Balakirev, despite being known as as a tireless
campaigner on behalf of others including the ‘mighty handful’
(Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky, Borodin and Cui) is much less well known
today than those whose music advocated. In part this could be due to
the hugely long periods he took to complete many of his works despite
being very fast at writing others. It could also be due to the fact
that he went out of fashion while he was still working. Many of his
pieces disappeared into oblivion almost as soon as they were completed.
Now is surely an opportune moment for a serious reassessment. The times
we live in seem to be open to music from any and every period with perhaps
the greatest amount of choice and availability ever. In any event what
is not in doubt is the music itself which is ravishingly beautiful and
The notes written for the present disc by pianist Nicholas Walker reveal
the background to the three sonatas. They are played here in the reverse
order to the one in which they were written. The Sonata in B flat
(1905) dates from five years before Balakirev’s death
at the age of 73. It is a distillation of all three and its long gestation
is explained by the fact that Balakirev was always striving to write
a work that told the entire history of Russia. Even as a very young
man he envisaged writing a symphony that did just that. While others
were influenced by the idea and used elements in their own compositions
Balakirev never actually wrote it. For someone who prided himself on
being an amateur musician in the sense that he had studied mathematics
not music, worked as a railway clerk and only ever received ten piano
lessons in his life, his music is astonishingly accomplished.
The 1905 sonata begins with an attempt at describing ancient Rus, the
very cradle of Russia, full of deep forests and wide open steppes. The
second movement is a mazurka - a common feature in all three sonatas.
It is here completely rewritten but with the essential core remaining
giving a kind of continuity to Balakirev’s main ideas on such
a sonata. It is a rich evocation of the Russian dance. There is something
reminiscent here of his most well-known work Islamey
inspired by points further East nevertheless has elements in common.
is quite hauntingly beautiful with deliciously
long flowing lines that make a brief reappearance in the Finale
The latter is in the form of an allusion to a spirited Ukrainian gopak
in which it easy to imagine the shooting out of legs while the dancer
bobs up and down from his crouched position with arms folded. This wildly
energetic movement subsides and finishes on a calm and reflective note.
As Mr Walker points out, this seems to suggest the endless nature of
Russia as it stretches further and further east. This Sonata is a monumental
work of striking originality. It places huge demands on any performer
who takes it on. Walker, a great champion of Balakirev, makes a fabulous
job of it. It is to be hoped that, along with other recent recordings,
this will help it to gain its rightful place as one of the great piano
It is interesting going back in time to hear the other two sonatas.
Each contains the germs of the final version. It is notable how much
Balakirev achieved at such an early age for they were written when he
was only 19 and 18 respectively. Amazingly the earliest and longest
and regrettably unfinished sonata, his op. 3, here receives its world
première recording 158 years after its composition and 103 years
after Balakirev’s death. Balakirev clearly got a lot right with
that first attempt and both of those early versions are well worth listening
to. Together with the 1905 final version they make this disc an extremely
valuable resource and one that will repay repeated hearings.
All the playing is exemplary and Nicholas Walker whose championing of
Balakirev led to his organising a Balakirev festival on the occasion
of the 100th
anniversary of composer’s death in 2010
has added another powerful voice to the demands for a reappraisal of
this neglected composer.
Wonderfully brilliant and virtuosic though Islamey
should be known for far more than that since he was not a ‘one
trick pony’ by any means. While his legacy lives on through his
huge influence on other composers and in his contribution to the establishment
of a Russian school of music free from the influence of German repertoire
his own relatively small corpus of work is both significant and richly
rewarding. This disc helps confirm that.
See also review by Byzantion