MILI ALEKSEYEVICH BALAKIREV
(1837–1910)

COMPLETE PIANO WORKS • 5
ORIGINAL WORKS AND TRANSCRIPTIONS

NICHOLAS WALKER

‘This fifth volume also includes previously unpublished and unrecorded work: Balakirev’s arrangement of Chernomor’s March from Glinka’s Ruslan i Ludmila and the charming Polonaise Brillante, written when the composer was only 16. There are also Balakirev’s exciting codas to Chopin’s Scherzo No. 2 and Liszt’s Mazurka Brillante, which I especially enjoyed playing: the Chopin Scherzo somehow seems grander and even more substantial. In addition there are a number of beautiful and often quite spectacular arrangements and original works, even including portrayals of snow and balalaikas in his Fantasy on Glinka’s “A Life for the Czar” which transports the listener into a Russian winter. In fact, as with all Balakirev’s output, one loves it more, and sees more in it, the more one listens.’ – Nicholas Walker

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About this Recording

Mili Alekseyevich Balakirev’s (1837–1910) appreciation of other composers is reflected in transcriptions that also reveal his brilliance as a pianist. With several world premiere recordings, this programme includes the marvellous balalaika sonorities and virtuoso colours to be found in operas by Glinka, the novel concept of dovetailing préludes by Chopin, and the richness of Beethoven’s string quartets. A plaintive Gondola Song, the relentlessly energetic Tarantelle and the Polonaise brillante conclude this fifth volume in Nicholas Walker’s acclaimed complete edition of his piano works.