Islamey

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 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.

==Composition== Balakirev, a committed nationalist whose music was influenced by Russian traditions, was inspired to write the piece after a trip to the Caucasus, as he relates in a letter: