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prince, who frequently came to me and played folk tunes on his instrument, that was something like a violin. One of them, called
Islamey, a dance-tune, pleased me extraordinarily and with a view to the work I had in mind on Tamara I began to arrange it for the piano. The second theme was communicated
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The piece was composed in the course of one month in 1869, in stark contrast to
Balakirev's usual habit of taking sometimes years to complete a work. In the score he noted that he started the work on 9/21 August in Moscow, and completed it on 13/25 September in Saint Petersburg. Balakirev revised
119:...the majestic beauty of luxuriant nature there and the beauty of the inhabitants that harmonises with it – all these things together made a deep impression on me... Since I interested myself in the vocal music there, I made the acquaintance of a
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Recent musicological work has shown that the melodies that
Balakirev preserved in this work are still present in folk music in the former USSR. For instance, the first theme has been found to be a variety of the
322:. The second theme has been demonstrated to have the origins as related to Balakirev, namely that of a Tatar love song. Balakirev himself indicated in the score that the
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was "at one time…considered the most difficult of all piano pieces and is still one of the knucklebusters." Its difficulty has led to the creation of numerous
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Balakirev, a committed nationalist whose music was influenced by
Russian traditions, was inspired to write the piece after a trip to the
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402:"Islamey" by Balakirev at one time…considered the most difficult of all piano pieces and is still one of the knucklebusters.
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seriously damaged his right hand fanatically practicing the piece along with Liszt's
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the work in 1902. It is divided into three distinct parts, an opening (
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recorded
Casella's orchestration in stereo on February 26, 1961, for
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was to compose a piece that was "more difficult than
Balakirev's
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The many existing editions have numerous alternative passages (
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443:. Freeport, NY: Books for Libraries Press. p. 141.
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to me in Moscow by an
Armenian actor, who came from the
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and is, as he assured me, well known among the
Crimean
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242:once remarked to a friend that his goal in writing
238:has had a lasting influence on piano solo music;
99:(alternative passages) and made it popular as a
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132:. (Letter to Eduard Reiss (1851–1911), 1892)
385:"Music: Legendary Pianist (Published 1976)"
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326:should be played similarly to the Russian
522:International Music Score Library Project
288:shortly before Balakirev's death, and by
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227:, though the injury eventually healed.
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383:Harold C. Schonberg (15 March 1976).
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440:Crotchets: A Few Short Musical Notes
330:, again a traditional Russian tune.
152:), which returns to the main theme.
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463:ISBN is for January 2001 edition.
146:Tranquillo – Andantino espressivo
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503:Islamei: Orientalische Fantasie.
256:, the third piece in the suite.
54:Problems playing this file? See
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670:Compositions by Mily Balakirev
414:"Balakirev, Mily Alekseyevich"
1:
150:Allegro vivo – Presto furioso
115:, as he relates in a letter:
680:Compositions in B-flat minor
518:Islamey: an Oriental Fantasy
338:Notable recordings include:
264:from the piece in his opera
34:Islamey: an Oriental Fantasy
665:Compositions for solo piano
189:, and in recorded history,
185:(who premiered the piece),
74:Исламей: Восточная фантазия
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224:Réminiscences de Don Juan
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65:Islamey: Oriental Fantasy
358:(1957 & 1970, EMI),
252:" This turned out to be
76:), is a composition for
16:Piano music by Balakirev
423:(subscription required)
272:Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
298:Philadelphia Orchestra
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231:Legacy and influences
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25:
569:List of compositions
416:by Stuart Cambell,
362:(1996, Teldec) and
89:Harold C. Schonberg
419:Grove Music Online
390:The New York Times
346:(1950, Sony/BMG),
316:Kabardino-Balkaria
245:Gaspard de la nuit
219:Alexander Scriabin
183:Nikolai Rubinstein
171:
27:
685:Fantasias (music)
675:1869 compositions
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450:978-0-7222-5836-1
350:(1951, DOREMI),
344:Vladimir Horowitz
258:Alexander Borodin
87:written in 1869.
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520:: Scores at the
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360:Boris Berezovsky
302:Columbia Records
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207:Mikhail Pletnev
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320:time signature
294:Eugene Ormandy
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199:György Cziffra
195:Julius Katchen
164:Example of an
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482:. Retrieved
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474:"Orchestral"
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366:(2000, DG).
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348:Emil Gilels
267:Prince Igor
187:Franz Liszt
107:Composition
103:showpiece.
91:noted that
80:by Russian
659:Categories
601:Orchestral
578:Symphonies
484:2012-03-02
370:References
334:Recordings
262:quotations
156:Difficulty
121:Circassian
56:media help
501:Preface:
437:(1969) .
396:2 January
282:orchestra
260:included
215:Lang Lang
179:virtuosos
101:virtuosic
646:Category
311:Lezginka
296:and the
270:, while
250:Islamey.
181:such as
113:Caucasus
82:composer
628:Islamey
496:Sources
236:Islamey
142:agitato
140:Allegro
93:Islamey
70:Russian
631:(1869)
612:(1882)
609:Tamara
593:(1908)
587:(1898)
459:855415
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447:
328:Tropak
254:Scarbo
213:, and
175:ossias
130:Tatars
126:Crimea
97:ossias
620:Piano
314:from
284:, by
240:Ravel
167:ossia
78:piano
455:OCLC
445:ISBN
398:2022
324:coda
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68:(
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
