News
Nicholas Walker's Balakirev Festival will be held in London at St John's Smith Square on 8th, 11th and 22nd November to honour the centenary of the composer's death.
This outstanding figure of the 19th century has been unjustly neglected. Innovative composer, brilliant pianist and important conductor, Mili Alexeyevich Balakirev (1837 – 1910) was a pivotal figure in the development of a Russian musical language, through a fusion of Russian folk song with romantic harmony.
His magnetic personality, powerful intellect and unsurpassed musical gifts inspired a number of younger composers, including Tchaikovsky, to go beyond the established norms of Western classical music; four composers in particular were especially influenced by Balakirev – Borodin, Cui, Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov – and together they were nicknamed "the mighty handful".
Balakirev had a tendency to finish works many years after he had started them: his 2nd piano concerto, for instance, was begun in 1861 and not completed till 1910. The famous "Islamey" was however composed very quickly and became well-known. Characteristics that we normally associate with Rimsky-Korsakov or, say, Borodin have their origin in Balakirev's works, which he would play to his friends long before he ever wrote them down. This reluctance to commit to paper meant that Balakirev never received proper credit in his lifetime; one hundred years on it is now possible to do justice to this great composer.
Balakirev Festival
- November 8th, 11th & 22nd
- St John's Smith Square, London
- Website: www.sjss.org.uk
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Performances
- 2010
- Richmond – 20th April
- Handel House, London – 6th May
- Smolensk – 2nd June
- Smolensk – 4th June
- Moscow – 10th June
- Goldsmiths College, London – 15th June
- Winchester – 9th October
- Farley Festival – 16th October
- Goldsmiths College, London – 4th November
- St John's Smith Square, London – 8th November
- St John's Smith Square, London – 11th November
- St John's Smith Square, London – 22nd November
- Turner Sims Concert Hall, Southampton – 29th November
- 2011
- Southern Pro Musica, Petersfield – 29th January
- Handel House, London – 3rd March
- Russia, including Moscow & St Petersburg – 15th-23th April
- St John's Smith Square, London (TBC)
- Zurich – 29th October