🇷🇺Mily Alekseyevich Balakirev ： Mazurka No.3 in h-moll

Balakirev’s Mazurka No. 3 is a piano work grounded in the triple-meter dance character of the mazurka, combining sharp accents with flowing melodies. Its light, agile passages contrast with more songful, expansive expressions, and listening for the transitions between these contrasting moments brings out the music’s appeal. Rather than keeping the accompaniment rhythm mechanically even, the performer should be attentive to the weight of each beat and to the accents. The melody should be sustained with a generous sense of breath, while even the smaller movements retain the supple character of a dance, revealing the delicate nuance beneath the work’s brilliance.