Piano Sonata in B-flat minor, Op. 5

Balakirev spent almost his entire life reworking this sonata, and the final four-movement version was only completed in 1905, just five years before his death. Instead of opening with the kind of dramatic first-subject statement you would expect from a Romantic sonata, he begins with something genuinely unusual: a fugal exposition, meaning the opening theme is introduced as a piece of strict counterpoint with each 'voice' entering in turn, built on a sinuous, folk-like subject. The Mazurka second movement brings a Polish-inflected dance with elaborate ornamentation, the slow Intermezzo third movement has a fragmentary, impressionistic quality, and the finale works through strenuous virtuosity before the slow-movement fragments return and the work closes quietly.

What to listen for

At the start of the first movement, notice how the opening theme is not stated boldly but instead built up gradually as successive contrapuntal lines enter one by one, in the manner of a fugue. Then, when the second movement arrives, the mood shifts completely to a lilting triple-time dance with ornaments that push and pull against the beat. In the finale, listen for the moment when the fragmentary material from the slow movement reappears, now shaped into a full melodic line, before the sonata settles into its unexpectedly calm ending.

Recommended recording

Nicholas Walker's recording for Grand Piano has been described by the American Record Guide as the reference set for Balakirev, with reviewers citing his work from original manuscripts and his balance of technical command with tonal refinement.

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