Classical Music / Composers Datebook: June 1
Brief biography of Russian composer Mikhail Glinka. Considered 'Father of Russian Nationalist Classical Music' who influenced the "Mighty Handful" composers. Famous for opera with Russian folk-theme, Ruslan and Lyudmila. Master of Russian symphonic music.
Russian composer Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857) is known as the father of Russian nationalist music. He pioneered cultivation of Russian folk music in the opera, instrumental music and song genres. He exerted a deep influence on Balakirev, Rimsky-Korsakov, Musorgsky, Borodin, Cui and Tchaikovsky, as well as on Prokofiev and Stravinsky.
Early Life
Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka was born on June 1, 1804 in Novospasskoye (later renamed Glinka). His family was a wealthy landowning family and was always financially secure, though his health was not. He was sent to school in St Petersburg.
Glinka's Young Adult Life
Aged only 24, he was appointed and undersecretary in the communications Council in St Petersburg.
Six years later, he moved to Milan, Italy. Glinka was not a very conscientious student. However, he delighted in the company of musicians, and it was in Milan he realized that Russia, his beloved homeland, had no musical identity of its own and very much tied to western Europe’s culture.
Glinka: Ruslan and Ludmila - Overture (Benjamin Zander, Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra). Youtube, uploaded by Boston Philharmonic. Accessed June 1, 2023.Glinka's influence
Glinka traveled a lot. His interest in exotic places and their folk-music influenced his writings, which in turn became a model for succeeding Russian composers earlier mentioned.
Glinka's Musical Career
He began to write his first opera upon return to St. Petersburg. His first important compositions, a Capriccio for piano duet and an unfinished symphony, were written in Berlin in 1834, when he studied composition briefly with Siegfried Dehn. In this piece he apparently applied variation technique for Russian themes on both pieces. Glinka broke away from the prevailing Italian influence and turned to Russian folk music, his inspiration for the only two operas he wrote in his lifetime: Zhizn’za tsarya (A Life for the Tsar, originally Ivan Susanin) and Ruslan and Lyudmila.
His later works include the instrumental fantasia Kamarinskaya, the Second Spanish Overture and the Fantasy Waltz for orchestra. His innovations and nationalistic musical flavour greatly influenced the other Russian composers after him, for example, Mily Balakirev co-founder and leader of “The Five” or the "Mighty Handful," a group of composers who in like manner brought the spirit of Russian nationalism to music.
Glinka died in Berlin, 15 February 1857.
Mikhail Glinka's Works:
Variations on a Theme of Mozart, for Piano 1822
Symphony in B Flat 1824
Memorial Cantata 1826
String Quartet in F Major 1830
Capriccio for piano duet, 1834
Symphony on Two Russian Themes 1834
Opera, Shisn'za tsarya (A Life for the Tsar) 1836
Incidental Music for the play Knyaz Kholmsky (Prince Kholmsky) 1840
Collection of Songs, Proshchaniye s Petersburgom (A Farewell to St Petersburg) 1840
Opera, Ruslan and Lyudmila (Ruslan and Ludmilla) 1842
Capriccio brillante (First Spanish Overture), Jota Aragonesa 1845
Greeting to the Fatherland, for piano 1847
Overture, Kamarinskaya, Wedding Song, a fantasia for orchestra 1848
Souvenir d'une nuit d'été a Madrid (Second Spanish Overture) 1851
Valse-fantaisie (Fantasy Waltz) for orchestra 1856
Glinka also composed many pieces for piano and songs.
Photo Credit:
Mikhail Glinka. Wikipedia Commons / Public Domain. Portrait of Mikhail Glinka by Karl Bryullov, 1840
Resources:
Mikhail Glinka. en.wikipedia.org.
Sadie, Stanley. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd Edition. London: Macmillan Press Ltd.(2000)
(c) June 2008. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.
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