# Balakirev suggestions?



## ccravens (Oct 15, 2013)

I am just now getting into the music of M. Balakirev. I have only his Symphony No 1 and "Tamara." So far, I like what I hear.

Any other suggestions? He wrote a lot, so I can't listen to or get all of his works; that's why I'm asking for suggestions about your favorites or about his compositions most commonly played today.

Thanks in advance!

:tiphat:


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

Tamara is brilliant!! Way to go! That's a great place to start, even better than Islamey perhaps.

Yes, _Islamey _is my main suggested great work, I like it in its original piano version, but also in its orchestrated version. Try both out. A giant, exciting showpiece in either scenario.

I also enjoy his 2nd piano Concerto (the one that wasn't completed, I think that's the 2nd). He made another tone poem called "Russia" that uses a bunch of Russian folk tunes go figure, certainly _someone _had to write such a thing. :lol:

He wrote a good deal of solo piano music too, notably Mazurkas. I would try them all out, I don't know them well enough myself but I've enjoyed the ones I've heard.

I wish I could suggest more, but I haven't been looking into him lately, bogged down by life right now and not doing much discovery.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

"_Tamara_" is definitely one of the highlights. The first Svetlanov recording with the USSR Ac SO is superb, for example. The _Piano Sonata _ hasn´t been mentioned yet and is quite good, here a great old Turnabout recording where it is played by Kentner 



, whereas the rest of the piano music doesn´t seem extremely inspiring IMO, at least not the in the Brilliant Classics recording by Paley. The _1st Piano Concerto_ is sweet, but not very substantial.

As far as I remember, his _songs_ (largely ignored but some recorded by Borodina for example), can be very attractive too.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

I also like Balakirev's 2nd symphony. The composer wrestled on and off with its composition for many years so that when it was eventually finished it doesn't sound like any real stylistic advance on the first, but it's still a very enjoyable work. The Naxos disc is worth investigating as it has as a fill up his symphonic poem/overture, 'Russia'. I also like the orchestral version of the piano piece Islamey, but that was done by Lyapunov, not the composer.


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

If you can find recordings of his solo piano music(apart from Islamey, which is well known and well played), it is excellent. I like his mazurkas.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Is lamely - try Cziffra. Astounding! Sounds as if someone is tossing grenades into the piano.


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## Guest (Nov 8, 2013)

You have got to be kidding us.

Balakirev may indeed have written a lot of stuff, but how much of it has been recorded? Hardly any. Suggestions for what Balakirev to listen to will peter out very quickly, as soon as every recording has been mentioned. (There are several recordings of the symphonies, most of them with both. Dunno how you missed that one! Now you have to find a recording of symphony no. 2 that doesn't include no. 1. I mean, unless you're into that kind of thing.)

Martinu's your man for this kind of thread. Prolific. Uneven. Tons of recordings.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Very close to all Balakirev has been recorded. Just go to Russian/former-Soviet sources, if needed. Complete piano works (Paley), Songs (Christoff and http://www.classicsonline.com/catalogue/product.aspx?pid=1626902), Orchestral music (Svetlanov and others on Melodiya), chamber music (Melodiya). The oeuvre can certainly be on less than 15 CDs. The main difficulty is in a few of the songs, and possibly in the early String Quartet op.2.

This is probably the best single source for finding the oeuvres of Russian/Soviet composers, at least up to around the year 2000, the result of one Englishman´s incredible efforts: http://www.russiancomposers.org.uk/page284.html / http://www.russiancomposers.org.uk/page164.html


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## ccravens (Oct 15, 2013)

Thanks to everyone here for the help.

Yesterday I downloaded, and have listened to most of the following:

*2 symphonies
*Symphonic works - Tamara, Russia, In Bohemia, Overture on 3 Russian Themes, Islamey
*Piano Concerto No 2
*Piano Sonata No 2
*Piano works - Islamey, 3 Nocturnes, a few Mazurkas, a few other works

Thanks to all.


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## Guest (Nov 9, 2013)

At the risk of some repetition, I will mention a few works which I like:

Grand Fantaisie on Russian Folksongs, for piano and orchestra, Op.4 - this was written when he was just 15! Quite good actually.

Tamara, Piano Concerto #2, Islamey (piano and as arranged by Lyapunov) - all mentioned above but all quite solid.

Piano Sonata in B-Flat Minor - written more than 50 years after his first works. I have a version by Danny Driver on Hyperion that I think is really great - and I'm not usually very enthusiastic about solo piano works.


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## carlmichaels (May 2, 2012)

joen_cph said:


> This is probably the best single source for finding the oeuvres of Russian/Soviet composers, at least up to around the year 2000, the result of one Englishman´s incredible efforts: http://www.russiancomposers.org.uk/page284.html / http://www.russiancomposers.org.uk/page164.html


Nothing further to add, but that is an excellent resource. Bookmarked!


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## carlmichaels (May 2, 2012)

Just an observation by a doing a quick investigation of available works at ClassicsOnline:

Many of the available recordings list "Piano Sonata in B-flat minor" as though there were only one. I gather there are two: Op.5 and Op.102, unhelpfully (for the purposes of discernment) both in key of B-flat minor. It appears that most mean the second even when they don't indicate it since the second has four movements, the first three, but this was the only way I (to whom the composers works are mostly unknown) could narrow it down.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Concerning the Sonata, more can be read here, in the liner notes to N.Walker´s begun set of the piano music on Naxos: 
http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=GP636


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## carlmichaels (May 2, 2012)

joen_cph said:


> Concerning the Sonata, more can be read here, in the liner notes to N.Walker´s begun set of the piano music on Naxos:
> http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=GP636


So there's actually three?! And the third "encapsulates" all three (i.e. the first two)?! Never heard of anything like this. "Expresses the entire history of Russia"?! Yikes. Quite ambitious. I'm sure I can hear that on listening. Not. Program music. Yeesh.


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