Louis Kentner plays Balakirev Sonata No.2 (IV)

First recording (1949) of Balakirev's Sonata No.2 in B-flat minor, op.102, by Louis Kentner.

I. Andantino
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUWBWbQwT3Y

II. Mazurka. Moderato
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOK8xIDRCKc

III. Intermezzo. Larghetto
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcUpzwHXUdw

IV. Allegro non troppo, ma con fuoco

~

Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev (1837 - 1910)

Russian pianist, conductor and composer. Born in Nizhny-Novgorod, the son of a minor government official. His early piano lessons were with his mother, supplemented by a summer visit to Moscow in 1847, when he had some lessons from Alexander Dubuque, a pupil of John Field. It was later in his schooling that he was introduced, through his teacher, to Alexander Ulibishev, a landowner, patron of music and writer of books on Mozart and Beethoven. It was through Ulibishev that he was to receive every encouragement, with access to music and opportunities to hear performances at his house, however inadequate these may sometimes have been.

Entry to the musical world of St. Petersburg was effected when Ulibishev took Balakirev there in 1855, introducing him to Glinka and allowing him the opportunity to give public concerts, with considerable success. Nevertheless Balakirev found difficulty in supporting himself, although the death of Ulibishev in 1858 brought him a legacy of 1000 roubles, two violins and his patron's music library.

Balakirev's subsequent career brought him, initially, friendship with Cui, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Borodin, his meeting with the last-named in late 1862, nine months after the foundation of the Free School of Music that was to occupy his attention for the next ten years.

Until 1872, both the Free School and Balakirev suffered a great deal from the political games within music world in Russia, leading to a nervous breakdown and taking a break of five years from music. His resignation from the directorship of the school did not happen before 1874 and he was replaced by Korsakov.

From 1872, Balakirev worked for the Warsaw Railway, becoming increasingly devoted to religion. His gradual return to musical life began in 1876, recognised in 1883 by his appointment as Director of Music to the Imperial Chapel, a position he relinquished in 1894. A pension now allowed him to devote his time for the remaining years of his life to composition, but by the time of his death in 1910 his music had been largely forgotten, so that a projected concert of his works planned for 1909 was abandoned for lack of support.

In character Balakirev was a difficult man. His influence had, at one time, been very great in his own circle, but his friends and associates were to tire of the self-assertive dominance he exercised over them. At the same time he had shown occasional signs of mental instability, even as early as 1859, when Dmitry Stasov nursed him back to health, and again in the 1870s, when he was indebted to the help given him by Lyudmila Shestakova, Glinka's sister. He was outspoken, tactless and completely devoted to the cause of Russian music as he saw it, intolerant of any divergence of opinion.

His devotion to the furtherance of Russian music was unquestioned. The means by which he chose to carry out his mission sometimes proved offensive, but his example and inspiration was largely responsible for the shape Russian music was to take.

~~~

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Louis
• Kentner
• Balakirev
• Sonata
• No.1
• op.102
• Islamey
• Barere
• Gilels
• Horowitz

[paulprocopolis]

I've known of this recording for a long time so it's great finally to hear it! However, this is not Balakirev's Sonata Op. 5 which is a youthful work dating from 1856-7. This is the Sonata in B-flat minor (without opus number) dating from 1905. The only link it has with the earlier piece is that the second movement (Mazurka) recycles the second movement of the Op. 5 sonata.

[xper2xper]

@paulprocopolis

Thank you so much for your correction, which made me dive deeper to Balakirev's works. I found out that this sonata is actually "op.102".

As I don't have the score in my library, I referred to IMSLP as the source to view it when listening to Kentner's performance; and it is mentioned to be op.5 over there, which led to my mistake as well.

Thank you that I learned something new!

Cheers!

[NOSEhow2LIV]

After his rapid tempi for the previous movements Kentner sounds really cautious here at the opening and only gets dancing a bit later,strangely,his lyrical 2nd theme then sounds too hasty!This said,many of the beauties of this marvellous piece come out well and K does well to survive the thrills & spills towards the final climax.

Still waiting for a recording doing it full justice, even after all these years!

[morinoroba]

Beautiful piece I liked it,but I can hear it sounds very difficult to play ! Thank you for posting it.

[paulprocopolis]

@xper2xper Well now I've learned something too as my score of the work shows no opus number and neither do any of the three recordings I have. I wonder if a scholar has now gone through Balakirev's works and added opus numbers or whether Balakirev noted them himself but preferred them not to be displayed on the published copies? Anyway, thanks, Opus 102 it is!

[amadorpheus9]

reminiscent of Lizst. Ive heard the sonata once and am taken with its depths and beauties.  It deserves to be played more and to be heard in those quiet moments. Kentners artistry is full of spirit and surprises! Balakirev will be, one day, considered one of the greatest -maybe the greatest- of Russian composers for the pure, Morzartean, Bachian music he created.

[micheldvorsky]

5 stars for the piece, maybe 4 for the performance.