Mily Balakirev is one of the most influential personalities of the XNUMXth century. The conductor and composer devoted his entire conscious life to music, not counting the period when the maestro overcame a creative crisis.
He became the ideological inspirer, as well as the founder of a separate trend in art. Balakirev left behind a rich legacy. The maestro's compositions still sound today. Milia's musical works can be heard in opera houses, concert halls, modern serials and films.
The childhood of the composer Mily Balakirev
The maestro was born on January 2, 1837 on the territory of Nizhny Novgorod. Milia was lucky to grow up in a traditionally intelligent family. The mother devoted herself to housekeeping and raising children. The head of the family was a representative of the nobility, as well as a title adviser.
The older generation were followers of the traditional Christian religion. Parents raised their son in the appropriate form. The boy grew up as such a religious child that his parents saw in him no less than a bishop. Milius managed to keep his love for God. Vera helped Balakirev in the most difficult times.
From an early age, Mily was passionate about music. Mom noticed her son's abilities in time and began to reveal them. At the age of 6, the boy sat down at the piano for the first time and began to actively study musical notation. Caring parents wanted to fully reveal their son's abilities, so they sent him to Moscow.
Youth maestro
In the capital of Russia, he took an accelerated course in piano technique. The talented conductor and musician Alexander Dubuc worked with Balakirev. When Balakirev returned to his homeland, he continued to study music. This time Karl Eiserich became his teacher. Soon Karl introduced his talented student to Ulybashev. The philanthropist and musician greatly influenced the formation of Milia's personality.
In the house of Alexander Dmitrievich, celebrations were often held, which were attended by the cultural elite - famous musicians, composers, writers and philosophers. Thanks to such events, Milia developed an aesthetic taste.
Mily spent most of his time playing the piano. Classes ended after the unexpected death of the mother. The head of the family married a second time. The family became larger, and this led to an increase in waste. The father could no longer afford to pay for his son's music lessons. As a teenager, the guy was sent to the Nizhny Novgorod Noble Institute, where he received a secondary education.
Soon he entered the Faculty of Mathematics of Kazan University as a volunteer. He wanted to study, but the classes had to be interrupted after a year. The reason for leaving a higher educational institution was an insufficient amount of money. Milia had no choice but to get a job. He earned his livelihood from music. Balakirev taught musical notation to everyone. Interestingly, during this period of time he composed the first pieces for the piano.
The creative path and music of the composer Mily Balakirev
Ulybashev, watching a talented acquaintance, decided to take him with him to the cultural capital of Russia. There he introduced Milia to the famous composer Glinka. Mikhail highly appreciated the first works of Balakirev and advised him not to leave the music.
In 1856, the young composer presented his debut compositions to classical music fans. At the same time, he also appeared as a conductor during the performance of a concert allegro with an orchestra for piano.
The maestro's debut performance was amazing. The public loved him. After the performance, Milia was given tempting job offers. He was invited to perform at private ceremonial events. Balakirev's financial position improved. The only thing that did not suit him was the lack of free time that he could spend writing new musical compositions.
His works were filled with the national Russian style. Mily became popular in high society. During this period of time was the peak of the maestro's concert activity. But even then Balakirev realized that he was born to create music and convey new ideas.
He decided to reduce the number of performances. Mily began to work on writing musical compositions. Of course, these were significant losses. But Balakirev did not regret anything, because he understood that this was his true destiny.
Founding of the "Mighty Handful"
In the early 1850s, he made new acquaintances. The composer began to communicate with V. Stasov and A. Dargomyzhsky. It was with these public figures, as well as Serov, that he created the Mighty Handful society. They paid considerable attention to the development of national culture, in particular music. Every day new composers, musicians and other cultural figures joined the society.
Balakirev could not pass by young talents. He considered it his duty to direct their potential in the right direction. Over time, a large team of artists was formed. Most importantly, everyone had an individual manner of presenting musical material. Cultural figures remained original. But still, they were united by a love of music and a desire to help each other. Representatives of the society promoted the idea of nationality in contemporary art.
Mily began composing piano pieces and amateur romances. As soon as he began to compose the first serious works, he was influenced by the Russian composer Mikhail Glinka. In 1866, the maestro even invited Milia to take the position of director of the production of the operas A Life for the Tsar and Ruslan and Lyudmila. Balakirev set to work with pleasure, showing himself as a talented conductor.
In the late 1860s, there was a difficult period in Milia's life. He was slandered and criticized. Balakirev was on the edge. He felt depressed. For several years, the maestro left music. He did not release new compositions. He had no inspiration to work at a given pace. Only 10 years later he took up writing new works. During this period of time, he presented the symphonic poem "Tamara".
At the end of 1890 there was a very active period in Milia's life. The fact is that he presented a significant number of compositions for pianoforte. In addition, he began composing symphonic poems "In the Czech Republic" and "Rus".
Details of the personal life of the maestro
Mily Balakirev never had financial stability. Sometimes he could afford a lot, but most often he was poor. The composer was a creative and fascinating person. Like any man, Mily was interested in women. But the composer did not dare to create family relationships with anyone. He was unmarried and left no heirs. Balakirev was very fond of music. And forever remained a bachelor.
Despite the fact that Mily made a huge contribution to the development of Russian and European classical music, the maestro did not erect a monument in any city.
Interesting facts about the maestro
- The composer was a pious person all his life. He constantly thought about the monastery.
- Milius was an ardent opponent of conservatories. He believed that real talent can only be “grown” at home.
- In the summer, he vacationed in Gatchina, a remote suburb of Russia's cultural capital. In his old age, he even more often liked to spend time away from the bustling city.
- The symphonic poem "Tamara" was not ignored by "Russian Seasons". He was lucky to meet Diaghilev.
- After the death of Emperor Alexander III (in 1894), the composer resigned from the post of head of the Court Chapel.
Death of composer Mily Balakirev
The composer passed away on May 29, 1910. At the time of his death, he was 73 years old. He was buried at the Tikhvin cemetery in St. Petersburg. The doctors could not name the reason that caused the death of Balakirev.
