About the Theatricality of the Ouverture on the Theme of the Spanish March by Mily A. Balakirev (Based on the Materials from the Composer’s Archive and Library)

Main Article Content

Tatyana A. Zaitseva

Abstract

The overture on the theme of the Spanish March by M.A. Balakirev, which testified to the young musician emerging maturity has been analyzed more than once. This article examines it by using materials from the composer’s archive and library, some of which are presented for the first time and, at the same time, by comparing the first (which remains unpublished) and second editions of the Overture. Their analysis is based on two main sources: an authorized copy of the score of the first Overture edition (1857) and a copy of its first edition in the second version (V. Bessel and Co., 1887) discovered by the article’s author with his notes from the composer’s library. The article introduces into scientific use an unknown sketch of the Overture code. The study of these materials made it possible to examine more accurately the nature of the changes in the Overture from the first to the second edition than it was done previously.
The article consists of two sections. The first one, published in this issue, touches on the history of the Overture creation. The process of forming her innovative plan is traced basing on the composer’s library materials and his correspondence. It helped to expand the range of sources that influenced on the essay concept and style. As the work shows, not only Glinka, but also Mendelssohn, and, in particular, Beethoven, whose influence is considered in connection with the conflicting nature of the content, were Balakirev’s “mentors”. The latter one determines the role of theatricality at the level of means of musical expressiveness (thematics, instrumentation, dramaturgy, forms), the study of which is concentrated in the second section of the article.
The given analysis showed: Balakirev’s first symphonic work not only revealed his artistic individuality, but also outlined a number of main directions in creativity for the entire emerging “Kuchkist” community.


Keywords: Mily A. Balakirev, L. van Beethoven, Mikhail I. Glinka, F. Mendelson, Ouverture on the theme of the Spanish March, theatricality.

Article Details

How to Cite
Zaitseva Т. А. (2024). About the Theatricality of the Ouverture on the Theme of the Spanish March by Mily A. Balakirev (Based on the Materials from the Composer’s Archive and Library). Music Scholarship / Problemy Muzykal’noj Nauki, 55(2), 52–66. https://doi.org/10.17674/2782-3601.2024.2.052-066
Section
History and Theory of Music
Author Biography

Tatyana A. Zaitseva, Saint-Petersburg State Conservatory named after N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, Saint-Petersburg, Russia

PhD, Professor, Piano Department