Islamey: an Oriental Fantasy is a piece of music written by the Russian composer, Mily Balakirev. It is probably his best known piece, and is considered one of the hardest works for solo piano. When he had finished composing it, even Balakirev himself could not play it. The many editions existing have numerous ossias (usually easier alternatives) to passages, because of the immense difficulty of the original. Its technical difficulty made it a favourite with virtuosi such as Franz Liszt and Nikolai Rubinstein (who premiered the piece).
When Maurice Ravel was writing his Gaspard de la Nuit (1908), based on 3 poems by Aloysius Bertrand, he told his disciple Maurice Delage that his goal was to write "pieces of transcendental virtuosity for the piano, more difficult than Balakirev's Islamey." Ricardo Viņes went on to premiere the work.
Piano Society - Balakirev - Islamey (http://www.pianosociety.com/index.php?id=153) - A recording of Balakirev's "Islamey: An Oriental Fantasy" by Paul Wee.
Islamey: an Oriental Fantasy is a fantasy for piano by Russian composer Mily Balakirev, written in September 1869.
For a time, Islamey was touted widely as the most technically difficult work in the literature, and the extent of this was shown in Maurice Ravel's desire to make his suite of pieces, Gaspard de la Nuit, "more difficult than Balakirev's Islamey".
Feeds |
Contact