This
piano fantasy is by founding member of The Five, Mily Balakirev, and has
assumed an infamous and yet irresistible reputation in the piano repertoire.
Balakirev wrote this piece after a series of visits to Armenia and the Caucasus
region.
The
piece has three main sections. The opening introduces the main thematic
material of the fantasy, which is embellished by use of double thirds, octave
figurations, and other devices. The second part of the work is perhaps the most
distinctively oriental of the three, with the slow, dreamy and exotic writing
in stark contrast to the bombastic and fiery outer parts. In the third section,
the piece returns to the thematic material of the opening, eventually arriving
at a breathtaking coda as thrilling to the pianist as it is to the audience.
Islamey was
premiered by pianist Nikolai Rubinstein, and championed by pianists such as the
great Franz Liszt. This piece has retained its reputation as a technical
warhorse for the pianist; the writing is pianistic and natural for the most
part, full of octaves, scales, and double notes. Sonya Bach
Classical Music | Piano Music
Mily Balakirev
Islamey (Oriental Fantasy)
PlayRecorded on 05/03/2005, uploaded on 01/08/2009
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
Islamey (Fantasie Orientale) Mily Balakirev
This piano fantasy is by founding member of The Five, Mily Balakirev, and has assumed an infamous and yet irresistible reputation in the piano repertoire. Balakirev wrote this piece after a series of visits to Armenia and the Caucasus region.
The piece has three main sections. The opening introduces the main thematic material of the fantasy, which is embellished by use of double thirds, octave figurations, and other devices. The second part of the work is perhaps the most distinctively oriental of the three, with the slow, dreamy and exotic writing in stark contrast to the bombastic and fiery outer parts. In the third section, the piece returns to the thematic material of the opening, eventually arriving at a breathtaking coda as thrilling to the pianist as it is to the audience.
Islamey was premiered by pianist Nikolai Rubinstein, and championed by pianists such as the great Franz Liszt. This piece has retained its reputation as a technical warhorse for the pianist; the writing is pianistic and natural for the most part, full of octaves, scales, and double notes. Sonya Bach
More music by Mily Balakirev
Islamey (Oriental Fantasy)
Islamey (Oriental Fantasy)
Performances by same musician(s)
Prelude Op. 23 No. 5
Night on Bald Mountain
Prelude Op. 23 No. 4
Laments, Or the Maiden and the Nightingale
Prelude Op. 23 No. 6
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