found lively activity. In concerts organized by this school, vocal and choral pieces were conducted by Lomakin, and orchestral pieces by M. A. Balakirev. On January 28, after Lomakin refused to manage the school, M. A. Balakirev, as one of its founders, took over this work and, as director, managed the school until the fall. In the city, M. A. was invited to Prague - manage the production of the operas “A Life for the Tsar” and “Ruslan and Lyudmila” by Glinka, which were given under the direction of Balakirev and, thanks to his persistence and tireless energy, were a huge success, especially the opera “Ruslan and Lyudmila”.
Ch. compositions: 2 symphonies, the poem “Tamara”, works for piano (concert, fantasy “Islamey”, sonata, small pieces), many romances, a collection of folk songs.
Lit.: Strelnikov N., Balakirev, Petrograd, 1922.
The article reproduces text from the Small Soviet Encyclopedia.M. A. Balakirev.
Balakirev Mily Alekseevich, Russian composer, pianist, conductor, musical and public figure. Born into the family of an official from the nobility. He took lessons from pianist A. Dubuk and conductor K. Eisrich (Nizhny Novgorod). B.'s musical development was facilitated by his rapprochement with the writer and music critic A. D. Ulybyshev. In 1853-55 he was a volunteer student at the Faculty of Mathematics of Kazan University. In 1856 he made his debut in St. Petersburg as a pianist and conductor. His friendship with the critic V.V. Stasov had a great influence on the formation of Balakirev’s ideological and aesthetic positions. In the early 60s. under the leadership of B. a music circle is formed, known as the “New Russian Music School”, “Balakirevsky Circle”, "The Mighty Handful". In 1862 B. together with choral conductor G. Ya. Lomakin organizes a Free Music School in St. Petersburg, which became a center of mass music education, as well as a center for the promotion of Russian music. In 1867-69 he was the chief conductor of the Russian Musical Society.
Balakirev contributed to the popularization of M. I. Glinka’s operas: in 1866 he conducted the opera “Ivan Susanin” in Prague, in 1867 he directed the Prague production of the opera “Ruslan and Lyudmila”.
Late 1850s - 60s. were a period of intense creative activity by B. The works of these years - “Overture on Three Russian Themes” (1858; 2nd ed. 1881), the second overture on three Russian themes “1000 Years” (1862, in the later edition - a symphonic poem “ Rus", 1887, 1907), the Czech overture (1867, in the 2nd edition - the symphonic poem "In the Czech Republic", 1906), etc. - develop the traditions of Glinka, in them the characteristic features and style of the "New Russian School" are clearly manifested. (in particular, reliance on authentic folk songs). In 1866, his collection “40 Russian folk songs for voice and piano” was published, which was the first classical example of the treatment of folk songs.
In the 70s B. leaves the Free Music School, stops writing, giving concerts, and breaks with members of the circle. In the early 80s. he returned to musical activity, but it lost its militant “sixties” character. In 1881-1908, B. again headed the Free Music School and at the same time (1883-94) was the director of the Court Singing Chapel.
The central theme of Balakirev's work is the theme of the people. Folk images, pictures of Russian life, and nature run through most of his works. B. 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 sphere of Balakirev's creativity is instrumental (symphonic and piano) music. B. worked primarily in the field of program symphony. The best example of Balakirev’s symphonic poem is “Tamara” (about , based on Lermontov’s poem of the same name), built on original musical material of a visual-landscape and folk-dance nature. The birth of the genre of Russian epic symphony is associated with B.'s name. By the 60s. refers to the concept of the 1st symphony (sketches appeared in 1862, the first movement in 1864, the symphony was completed in 1898). In 1908 the 2nd symphony was written.
Balakirev is one of the creators of the original Russian piano style. The best of Balakirev’s piano works is the oriental fantasy “Islamey” (1869), combining bright picturesqueness, original folk-genre coloring with virtuosic brilliance.
Prominent place in Russian Chamber vocal music is occupied by Balakirev's romances and songs.
Literature:
- Correspondence of M. A. Balakirev with V. V. Stasov, M., 1935;
- Correspondence between N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov and M. A. Balakirev, in the book: Rimsky-Korsakov N., Literary works and correspondence, vol. 5, M., 1963;
- Letters from M.A. Balakirev to M.P. Mussorgsky, in the book: Mussorgsky M.P., Letters and Documents, M.-L., 1932;
- Correspondence between M. A. Balakirev and P. I. Tchaikovsky, St. Petersburg. 1912;
- Kiselev G., M. A. Balakirev, M.-L., 1938;
- Kandinsky A., Symphonic works M. A. Balakireva, M., 1960;
- M. A. Balakirev. Research and articles, L., 1961;
- M. A. Balakirev. Memoirs and letters, Leningrad, 1962;
- Balakirev. Chronicle of life and creativity. Comp. A. S. Lyapunova and E. E. Yazovitskaya, L., 1967.
see also
Links
- Balakirev Miliy Site about the life and work of the composer.
This article serves as a continuation of our story about the great « » Russian composers, which he gathered around himself no less wonderful person, . And now we will learn in more detail about the personality of the first composer who began working with Vladimir Vasilyevich.
Balakirev M.A. – chapter of “The Mighty Handful”Born into the family of Alexei Konstantinovich Balakirev on December 21, 1836. That is, at the time of formation « Mighty bunch » he was still relatively young. But let us return to the years of his adolescence and youth.
When Milius was still very young, he studied piano with Alexander Dubuk, who himself is now known as a Russian composer and pianist. At one time he was greatly influenced by Ulybyshev.
Alexander Dmitrievich - one of the first Russians music critics. In addition, he wrote a book about Mozart, which became known not only in Russia, but also in Europe. It is interesting that only in 1890 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky translated it into Russian. It was then common among respected people to speak foreign languages, even living in Russia.For some time, Ulybyshev was the editor of the Journal de St.-Pétersbourg newspaper.
He also influenced the direction of the young composer’s creative path. When they met in 1855, he convinced the young man to write music in the national spirit.
But Balakirev did not receive any special musical education. More precisely, he owed the education that he had solely to his own efforts. And in the same year in which he met Glinka, he gave his first piano concert, at which he established himself as a virtuoso pianist.
The path he had traveled prompted him to open a Free Music School on March 18, 1862, which operated under the patronage of the emperor. The school regularly held concerts, conducted by both Mily himself and Lomakin. The first led orchestral pieces, and the second choral pieces.
But Lomakin, who together with Balakirev founded the school, soon left work in it, and Mily became the sole director of the school until 1874.
In 1866, Balakirev was invited to Prague to direct the production of Mikhail Glinka’s operas “A Life for the Tsar” and “Ruslan and Lyudmila,” which were staged under the direction of Miliy Alekseevich, and thanks to his persistence and tireless energy they were a resounding success, especially the opera “ Ruslan and Ludmila".
At one time, in the late sixties, Balakirev conducted the orchestra of the Imperial Russian Musical Society, which performed compositions « Mighty bunch » , namely: Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin and others.
But in the early seventies, Balakirev was experiencing too severe a mental crisis to continue making music. So he retires. And in order to earn a living, he begins to work as an ordinary employee on the Warsaw Railway. He was able to return to music again only in the late seventies.
When in 1983 the emperor appointed him to head the court singing chapel, he was able to organize the school business on solid pedagogical principles. In addition, he personally developed a program for scientific classes, and invited Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov to the position of inspector of music classes.
During Balakirev's management, the building of the singing chapel was rebuilt. It has turned into an elegant architectural structure with luxurious halls, in addition, Special attention was devoted to the development of the orchestra class. This had the most beneficial effect on the choir singers, who, due to loss of voice, were forced to stop practicing in the choir. This way they could earn money in their usual environment, albeit in a different way.
Mily Alekseevich died on May 16, 1910 and was buried at the Tikhvin cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
Creative heritage
Balakirev did not write much, but his works are recognized and respected. Thus, among his compositions, the accompaniment to “King Lear”, various overtures on national themes, piano works, and vocal works stand out.
Particularly striking was the manifestation of Balakirev’s talent in his early works. They displayed all the diversity of the composition, melody... he very subtly understood the essence of orchestration. He was greatly influenced by the work of Chopin and Glinka. In addition, he learned a lot from participating in ensembles and conducting the orchestra in Ulybyshev’s house.
Around the same time, he tried to compose compositions on his own. Due to the fact that Balakirev studied at the Faculty of Mathematics for less than two years, he managed to survive only thanks to the meager earnings from music lessons.
Despite the fact that sometimes his spirit was broken, he was able to return to his favorite work again and again, showing exceptional perseverance and loyalty to his heartfelt love.
There are people who personified an entire era. Such a person was Mily Alekseevich Balakirev, who was one of the key and influential figures in the development of Russian classical music. A person without whom all knowledge about music would look and sound completely different. short biography Miliya Alekseevich Balakirev will be presented to your attention further.
Childhood
In the metric books of the Ascension Church in Nizhny Novgorod for 1836 there is a record of the birth of a son in the family of the titular councilor Alexei Konstantinovich Balakirev. A few days later, Balakirev, together with his wife Elizaveta Ivanovna, baptized the boy in the same church and named him Milius.
The boy receives a classical education, inherent in that time. On Sunday morning as well holidays The whole family attended church without fail. Milia’s mother, Elizaveta Ivanovna, organized a corner in her son’s room in which there were icons. The boy was very proud of this part of his room and spent a lot of time there. Often the child simply sat in silence and looked at the images.
Mily grew up a very active and inquisitive child. He was not even 6 years old when he began to become interested in music. First musical instrument The one he wanted to learn to play was the piano.
Elizaveta Ivanovna, seeing her son’s interest in music, decides to test his hearing. Having made sure that the boy has absolute musical ear, she directs all her efforts to developing his musical talent.
First years of study
Mily and his mother go to Moscow to study. Luck smiles on them, because Alexander Dyubuka himself, one of the most famous teachers and musicians of that time, teaches the boy to master the piano. It is thanks to his teacher that Milius manages to very quickly and masterfully polish his technique of playing a musical instrument.
After some time the boy returns home to Nizhny Novgorod, but does not stop studying. His mentor becomes Karl Eiserich, a talented musician and conductor. Milia's daily lessons take place under his leadership.
During these years, life often presents the boy with fateful gifts. One of them is meeting Alexander Dmitrievich Ulybyshev, a true lover and true connoisseur of music. A new acquaintance appreciated Balakirev’s talent. Mily becomes a frequent guest at Ulybyshev’s house, where the city’s musical elite gathers. It is under the influence of these circles that the inner world and ideological views of the young man.
At the end of the 40s of the 20th century, when Milia was only 13 years old, he entered the Nizhny Novgorod Noble Institute. The training lasts 4 years, and after graduation the young man moves to Kazan. For two years, Mily listened to lectures at Kazan University at the Faculty of Mathematics. It was then that the early works of the talented young man appeared, the romance “You are full of captivating bliss” and the concert Allegro.
By this time, the young man’s mother, who had always been his main support and support, had died several years ago. The father, having entered into a new marriage, in which new children were born, could barely make ends meet. In order to somehow stay afloat, Milius gave music lessons.
Meeting M. I. Glinka
All this time, Mily Balakirev continues to maintain close relations with Ulybyshev. It should be noted that the latter played a very important role in the life of our hero. On his estate, the philanthropist maintained a personal orchestra, where Balakirev first tried his hand as a musician. He not only conducted Beethoven's symphonies, but also understood how an orchestra works and how to lead people. And on the landowner’s instrument, Milius had an unlimited opportunity to practice a lot and hone his technique. Later, a wealthy landowner brought Balakirev to St. Petersburg and introduced him to Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka.
The latter is considered the first classic of Russian music. Glinka was then planning to leave St. Petersburg for good. However, the meeting between the two musicians did take place, although it was very short. Mikhail Ivanovich praised Balakirev, promised a great future, and also said that the glory of “the second Glinka” awaits him.
From that moment on, the legend about Balakirev began to spread in musical circles. The whole of St. Petersburg was talking about the young, talented and ardent musician, who can do everything and knows a lot. The gates of great opportunities opened before the musician. At the age of 19, Balakirev gave his first big concert in front of spoiled St. Petersburg spectators. The public received the virtuoso pianist with admiration. Many true connoisseurs of musical art became interested in the work of Miliya Balakirev.
Balakirev Music School
There was another passion in the life of composer Miliya Balakirev. This is a passion for teaching, a desire to pass on your skills to someone else, to teach how to play classical music and write your own works. Under the influence of this desire and with the support of the emperor, Mily Alekseevich, together with his friend Gavriil Yakimovich Lomakin, founded a music school.
However, in 1866, Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka invited Balakirev to work together and collaborate. The young genius moves to Prague, where he works on the operas “Ruslan and Lyudmila” and “A Life for the Tsar”. The public enthusiastically accepts the work of two famous musicians.
All this time, Lomakin was concerned with the fate of the school. However, in 1868, he transferred all responsibilities from himself to Mily Alekseevich, who remained its director for 6 years.
Balakirev and his students
Balakirev approached the position of teacher in his school very responsibly. He dreamed that dozens of talented musicians that would glorify his name. However, his teaching and mentoring were extremely harsh and authoritarian.
The first of the students in whom Miliy Alekseevich tried to realize his ambitions was chemistry student Apollo Gussakovsky. The young man showed great promise and was ready to study music for hours on end. Balakirev taught his student a lot, investing a lot of physical and moral strength in him. After graduation, Gussakovsky said goodbye to his mentor and went abroad. They never met again.
However, Balakirev's school had gained popularity by that time. And young men came in droves to study. Among the students was an officer from the Preobrazhensky Regiment, Modest Mussorgsky. Acquaintance with him was of fateful significance for Balakirev.
"The Mighty Bunch"
Officer Mussorgsky brings with him Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin, a doctor from the hospital where he was once on duty, also a passionate lover of classical music. And a little later they were joined by the engineering officer Caesar Cui, the librarian Vladimir Vasilyevich Stasov and a very young teenager, the future midshipman Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov.
Balakirev was delighted with his new students. He became a mentor for each of them. However, in the process of work and creativity, the men became like-minded people. And Balakirev understood that it would be difficult to continue his ideology within the walls of the school.
Therefore, Mily Alekseevich, who lived in rented apartments, organizes clubs and gatherings for his new friends in them. The group of musicians very soon became famous and received the name “The Mighty Handful”. In essence, they were an amateur philharmonic society, people's project amateur performances.
However, their judgments were not always acceptable. The goal of the "Mighty Handful" was to develop their own characteristic style in music, which would oppose the official musical organizations, Imperial Russian Musical Society and Conservatory.
All members of the group were self-taught musicians. They composed musical works, and Balakirev was the main critic. He made changes, approved and supported his like-minded people. Often, taking advantage of his authority among his comrades, Mily Alekseevich, in a harsh manner and quite aggressively, could cross out the entire musical composition.
This affected future fate"Balakirev group." Disputes and discontent within like-minded people increased. As a result, in the late 60s of the 19th century, all members of the “Mighty Handful” finally quarreled. The group broke up, but still left a significant mark on Russian music.
Musical career of Miliya Alekseevich
After the collapse of the “Mighty Handful,” Miliy Alekseevich worked in the Imperial Russian Musical Society, which he hated. The musician is at the top of his career. The whole world and the elite of St. Petersburg come to listen to the famous pianist and conductor.
However, radical views of conservatism in classical music, which he had to play at concerts in this institution, put an end to his work. Mily Alekseevich allowed himself to speak harshly to the leadership of the Imperial Russian Musical Society. Nobody tolerated the conductor's rudeness. After two years of work, he was fired with a scandal.
Balakirev is left alone with his music. The conductor returns to his home in Nizhny Novgorod and gives a concert there, to which very few spectators come. However, at this time he finally finishes his oriental fantasy "Islamey" on the piano. At that time, only this work and several of its overtures were known to the general public.
Mental crisis
As the biography of Miliya Balakirev testifies, by the age of 33 he had outlived his usefulness as a musician. He experiences a serious mental crisis and disappears from the musical community. Nobody knew where he was. Balakirev did not maintain relations with any of his friends. However, it was known in narrow circles that the musician had entered the public service.
Every day he went to work at the freight station of the Warsaw Railway. His position was called store management officer. He was in charge of warehouse affairs and freight transportation. In this service, Balakirev, who in his youth was a student at the Faculty of Mathematics, quickly advances in the ranks.
Mily Alekseevich Balakirev, whose biography is presented to your attention in the article, meets the personnel officer of the Warsaw Railway Tertiy Ivanovich Filippov, who was a well-known person in high circles. Balakirev and Filippov are united and brought together by religious views and faith. At this time, the musician, who is going through a mental crisis, even thinks about going to church.
Tertiy Ivanovich, when the question arose about strengthening the court singing chapel, proposed the candidacy of Mily Alekseevich. Thanks to his authority among senior officials, Balakirev is invited to a new position.
Work in the court singing chapel
As soon as Mily Alekseevich took the position of head of the court singing choir, he appointed Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov, who was a efficient man and a true professional, as his assistant. Balakirev entrusted all musical affairs to him, while at first he himself dealt exclusively with administrative issues.
The building of the academic chapel that exists today in St. Petersburg at Moika, 20 was built thanks to the efforts of Mily Alekseevich. He showed himself to be a responsible official.
Balakirev did a lot for the court chapel. He ensured that a school was created under her, in which students received high-quality singing education. Were created music classes, in which they taught playing instruments. This gave students the opportunity to stay and work here in the orchestra after graduation.
Rimsky-Korsakov, who was responsible for selecting talented musicians for the orchestra, created an excellent team of talented professionals. Balakirev did not teach in the chapel, but only controlled this complex mechanism. He controlled everything: from the kitchen of the establishment to the organization of the educational process. He worked in this regime for 11 years, retiring in 1884 with the rank of state councilor.
Balakirev's musical heritage
After retiring, Balakirev no longer thought about financial problems. He devoted himself entirely to writing musical works. 4 years after his resignation, Miliy Alekseevich finished the First Symphony, which was discussed and played for quite a long time.
Balakirev died in 1910, leaving a small musical heritage. Among the main masterpiece works of Miliya Alekseevich Balakirev one can note:
- symphonic poem "Tamara";
- piano fantasy "Islamey";
- music for the tragedy "King Lear"
- fantasy on the theme of the opera "Ivan Susanin";
- first symphony in C major;
- as well as many romances and songs.
After his death, the unfinished works of Mily Alekseevich were refined and completed by his like-minded people and students.
Mily Alekseevich Balakirev went down in history as one of the first critics of Russian music. His life was a series of victories and failures. The musician never started a family, devoting himself entirely to music. Besides musical achievements, Balakirev left his mark both as a talented official and leader.
