A New Look at M. A. Balakirev and His Creative Legacy: for the Anniversary of T. A. Zaitseva

The article presents the long-term career of the professor of St. Petersburg State Conservatory and St. Petersburg Theological Academy Tatyana Andreevna Zaitseva in the field of her research into the creative biography of the head of the New Russian School Miliy Alekseevich Balakirev. The conceived series of four monographs, each of which is of independent value, is currently represented by two published books – the first and the final (Zaitseva T. A. Милий Алексеевич Балакирев. Истоки [Mily Alekseevich Balakirev. Beginnings] St. Petersburg, 2000. 436 pp.; Zaitseva T. A. М. А. Балакирев. Путь в будущее [M. A. Balakirev. The Way into the Future] St. Petersburg, 2017. 752 pp.). Among the many questions that have become the objects of special study, a special place was taken by the study of the composer’s sacred music, the illumination of his appearance as an outstanding figure of the theological and musical culture of Russia. A special monograph (Zaitseva T. A. Сокровища России: Духовная музыка М. А. Балакирева [Treasures of Russia: the Sacred Music of M. A. Balakirev]. Moscow, 2013. 384 pp.) served as the prologue to the appearance of the first full collection of sacred music of M. A. Balakirev (with preparation, introductory articles, commentary and appendices by T. A. Zaitseva. Moscow, 2015. 413 + 3 pp.). It included the entire corpus of the completed and unfinished works of the composer, as well as works that remained as sketches or only as plans. As a result of the research carried out, based on searches in Russian and foreign archives, as well as private collections, the composer’s legacy has been expanded almost threefold and comprises more than 30 opuses. Of special interest is the set of appendices with materials from Balakirev and about Balakirev.