Islamey
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Islamey: Oriental Fantasy, is a composition for piano by Russian composer Mily Balakirev written in 1869. Harold C. Schonberg noted that Islamey was "at one time…considered the most difficult of all p
Mily Balakirev in the 1860s
Example of an ossia
Ossia
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Ossia is a musical term for an alternative passage which may be played instead of the original passage. The word ossia comes from the Italian for "alternatively" and was originally spelled o sia, mean
Islamey
…one time…considered the most difficult of all piano pieces and is still one of the knucklebusters." Its difficulty has led to the creation of numerous ossias (alternative passages) and made it popular as a virtuosic showpiece. Balakirev, a committed nationalist whose music was influenced by Russian traditions…
Ossia example (2nd bar) Play original Play ossia