Balakirev: Complete Romances

Featuring

Alexander Gergalov
Yuri Serov
Margarita Alaverdian
Gheorghi Seleznev
Lyubov Sokolova
Mily Balakirev

Did you know?

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Balakirev composed vocal music throughout his life, seeing it as the genre where he most expressed himself and created deep, passionate, subtle, and perfect music, continuing the tradition of Glinka and Dargomyzhsky.

Composer Biography

Despite his early influence, Balakirev experienced a deep identity crisis in the early 1870s, leading him to withdraw from musical life, resign from the Free Music School, and break with his 'Russian Five' friends.

Compositional Technique

Balakirev's approach to composing involved thorough, detailed work, often returning to the same pieces over decades to improve and finish them until his ideas reached their complete form.

Recording & Production

This album was recorded at St. Catherine Lutheran Church in St. Petersburg, Russia, with Ilya Petrov as the sound engineer.

Composer Biography

Balakirev gathered the composers of the 'Russian Five' (Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky, and Cui) around him, becoming their teacher, first audience, and first critic.

Composer Biography

Balakirev founded the Free Music School, which became a center for mass music education and promoted works by young Russian composers, Liszt, Schumann, and Berlioz.

Composer Biography

Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev, the composer, appeared in St. Petersburg at age eighteen as a pianist who had learned practical skills from A. D. Ulybyshev, author of the first Russian book on Mozart.