Mily Balakirev
Islamey – Fantaisie orientale
Online-tutorial available at Henle Masterclass
“A wonderful piece, but very difficult – only a few will be able to master it …”. Since this pronouncement by Nicolai Rubinstein, who nonetheless premièred it with bravura, the work has unjustly been stuck with the label of “unplayable”. The wild, almost demonic character of this “oriental fantasy” has certainly contributed to this reputation: through the use of Caucasian and Armenian folk idioms Balakirev calls forth a keyboard firework that aroused the admiration even of the Titan Liszt. Our edition provides today’s pianists with a musical text that is not only reliable and accurate, but also clear and well-organised.
About the Composer
Mili Balakirew
A Russian composer, pianist, conductor and co-founder of the New Russian School of composers called the “Mighty Handful.” His interest in folk music found expression in his works. In addition, he felt particularly indebted to the musical heritage of Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka. An important musical figure without institutional training, he rejected the academy. His compositions include works for piano, pieces for choir and for orchestra, songs, and chamber music.
| 1837 | Born in Nizhny Novgorod on January 2. He receives his first musical instruction from his mother. |
| from 1846 | Piano lessons in Moscow with Alexandre Dubuque and Karl Eisrich. |
| from 1851 | He gives concerts at the home of landowner and patron Alexander Dmitryevich Ulybyshev. He is employed as a choir director. |
| from 1855 | He is introduced to musical life in St. Petersburg and makes the acquaintance of Mikhail Glinka and Alexander Serov. A tight-knit circle of accolytes forms around him, including Modest Mussorgsky, Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and Alexander Borodin. |
| 1862–73 | He founds the Musical Free School in St. Petersburg, organizing and leading its concerts. |
| 1867–69 | Chief conductor of the Russian Musical Society. |
| 1869 | He begins work on the oriental fantasy Islamey, regarded as one of the most technically challenging works in the piano literature. |
| from 1873 | Personal crises prompt him to take a multi-year hiatus from music. |
| 1881–1908 | Director of the Musical Free School. |
| 1883 | Appointed music director of the Imperial Chapel. |
| 1910 | Dies in St. Petersburg on May 29. |
About the Authors
Norbert Gertsch (Editor)
Dr. Norbert Gertsch, born in 1967 in Rheinkamp/Moers, studied piano solo at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and read musicology and philosophy at the Paris Lodron University in Salzburg and the Ruperto Carola University Heidelberg on a scholarship from the “Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes”. In 1996 he wrote his doctoral thesis on Ludwig van Beethoven’s Missa solemnis (as part of the New Complete Edition) under Ludwig Finscher.
In the following year, he began to work at G. Henle Publishers, initially as an editor for electronic publishing. After working on a two-year project (1999–2000) sponsored by the German Research Foundation (DFG) preparing a new Beethoven Catalogue of Works, he became a scholarly editor at G. Henle Publishers. In 2003 he became Editor-in-Chief, in 2009 Deputy Managing Director and Head of Publishing. As of 1 January 2024, the Executive Board of the Günter Henle Foundation has appointed Dr. Norbert Gertsch, as the new managing director, succeeding Dr. Wolf-Dieter Seiffert.
Gertsch has published many Urtext editions for G. Henle Publishers, including volumes for a new edition of Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas together with Murray Perahia.
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