Balakirev's Islamey

So I decided to do a piece by a fairly unknown composer. Though well known during his day, Mily Balakirev has basically faded into obscurity. Pretty much his Islamey is only played because it is considered one of the hardest and most taxing piece in piano literature. A fast and powerful piece. 26 pages in about 8 min? So yeah, it's an impressive piece that some pros like to play. However, critics don't really like this piece, mainly because of its inability to develop. It doesn't ever really expand on the main theme, doesn't really develop a nice melody. One of my friends personally thinks that Balakirev only wrote the piece because he wanted to be the composer of the hardest piece in the world.

Interesting note: Balakirev was part of group known as "The Five," which consisted of the brightest musicians (except for Tchaikovsky) in Russia at the time. Their attitudes are completely different than of that today. Back in the day, musicians were always sharing musical ideas. Everyone was copying Paganini, Liszt borrowed from Schubert, etc. These days, for obvious reasons, composers don't share ideas at all. Well, I wish I could have lived back in the day, when fame, money weren't all that important to them.

 

Wow. Wow wow wow wow wow. Absolutely ridiculous. He plays this piece so darn fast. Realize that pretty much this entire piece is made up of chords on every single note. Basically the music is 4 part harmony on speed. Double thirds, double fourths, double octaves, you have them all.  

Basically the opening establishes the main theme of the entire piece. You'll probably recognize it if you hang around Jae Cho too much because for a while, that was all he would whistle. It also sets the precedent of an imitation, with the first loud, second soft. Notice that for a lot of the time, Balakirev does not decrescendo to the end of the phrase. He goes against convention and crescendos into the phrase.

Nice melody and theme at 2:00. Too bad it's so short though. Love the little flourishes that decorates the melody when it goes up into the higher registers. Love how the melody just grows, develops into huge sweeps and flourishes in the right hand, with the melody in the left hand.

After that, more of just the same old stuff. Power, speed. A bit of development at 4:25. Goes back to a previous theme at 5:00. Does the same thing again at 5:45. 

6:00 to the end is just glorious. Sweeps and flourishes are all over the keyboard. Dynamic, Strong, quick, just amazing. Difficult to imagine that anyone can play this piece. 

Hope you've been enlightened.

Now go eat some rice.

Ray