Balakirev composer interesting facts. Balakirev - short biography

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 loneliness, he continued to do the same as at the height of fame - to serve art, sacrificing everything else: health, personal life, friendship of loved ones, the 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 December 21, 1836 in the family of an official. He received initial musical knowledge from his mother, later he 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 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 of Mr. Balakirev”, which contains the following lines: “God grant that our Slavic guests forever retain the memory of how much poetry, feeling, talent and skill the little but already a mighty group of Russian musicians.” 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 to describe how much mental strength and did Balakirev put inner fire into his works? All his life he burned with a bright fire, awakening the ebullient creative energy in others. His era - the time when he fully and happily revealed the potential of his creative talent, - it 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 Moscow branch 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 most talented composers of his time united in the “New Russian School” - Caesar Antonovich Cui (familiar with Balakirev since 1856), Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (from 1857), Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov (from 1861), Alexander Porfirievich Borodin (from 1862 ), as well as A. S. Gussakovsky (from 1857, after 1862 he retired from the circle) and N. N. Lodyzhensky (from 1866).

They also joined the circle music critics and public figures A.N. Serov and V.V. Stasov (both since 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 our 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, advanced creative crisis. 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 the time when political relations Russia and Poland were aggravated, and friends dissuaded Balakirev from going 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. It was his last exit in front of an audience, he never played again.”

Balakirev also picked up the conductor's baton from a 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 managing its concerts (10 concerts in total). Starting from the 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 musical 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. In 1874, the distressed Balakirev also left the Free music school. 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 Warsaw Railway Store Administration 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 manage symphony concert from Glinka's works in honor of the opening 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 of the author's inner hearing- and it didn’t 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 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. Concept operatic work entitled "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 three Russians songs (1858, 2nd edition 1881), Czech overture (written under the impression of a trip to Prague, 1867, 2nd edition 1905). The symphonic poems “Rus” (originally 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.

With Balakirev's work in Court singing choir was associated with the creation of choral music - arrangements for 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”.

Of particular importance in creative activity Balakirev had his editorial work. Beginning in the 1860s, she accompanied Balakirev throughout creative path. 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. Work with Glinka’s music reached its logical conclusion 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.

Russian empire

Mighty bunch

Miliy Alekseevich Balakirev

Mily Alekseevich Balakirev(December 21, 1836 [January 2], Nizhny Novgorod - May 16, St. Petersburg) - Russian composer, pianist, conductor, head of the “Mighty Handful”.

Memorial plaque on house 7 on Kolomenskaya street, St. Petersburg.

Biography

Mily Balakirev was born into the family of Alexei Konstantinovich Balakirev (1809-1869).

IN childhood took piano lessons from Alexandre Dubuc. He was a volunteer student at the Faculty of Mathematics of Kazan University in 1853-1855. A. D. Ulybyshev, an enlightened amateur, philanthropist, and author of the first Russian monograph on Mozart, took a great part in his fate.

Music

Balakirev's compositional activity, although not extensive, is very respectable. He wrote several orchestral, piano and vocal works, of which the following stand out: orchestral music to King Lear (1860), consisting of an overture and intermission; overture on Czech themes (); two overtures on Russian themes, the first of which was composed in 1857, and the second, entitled “Rus”, was written in 1862 for the opening of the monument to the Millennium of Russia in Novgorod; overture on a Spanish theme; symphonic poem “Tamara” (text by Lermontov), ​​performed for the first time at a concert of the Free Music School in 1882. Among Balakirev’s piano works the following are known: two mazurkas (As-dur and B-moll), a scherzo, a fantasy “Islamey” on oriental themes (1869); He also arranged for piano in two hands: “Chernomor’s March” from the opera “Ruslan and Lyudmila”, “The Lark’s Song” by Glinka, the overture (introduction) to the second part of “La Fuite en Egypte” by Berlioz, cavatina from Beethoven’s quartet (op. 130), " Aragonese jota» Glinka. Four hands: “Prince Kholmsky”, “Kamarinskaya”, “Aragonese Jota”, “Night in Madrid” by Glinka.

Of Balakirev’s vocal compositions, romances and songs are very popular (“ gold fish”, “Come to me”, “Bring me in, oh night, secretly”, “Advance”, “A clear month has risen into the sky”, “Can I hear your voice”, “Jewish melody”, “Georgian song”, etc.) - numbering 20 (according to other sources, 43. Apparently, the main part of the text is lifetime, compiled between and 1895.)

Among other unmentioned works are 2 symphonies ( ; ), Suite for orchestra ( - completed by S. Lyapunov), 2 piano concertos ( ; - completed by S. Lyapunov, a large number of piano works: sonata, mazurkas, nocturnes, waltzes, etc. A very valuable contribution to the field of Russian musical ethnography is the “Collection of Russian Folk Songs”, published by Balakirev in 1866 (40 songs in all).

M. A. Balakirev’s talent was especially evident in his first works and in his subtle understanding of orchestration; Balakirev's music is original, rich in melodic terms (music for King Lear, romances) and very interesting and beautiful in harmonic terms. Balakirev never took a systematic course. Balakirev’s most significant musical impressions during all this time were Chopin’s piano concerto (e-moll), which he heard from a lover as a child, and later the trio “Don’t Weary My Darling” from Glinka’s “A Life for the Tsar.” He remained faithful to these composers all his life. I.F. Laskovsky made a great impression on him as a pianist and composer. Participation in musical ensembles and especially studying scores and conducting an orchestra in Ulybyshev’s house greatly advanced him musical development. The first attempts at composing also date back to this time: a septet for piano, bowed instruments, flute and clarinet, stopping at the first movement, written in the spirit of Hancelt’s piano concerto, which he really liked, and a fantasy on Russian themes for piano and orchestra, which also remained unfinished. A handwritten sketch of her () is stored in public library in St. Petersburg .

Balakirev spent less than two years at Kazan University, at the Faculty of Mathematics, living mainly on meager funds from music lessons. In Kazan, Balakirev wrote: a piano fantasy based on motives from “A Life for the Tsar”, the first romance: “You are full of captivating bliss” () and a concert Allegro. In 1855, he came to St. Petersburg with Ulybyshev, who introduced him to the musical circles of the capital.

Addresses in St. Petersburg

• 1861 - apartment building- Ofitserskaya street, 17;
• 1865-1873 - courtyard wing of the mansion of D. E. Benardaki - Nevsky Prospekt, 86, apt. 64;
• 1882 - 05/16/1910 - apartment building - Kolomenskaya street, 7, apt. 7.

Memory

Notes

Links

• Miliy Alekseevich Balakirev: sheet music of works on the International Music Score Library Project

Mily Alekseevich Balakirev. BALAKIREV Mily Alekseevich (1836/37 1910), composer, pianist, conductor, musical public figure. Head of the Mighty Handful, one of the founders (1862) and leaders (1868-73 and 1881-1908) of the Free Musical... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

Russian composer, pianist, conductor, musical public figure. Born into the family of an official from the nobility. Took lessons from pianist A. Dubuk and conductor K. Eisrich (Nizhny Novgorod).... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Balakirev Miliy Alekseevich- (18361910), composer, pianist, conductor, musical public figure. From 1855 he lived in St. Petersburg. In 1856 he made his debut as a pianist and composer (he performed the first part of his concert for music at the St. Petersburg University matinee for... ... Encyclopedic reference book "St. Petersburg"

- (1836/37 1910) composer, pianist, conductor, musical public figure. Head of the Mighty Handful, one of the founders (1862) and director (1868-73 and 1881-1908) of the Free Music School. Conductor of the Russian Musical Society (1867 69),... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Balakirev, Mily Alekseevich, famous Russian musician, creator of the new Russian music school. Born on December 21, 1836 in Nizhny Novgorod, died on May 16, 1910 in St. Petersburg. He studied at the Nizhny Novgorod gymnasium, Nizhny Novgorod... ... Biographical Dictionary

- (1836 1910), composer, pianist, conductor, musical public figure. From 1855 he lived in St. Petersburg. In 1856 he made his debut as a pianist and composer (he performed the first part of his concert for music at the St. Petersburg University matinee for... ... St. Petersburg (encyclopedia)

- (1836/1837 1910), composer, pianist, conductor. Head of the “Mighty Handful”, one of the founders (1862, together with G. Ya. Lomakin) and director (1868-73 and 1881-1908) of the Free Music School ( Saint Petersburg). Conductor of the Imperial Russian... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

BALAKIREV Mily Alekseevich- Mily Alekseevich (12/21/1836, N. Novgorod 05/16/1910, St. Petersburg), Russian. composer, head of the New Russian School (“The Mighty Handful”), teacher, musical public figure, conductor, pianist, editor. Hereditary nobleman(Balakirev family... ... Orthodox Encyclopedia

Balakirev Mily Alekseevich (1836/1837-1910), composer.

Born on January 2, 1837 (new style) in Nizhny Novgorod. Balakirev’s first music teacher was his mother, who taught her son from the age of four. True, Balakirev did not receive a musical education, graduating from the Faculty of Mathematics of Kazan University in 1854. But he did not give up music, studying independently, and from the age of 15 he began performing in concerts as a pianist.

At the dawn of it musical career stood A. D. Ulybyshev, the first serious researcher of the work of W. A. ​​Mozart. Together with him in 1855, Balakirev came to St. Petersburg, where he met M. I. Glinka. Soon, young people began to group around Balakirev, who was distinguished not only by his musical erudition, but also by his ability to subtly and accurately analyze works. talented musicians. This circle, which finally formed in 1862, was later called the “Mighty Handful.” In addition to Balakirev, the association included M. P. Mussorgsky, N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, Ts. A. Cui and A. P. Borodin.

Balakirev contributed to raising the level music education their like-minded people. “Since I am not a theorist, I could not teach Mussorgsky harmony, but I explained to him the form of the composition... the technical structure of the works and he himself was occupied with analyzing the form,” wrote Balakirev in a letter to V.V. Stasov, one of the ideologists of the circle.

In 1862, a Free Music School, Balakirev’s favorite brainchild, was opened in St. Petersburg. Since 1868 he became its director. 50-60s of the XIX century. - the time of the heyday of Balakirev’s compositional talent. For the opening of the monument to the Millennium of Russia in Novgorod, he wrote the overture “1000 Years” (1864; revised into the symphonic poem “Rus” in 1887).

In 1869, the piano fantasy “Islamey” was completed, which became F. Liszt’s favorite work. In addition, Balakirev wrote more than 40 romances based on poems by A. S. Pushkin, M. Yu. Lermontov, A. V. Koltsov. There was even an attempt to create the opera "Firebird", but the work remained unfinished.

A severe mental crisis that followed in 1874 after refusing the post of director Free school and associated mainly with financial difficulties, led to Balakirev withdrawing from all musical affairs for several years.

In 1881, at the request of the school board, he returned to the position of director, but never fully recovered from his emotional experiences. The only thing significant essay last period- symphonic poem “Tamara” (1882), created on the plot of Lermontov. However, creative and social activity Balakireva had a huge influence on further development Russian music.

Mily Alekseevich Balakirev, outstanding, who made a huge contribution to the development Russian music, born on December 21, 1836 (old style). The creativity of this talented person And public figure left a bright mark on the spiritual and cultural development our country.

For a long time, history could not give a proper assessment of the contribution that he made to the Russian musical culture. Ideological wars events that took place in our country in the last century did not make it possible to appreciate the merits of this outstanding person. Currently, when I began to give credit to those who for a long time was forgotten, Balakirev’s works were appreciated by his descendants. Finally, history put everything in its place.

Balakirev had not only a brilliant musical gift. An excellent journalist and teacher by vocation, he constantly searched for ways of spiritual growth in Russia. Thanks to him, today we know what such a thing means for Russian culture. great composer, How . It was Mily Alekseevich who collected, edited Glinka’s manuscripts and presented them to the general public.

It is Balakirev who is the creator of the brotherhood outstanding composers, which is known in world culture as the “Mighty Handful”. , Cui, Borodin and Balakirev himself formed a community of truly powerful talents. They wrote their first works, guided by the instructions given by Balakirev. He did not escape its influence in his work. He was not part of the "Mighty Handful", but huge talent Balakirev could not help but influence young Peter Ilyich.

Balakaryov did everything for creative development his students, helped them rise to the highest levels in Russian culture and never reminded them who helped them become great. But later, when his students gained their convictions, he firmly defended his convictions and did not compromise. Mily Alekseevich not only genius composer. His talent as a conductor and pianist became the basis of the work of Gilels and Mravinsky, Oistrakh and Richter.

However pedagogical activity Balakireva is almost unknown. The free music school where he taught music became the basis of that system of children's music education. It exists in Russia now and is recognized throughout the world. Another brainchild of teacher Balakirev, the Court Singing Chapel, was transformed by him together with Rimsky-Korsakov into a brilliant choir, which is remembered as a legend of Russian culture.

Little has been studied journalistic activity. The reason for this was the spiritual worldview that Balakirev came to at the end of his life. His condition, similar to schema-mongering, was not understood and not appreciated by society. They didn’t accept him later either. The God-fighters could not appreciate the feat of the Christian and spiritual seer Balakirev, and his name was forgotten.

Mily Alekseevich died in St. Petersburg on May 16 (29), 1910. Currently, the creative feat of the great composer is appreciated. put everything in its place.

Miliy Balakirev began playing the piano when he was four years old. At the age of 25, he headed the “Mighty Handful” composers’ circle and directed the Free Music School. Balakirev's works were known in many cities of Russia and Europe.

“Healthy flowers on the soil of Russian music”

Mily Balakirev was born in 1837 in Nizhny Novgorod, his father was a titular councilor. Balakirev began to become interested in music in early childhood. Already at the age of four, he learned to play the piano under the guidance of his mother, and later took lessons from conductor Karl Eisrich, Spanish composer John Field and music teacher Alexandre Dubuc.

The young pianist met Nizhny Novgorod philanthropist And famous writer Alexander Ulybyshev. In his house, Miliy Balakirev fell into creative environment: writers and artists met here, actors Mikhail Shchepkin and Alexander Martynov visited, composer Alexander Serov lived for a long time. In Ulybyshev's house, Mily Balakirev studied musical literature and scores, performed with the home orchestra - first as a pianist and then as a conductor.

In 1854, Balakirev, at the insistence of his father, entered the mathematics department of Kazan University as a volunteer. After a year, he dropped out of school to pursue music. Mily Balakirev began to write his first works - romances and piano pieces. Soon the aspiring composer left with Alexander Ulybyshev for St. Petersburg, where he met Mikhail Glinka. On Glinka's advice, Balakirev began performing at concerts as a pianist and writing his own music with folk motifs. He composed overtures on Russian and Czech themes, music for Shakespeare's tragedy "King Lear" and romances, which composer Alexander Serov called "fresh" healthy flowers on the basis of Russian music."

Balakirevsky circle and Free music school

During these years, Mily Balakirev met Cesar Cui, Modest Mussorgsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Borodin. In 1862, they formed the “New Russian Music School” circle, which critic Vladimir Stasov nicknamed “The Mighty Handful.” Composers of the Balakirev circle studied folklore and church singing in order to use folk motives in essays. Fairy-tale and epic plots appeared in both symphonic works and chamber music. vocal creativity each member of the “Mighty Handful”. Balakirev traveled a lot in search of new topics. From a trip to the Volga he brought the idea of ​​the collection “40 Russian Songs”, and from the Caucasus - developments for the piano fantasy “Islamey” and the symphonic poem “Tamara”.

None of the composers in the circle studied at the conservatory: they did not exist then. Cui, Rimsky-Korsakov and Mussorgsky received military education, and Borodin was a chemist and had a doctorate in medicine. Mily Balakirev evaluated the works of his comrades and made recommendations. Rimsky-Korsakov wrote: “...a critic, a technical critic, he was amazing.” Balakirev at that time was considered an experienced composer and was the leader of the circle.

“They obeyed Balakirev unquestioningly, because his personal charm was terribly great. ... Every minute ready for wonderful improvisation at the piano, remembering every bar known to him, memorizing instantly the compositions played to him, he had to produce this charm like no one else.”

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

In the year of the formation of the “Mighty Handful,” Mily Balakirev, with conductor Gavriil Lomakin, opened the “Free Music School.” Residents of both capitals studied here without social and age restrictions “to ennoble their aspirations and to form decent church choirs from them... as well as to develop new talents from them through the preparation of soloists.” The students were taught singing, musical literacy and solfeggio. Concerts of “new Russian music” - Mikhail Glinka, Alexander Dargomyzhsky and composers of the “Mighty Handful” were held here. Proceeds from the concerts went towards the development of the school.

World famous soloist of the Weimar Circle

In the 1870s, Mily Balakirev became one of the most respected musicians in St. Petersburg. He was invited to conduct at the Imperial Russian musical society. Here, too, the music of the composers of the “Mighty Handful” was heard, and the premiere of Alexander Borodin’s First Symphony took place. However, two years later Balakirev had to leave his post as conductor: court circles were dissatisfied with the composer’s harsh statements about musical conservatism.

He returned to work at the Free Music School. Balakirev was haunted by material failures, and there were no opportunities left for creativity. At this time, the “Mighty Handful” broke up: Balakirev’s students became experienced and independent composers.

“While everyone was in the position of eggs under the hen (meaning Balakirev by the latter), we were all more or less alike. As soon as the chicks hatched from the eggs, they grew feathers. Everyone flew where he was drawn by nature. The lack of similarity in direction, aspirations, tastes, nature of creativity, etc., in my opinion, is a good and not at all a sad side of the matter.”

Alexander Borodin

Mily Balakirev decided to leave musical art and got a job in the Warsaw Railway Administration. He earned money by giving piano lessons, but did not write music or perform at concerts, and lived a secluded and secluded life.

Only in the 1880s did the composer return to music school. During these years, he completed Tamara and the First Symphony, and wrote new piano pieces and romances. In 1883–1894, Balakirev directed the Court Singing Chapel and, together with Rimsky-Korsakov, organized professional training for musicians there. The composer was a member of the Weimar Circle, which met with academician Alexander Pypin. At these evenings Balakirev performed entire musical programms with your own comments. According to the recollections of the academician’s daughter, in 1898–1901 alone there were 11 such programs in his repertoire. Symphonic music During these years, Milia Balakireva was known throughout Russia and abroad - in Brussels, Paris, Copenhagen, Munich, Heidelberg, Berlin.

Mily Balakirev died in 1910 at the age of 73. He was buried at the Tikhvin cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.