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Cultural Influences on Russia's Musical Voice |
| Russian music had its origins in Orthodox Church choirs, bell ringing, and folk traditions dating back to the 1400s. Moscow was the main center up to the founding of St. Petersburg in 1703, which remained the seat of the court until 1918. Most musical developments occurred there and were influenced by Western Europe. |
| Composers: |
| Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857) was "the first Russian composer to combine distinction in speaking the musical idiom of the day with a personal and strongly original voice." (James Stuart Campbell in New Grove 2nd ed.)* He is most known for his operas Life for the Tsar and Ruslan and Liudmila, as well as for several orchestral pieces. |
| The Five were "a group of 19th-century Russian composers led by Balakirev, the other members being Borodin, Cui, Musorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov. Their aim was to follow in Glinka's footsteps and create a distinctly Russian school of music." (Edward Garden in New Grove 2nd ed.)* Of these, the following have become the most well-regarded: |
| Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) was known for expansive orchestral scores, such as Scheherazade, and for his operas. He was a teacher at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, where his pupils included a generation of Russian composers, including Igor Stravinsky. The following music clip is taken from the beginning of Rimsky-Korsakov's Russian Easter Festival Overture. [1 min. 11 sec.] |
| Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881) is famous for his operas Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina and for the symphonic piece Night on Bald Mountain, as well as for his songs and piano music. |
| Aleksandr Borodin (1833-1887) is remembered as the composer of the opera Prince Igor and of instrumental music, some of which was used as the basis for the 1953 Broadway musical Kismet and the hit songs "And This Is My Beloved" and "Stranger in Paradise." |
