Mikhail Glinka

(1804-1857)
(Mick-hail Gleen-kah)

Mikhail Glinka was the first Russian composer to be widely known and well regarded in Russia. He is often considered the foundation of Russian classical music. He grew up in a wealthy family and was pampered as a child. He often heard the local village choir, folk songs, and the chiming of church bells, which were tuned to a dissonant chord. Glinka was often exposed to a traditional style of vocal improvisation which featured dissonant harmonies below the main melody line. He studied piano and violin and heard his first western orchestral music at concerts at his uncle’s estate. After completing his education, Glinka took a job in the Foreign Office, which required little time or effort, allowing him to spend time composing and attending concerts. After an extended trip to Italy, Glinka returned to Russia intent on creating a Russian style of music. He wrote two operas, A Life for the Tsar and Ruslan and Lyudmila. Both works feature Russian stories and folk melodies. Glinka’s works showed that traditional Russian elements could be included in orchestral music creating a basis for the generations of composers who followed him.

Important Works

• A Life for the Tsar

• Rusland and Lyudmila

• Kamarinskaya

• A Night in Madrid

• Jota Aragonesa

• “Patriotichekaya Pesnya” (The Russian National Anthem from 1990-2000)

Further Listening