''Islamey: Oriental Fantasy'' (), is a composition for

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

by Russian

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

Mily Balakirev Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev ( , ; ,BGN/PCGN romanization of Russian, BGN/PCGN romanization: ; ALA-LC romanization of Russian, ALA-LC system: ; ISO 9, ISO 9 system: . ; – )Russia was still using Adoption of the Gregorian calendar#Adoption in E ...

written in 1869. Harold C. Schonberg noted that ''Islamey'' 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 ossias (alternative passages) and made it popular as a virtuosic showpiece.

Composition

Balakirev, a committed nationalist whose music was influenced by Russian traditions, was inspired to write the piece after a trip to the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

, as he relates in a letter:

...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
Circassia Circassia ( ), also known as Zichia, was a country and a historical region in . It spanned the western coastal portions of the North Caucasus, along the northeastern shore of the Black Sea. Circassia was conquered by the Russian Empire during ...
n 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 to me in Moscow by an Armenian actor, who came from the
Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...
and is, as he assured me, well known among the Crimean
Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...
. (Letter to Eduard Reiss (1851–1911), 1892)

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 the work in 1902. It is divided into three distinct parts, an opening (''

Allegro Allegro may refer to: Common meanings * Allegro (music), a tempo marking that indicates to playing quickly and brightly (from Italian meaning ''cheerful'') * Allegro (ballet), brisk and lively movement Artistic works * L'Allegro (1645), a poem b ...

agitato''), which introduces the main theme, a middle (''Tranquillo – Andantino espressivo'') that introduces an entirely new theme (both described in the above quote), and a third (''Allegro vivo – Presto furioso''), which returns to the main theme.

Difficulty

The many existing editions have numerous alternative passages ( ossias) – most are easier, some are more difficult. This technical difficulty made it a favourite with

virtuosos A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'', or ; Late Latin ''virtuosus''; Latin ''virtus''; 'virtue', 'excellence' or 'skill') is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as fine arts, ...

such as Nikolai Rubinstein (who premiered the piece),

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

, and in recorded history, Simon Barere, Julius Katchen, György Cziffra, Boris Berezovsky, Mikhail Pletnev, Ivo Pogorelić, and

Lang Lang Lang Lang (; born 14 June 1982) is a Chinese pianist who has performed with major orchestras around the world and appeared at many leading concert halls. Active since the 1990s, he was the first Chinese pianist to be engaged by the Berlin Phi ...

. Balakirev, considered a virtuoso pianist in his time, once admitted that there were passages in the piece that he "couldn't manage." In addition,

Alexander Scriabin Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin, scientific transliteration: ''Aleksandr Nikolaevič Skrjabin''; also transliterated variously as Skriabin, Skryabin, and (in French) Scriabine. The composer himselused the French spelling "Scriabine" which was a ...

seriously damaged his right hand fanatically practicing the piece along with Liszt's '' Réminiscences de Don Juan'', though the injury eventually healed. ISBN is for January 2001 edition.

Legacy and influences

''Islamey'' has had a lasting influence on piano solo music;

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

once remarked to a friend that his goal in writing '' Gaspard de la nuit'' was to compose a piece that was "more difficult than Balakirev's ''Islamey.''" This turned out to be ''Scarbo'', the third piece in the suite.

Alexander Borodin Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin (12 November 183327 February 1887) was a Russian Romantic composer and chemist of Georgian–Russian parentage. He was one of the prominent 19th-century composers known as " The Five", a group dedicated to prod ...

included quotations from the piece in his opera '' Prince Igor'', while

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov. At the time, his name was spelled , which he romanized as Nicolas Rimsky-Korsakow; the BGN/PCGN transliteration of Russian is used for his name here; ALA-LC system: , ISO 9 system: .. (18 March 1844 – 2 ...

did the same in ''

Scheherazade Scheherazade () is a major character and the storyteller in the frame story, frame narrative of the Middle Eastern collection of tales known as the ''One Thousand and One Nights''. Name According to modern scholarship, the name ''Scheherazade ...

''. The piece has been twice arranged for

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

, by

Alfredo Casella Alfredo Casella (25 July 18835 March 1947) was an Italian composer, pianist and conductor. Life and career Casella was born in Turin, the son of Maria (née Bordino) and Carlo Casella. His family included many musicians: his grandfather, a f ...

shortly before Balakirev's death, and by Sergei Lyapunov. Eugene Ormandy and the

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription concerts, n ...

recorded Casella's orchestration in stereo on February 26, 1961, for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. 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 '' Lezginka'' from

Kabardino-Balkaria Kabardino-Balkaria (), officially the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, is a republic of Russia located in the North Caucasus. As of the 2021 Census, its population was 904,200. Its capital is Nalchik. The area contains the highest mountain in ...

, which differs notably from Balakirev's work in its

time signature A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates th ...

. The second theme has been demonstrated to have origins related to Balakirev, namely that of a Tatar love song. Balakirev himself indicated in the score that the coda should be played similarly to the Russian Tropak, again a traditional Russian tune.

Recordings

Notable recordings include: Simon Barere (1947, APR),

Vladimir Horowitz Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz (November 5, 1989) was a Russian and American pianist. Considered one of the greatest pianists of all time, he was known for his virtuoso technique, timbre, and the public excitement engendered by his playing. Life ...

(1950, Sony/BMG),

Emil Gilels Emil Grigoryevich Gilels (19 October 191614 October 1985, born Samuil) was a Soviet pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time. His sister Elizabeth, three years his junior, was a violinist. His daughter Elena ...

(1951, DOREMI), Julius Katchen (1958, Decca), György Cziffra (1957 & 1970, EMI), Boris Berezovsky (1996, Teldec) and Mikhail Pletnev (2000, DG).

References

Sources

*Preface: ''Islamei: Orientalische Fantasie.'' C. F. Peters

External links

* {{Authority control Compositions for solo piano Compositions by Mily Balakirev 1869 compositions Compositions in B-flat minor Fantasias (music)