Search - Alexander Paley :: Balakirev: The Complete Piano Music, Vol.1 & 2

Good, but not as "nationalistic" as expected

V. N. Dvornychenko | Rockville, MD | 07/07/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev, along with Michael Glinka, was a cofounder of Russian nationalistic classical music. As successor and heir to Glinka, he was harder working, but emotional problems tended to limit his potential. Nevertheless, he accomplished quite a lot! He founded a nationalistic music school which produced at least four world-class musicians. Together with Borodin and Tchaikovsky, he developed the Russian symphonic style.
An accomplished pianist, he composed a fair amount of piano music, of which this CD contains a good cross-section. The selections are very competently performed. Hearing them, one cannot help but feel that his piano music is neither as original nor as nationalistic as much of his other music. The first impression is "Schumann or Chopin."
There are exceptions though. His most famous piece is the fiendishly difficult and original "Islamey." (Even here, however, there are similarities to Schumann's Toccata.)An exciting work based on oriental themes, it is perhaps a bit long, and tends to ramble toward the end.
All in all, for those interested in the development of piano music, and Russian music in particular, this is a real gem!"