About Balakirev and His School in the "Mighty 1860s": on the Composer’s 185th Anniversary

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Tatyana A. Zaitseva

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to show the connection of the creative aspirations of the head of the “Mighty Bunch” and his pets with the leading trends of Russian culture of the 1860s. The reliance on the musicianʼs reading circle in conjunction with the materials of his library, some of which are given for the first time, allowed to illuminate this important topic in a new way. This helped to clarify the problems that worried Balakirev, reflections on which were postponed in his work. As a result, the composer was the first of the Kuchkists who had responded to the urgent needs of the time, whether it was a historical theme or an appeal to Shakespeareʼs dramaturgy. His key works of those years are the symphonic painting “1000 years” and the music for the tragedy “King Lear”, the analysis of which is given special attention. The problematic of the painting, where the composer created his monument of Russian identity by musical means, found continuation and development in the dramaturgy of the historical opera of the Kuchkists. His “Lear” opened a new stage in the musical Shakespearean, which formed a separate channel of the “post-Linkin” classics. The contribution of Balakirev residents to the development of oriental themes is significant. As a kind of parallel to the Russian scientific Arabic studies, the musical “Arabistics” is considered, which flourished in the works of the Kuchkists, who played an invaluable role in the renewal of the musical art of Russia.


Keywords: M.A. Balakirev, The New Russian School, symphonic painting “1000 years”
by M.A. Balakirev, music for Shakespeareʼs tragedy “King Lear” by M.A. Balakirev, musical “Arabistics”.

Article Details

How to Cite
Zaitseva Т. А. (2021). About Balakirev and His School in the "Mighty 1860s": on the Composer’s 185th Anniversary . Music Scholarship / Problemy Muzykal’noj Nauki, 45(4), 79–92. Retrieved from https://musicscholar.ru/index.php/PMN/article/view/1311
Section
Russian Music History
Author Biography

Tatyana A. Zaitseva, St.Petersburg Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory

DrSci (Arts), Professor at the General Piano Course and Teaching Methods Department