Mikhail Glinka I
Today, the first of three episodes on the ‘father of Russian music’ Mikhail Glinka.
Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka was born in a village near the town of Smolensk in 1804. He was from a rich family which was very loyal to the tsar, and Glinka led a sheltered life growing up. When he was thirteen years old, he went to the capital, Saint Petersburg, where he learned to play the violin and the piano. Being rich, he didn’t have to work after his studies, and could spend all of his time composing.
Between 1830 and 1834, he was travelling through Europe. First, he was in Italy for three years, and after that he went to Vienna and Berlin. In all cities he took lessons in composition. Furthermore, he met famous composers such as Mendelssohn, Berlioz and Liszt.
After his father’s death, he decided to return to Russia, and, to do for Russian music what Bellini and Donizetti had done for Italian music: using themes from traditional national music in his compositions. In this episode, you hear piano music and chamber music of Glinka.
- Mikhail Glinka: Variations on a theme of Alyabiev. Olga Tverskaya, piano
- Mikhail Glinka: Polonaise in E major; Grande Valse in G major; Six Mazurkas. Victor Ryabchikov, piano
- Mikhail Glinka: Grand Sextet in E-flat major. Ludmila Berlinskaya, piano; Borodin Quartet; Grigori Kovalevsky, double bass
- Mikhail Glinka: Nocturne. Ludmila Berlinskaya, piano
