Glinka composer biography briefly the most important. Interesting facts from the life of Mikhail Glinka. Romances and songs

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M. Glinka

Glinka... corresponded to the needs of the time and the fundamental essence of his people to such an extent that the business he began flourished and grew in a very short time and gave such fruits as were unknown in our fatherland during all the centuries of its historical life.
V. Stasov

In the person of M. Glinka, Russian musical culture for the first time put forward a composer of world significance. Relying on the centuries-old traditions of Russian folk and professional music, the achievements and experience of European art, Glinka completed the process of forming a national school of composition, which won in the 19th century. one of the leading places in European culture, became the first Russian classical composer. In his work, Glinka expressed the advanced ideological aspirations of the time. His works are imbued with the ideas of patriotism and faith in the people. Like A. Pushkin, Glinka sang the beauty of life, the triumph of reason, goodness, and justice. He created an art so harmonious and beautiful that you never tire of admiring it, discovering more and more perfections in it.

What shaped the composer’s personality? Glinka writes about this in her “Notes” - a wonderful example of memoir literature. He names Russian songs as the main impressions of his childhood (they were “the first reason that later I began to predominantly develop Russian folk music”), as well as his uncle’s serf orchestra, which he “loved most of all.” As a boy, Glinka played the flute and violin, and as he grew older, he conducted it. The ringing of bells and church singing filled his soul with “the liveliest poetic delight.” Young Glinka drew well, passionately dreamed of travel, and was distinguished by his liveliness of mind and rich imagination. Two great historical events were the most important facts of his biography for the future composer: the Patriotic War of 1812 and the Decembrist uprising in 1825. They determined the basic idea of ​​creativity (“Let us dedicate our souls to the Fatherland with wonderful impulses”), as well as political beliefs. According to his youth friend N. Markevich, “Mikhailo Glinka... did not sympathize with any Bourbons.”

Glinka’s stay at the St. Petersburg Noble Boarding School (1817-22), famous for its progressive-minded teachers, had a beneficial influence on Glinka. His teacher at the boarding school was V. Kuchelbecker, the future Decembrist. His youth passed in an atmosphere of passionate political and literary disputes with friends, and some of the people close to Glinka, after the defeat of the Decembrist uprising, were among those exiled to Siberia. No wonder Glinka was subject to interrogation regarding his connections with the “rebels.”

Russian literature with its interest in history, creativity, and the life of the people played a significant role in the ideological and artistic formation of the future composer; direct communication with A. Pushkin, V. Zhukovsky, A. Delvig, A. Griboyedov, V. Odoevsky, A. Mitskevich. The musical impressions were also varied. Glinka took piano lessons (from J. Field and then from S. Mayer), studied singing and playing the violin. He often visited theaters, attended musical evenings, played four-hand music with the Vielgorsky brothers and A. Varlamov, and began composing romances and instrumental plays. In 1825, one of the masterpieces of Russian vocal lyricism appeared - the romance “Do not tempt” to the verses of E. Baratynsky.

Glinka's travels gave him many bright artistic impulses: a trip to the Caucasus (1823), a stay in Italy, Austria, Germany (1830-34). A sociable, passionate, enthusiastic young man who combined kindness and straightforwardness with poetic sensitivity, he easily made friends. In Italy, Glinka became close to V. Bellini, G. Donizetti, met with F. Mendelssohn, and later G. Berlioz, J. Meyerbeer, S. Moniuszko appeared among his friends. Eagerly absorbing various impressions, Glinka studied seriously and inquisitively, completing his musical education in Berlin with the famous theorist Z. Dehn.

It was here, far from his homeland, that Glinka fully realized his true destiny. “The idea of ​​national music... became more and more clear, and the intention arose to create a Russian opera.” This plan was realized upon his return to St. Petersburg: in 1836 the opera “Ivan Susanin” was completed. Its plot, suggested by Zhukovsky, made it possible to embody the idea of ​​heroism in the name of saving the homeland, which was extremely captivating to Glinka. This was new: in all European and Russian music there has not appeared a patriotic hero like Susanin, whose image summarizes the best typical features of the national character.

The heroic idea is embodied by Glinka in forms characteristic of national art, based on the rich traditions of Russian songwriting, Russian professional choral art, which are organically combined with the laws of European opera music, with the principles of symphonic development.

The premiere of the opera on November 27, 1836 was perceived by leading figures of Russian culture as an event of great significance. “With Glinka’s opera there is... a new element in Art, and a new period begins in its history - the period of Russian music,” wrote Odoevsky. Russian, and later foreign, writers and critics highly appreciated the opera. Pushkin, who was present at the premiere, wrote a quatrain:

Listening to this new thing,
Envy, clouded with malice,
Let him grind, but Glinka
Can't trample into the mud.

Success inspired the composer. Immediately after the premiere of “Susanin”, work began on the opera “Ruslan and Lyudmila” (based on the plot of Pushkin’s poem). However, all sorts of circumstances: an unsuccessful marriage ending in divorce; the highest mercy - the service in the Court Choir, which took a lot of energy; Pushkin's tragic death in a duel, which destroyed plans to work together on the work - all this was not conducive to the creative process. Domestic unsettled conditions got in the way. For some time, Glinka lived with the playwright N. Kukolnik in the noisy and cheerful environment of the puppeteer “brotherhood” - artists, poets, who significantly distracted him from creativity. Despite this, the work progressed, and other works appeared in parallel - romances based on Pushkin’s poems, the vocal cycle “Farewell to Petersburg” (at Kukolnik’s station), the first version of “Waltz-Fantasy”, music for the Kukolnik’s drama “Prince Kholmsky”.

Glinka’s activities as a singer and vocal teacher date back to this time. He writes “Etudes for Voice”, “Exercises for Improving Voice”, “School of Singing”. Among his students are S. Gulak-Artemovsky, D. Leonova and others.

The premiere of “Ruslan and Lyudmila” on November 27, 1842 brought Glinka many difficult experiences. The aristocratic public, led by the imperial family, greeted the opera with hostility. And among Glinka’s supporters, opinions were sharply divided. The reasons for the complex attitude towards opera lie in the deeply innovative essence of the work, which began a fairy-tale-epic opera theater previously unknown to Europe, where various musical-figurative spheres appeared in a bizarre interweaving - epic, lyrical, oriental, fantastic. Glinka “sang Pushkin’s poem in an epic manner” (B. Asafiev), and the leisurely unfolding of events, based on the change of colorful pictures, was suggested by Pushkin’s words: “Deeds of days gone by, traditions of deep antiquity.” Other features of the opera also appeared as a development of Pushkin’s innermost ideas. Sunny music, glorifying the love of life, faith in the triumph of good over evil, echoes the famous “Long live the sun, let the darkness disappear!”, and the bright national style of the opera seems to grow from the lines of the prologue; “There is a Russian spirit there, it smells of Russia.” Glinka spent the next few years abroad in Paris (1844-45) and Spain (1845-47), specially studying Spanish before the trip. A concert of Glinka’s works was held in Paris with great success, about which he wrote: “...I first Russian composer, who introduced the Parisian public to his name and his works written in Russia and for Russia" Spanish impressions inspired Glinka to create two symphonic plays: “Aragonese Jota” (1845) and “Memory of a Summer Night in Madrid” (1848-51). Simultaneously with them, in 1848, the famous “Kamarinskaya” appeared - a fantasy on the themes of two Russian songs. Russian symphonic music began with these works, both “reports to experts and the common public.”

The work of M. I. Glinka marked a new historical stage of development - classical. He managed to combine the best European trends with national traditions. All of Glinka’s work deserves attention. All the genres in which he worked fruitfully should be briefly described. Firstly, these are his operas. They have acquired enormous significance because they truthfully recreate the heroic events of past years. His romances are filled with special sensuality and beauty. Symphonic works are characterized by incredible picturesqueness. In folk songs, Glinka discovered poetry and created a truly democratic national art.

Creativity and Childhood and youth

Born May 20, 1804. His childhood was spent in the village of Novospasskoye. The fairy tales and songs of nanny Avdotya Ivanovna were vivid and memorable impressions for a lifetime. He was always attracted by the sound of bells, which he soon began to imitate on copper basins. He began reading early and was naturally inquisitive. Reading the ancient publication “On Wanderings in General” had a beneficial effect. It aroused great interest in travel, geography, drawing and music. Before entering the noble boarding school, he took piano lessons and quickly succeeded in this difficult task.

In the winter of 1817, he was sent to St. Petersburg to a boarding school, where he spent four years. Studied with Boehm and Field. Glinka's life and work in the period from 1823 to 1830 were very eventful. From 1824 he visited the Caucasus, where he served until 1828 as assistant secretary of communications. From 1819 to 1828 he periodically visited his native Novospasskoye. Afterwards he meets new friends in St. Petersburg (P. Yushkov and D. Demidov). During this period he created his first romances. This:

• Elegy "Do not tempt me" to the words of Baratynsky.
• "Poor singer" to the words of Zhukovsky.
• “I love you, you kept telling me” and “It’s bitter for me, it’s bitter” to the words of Korsak.

He writes piano pieces and makes his first attempt to write the opera “A Life for the Tsar.”

First trip abroad

In 1830 he went to Italy, visiting Germany along the way. This was his first trip abroad. He went here to improve his health and enjoy the surrounding nature of an unexplored country. The impressions he received gave him material for the oriental scenes of the opera "Ruslan and Lyudmila". He was in Italy until 1833, mainly in Milan.

Glinka’s life and work in this country are successful, easy and relaxed. Here he met the painter K. Bryullov and Moscow professor S. Shevyryaev. Of the composers - with Donizetti, Mendelssohn, Berlioz and others. In Milan, with Riccordi, he published some of his works.

In 1831-1832 he composed two serenades, a number of romances, Italian cavatinas, and a sextet in the key of E-flat major. In aristocratic circles he was known as Maestro russo.

In July 1833 he went to Vienna, and then spent about six months in Berlin. Here he enriches his technical knowledge with the famous contrapuntist Z. Dehn. Subsequently, under his leadership, he wrote the Russian Symphony. At this time, the composer's talent was developing. Glinka’s work becomes freer from other people’s influence, he treats it more consciously. In his “Notes” he admits that all this time he was looking for his own path and style. Longing for his homeland, he thinks about writing in Russian.

Homecoming

In the spring of 1834, Mikhail arrived in Novospasskoye. He thought about going abroad again, but decides to stay in his native land. In the summer of 1834 he went to Moscow. He meets here with Melgunov and restores his former acquaintances with musical and literary circles. Among them are Aksakov, Verstovsky, Pogodin, Shevyrev. Glinka decided to create a Russian one. He took on the romantic opera “Maryina Roshcha” (based on the plot of Zhukovsky). The composer's plan was not realized, the sketches did not reach us.

In the fall of 1834 he came to St. Petersburg, where he attended literary and amateur circles. One day Zhukovsky told him to take the plot of “Ivan Susanin”. During this period of time, he composed the following romances: “Don’t call her heavenly,” “Don’t say, love will pass,” “I just recognized you,” “I’m here, Inesilya.” A big event is happening in his personal life - marriage. Along with this, he became interested in writing Russian opera. Personal experiences influenced Glinka’s work, in particular the music of his opera. Initially, the composer planned to write a cantata consisting of three scenes. The first was to be called the rural scene, the second - the Polish, the third - the solemn finale. But under the influence of Zhukovsky, he created a dramatic opera consisting of five acts.

The premiere of “A Life for the Tsar” took place on November 27, 1836. V. Odoevsky appreciated it. Emperor Nicholas I gave Glinka a ring for 4,000 rubles for this. A couple of months later he appointed him bandmaster. In 1839, for a number of reasons, Glinka resigned. During this period, fruitful creativity continues. Glinka Mikhail Ivanovich wrote the following compositions: “Night View”, “North Star”, another scene from “Ivan Susanin”. He takes up a new opera based on the plot of “Ruslan and Lyudmila” on the advice of Shakhovsky. In November 1839 he divorced his wife. During his life with the “brothers” (1839-1841), he created a number of romances. The opera "Ruslan and Lyudmila" was a long-awaited event; tickets were sold out in advance. The premiere took place on November 27, 1842. The success was stunning. After 53 performances the opera was no longer performed. The composer decided that his brainchild was underestimated, and apathy sets in. Glinka's work is suspended for a year.

Traveling to distant countries

In the summer of 1843 he travels through Germany to Paris, where he remains until the spring of 1844.

Renews old acquaintances, becomes friends with Berlioz. Glinka was impressed by his works. He studies his programmatic works. In Paris he maintains friendly relations with Merimee, Hertz, Chateauneuf and many other musicians and writers. Then he visits Spain, where he lives for two years. He was in Andalusia, Granada, Valladolid, Madrid, Pamplona, ​​Segovia. Composes "Aragonese Jota". Here he takes a break from pressing St. Petersburg problems. While walking around Spain, Mikhail Ivanovich collected folk songs and dances and wrote them down in a book. Some of them formed the basis of the work "Night in Madrid". From Glinka’s letters it becomes obvious that in Spain he rests his soul and heart, he lives very well here.

last years of life

In July 1847 he returned to his homeland. Lives for some time in Novospasskoye. The work of Mikhail Glinka resumed with renewed vigor during this period. He writes several piano pieces, the romance “You Will Soon Forget Me” and others. In the spring of 1848 he went to Warsaw and lived here until the fall. He writes "Kamarinskaya", "Night in Madrid", romances for the orchestra. In November 1848 he came to St. Petersburg, where he was sick all winter.

In the spring of 1849 he again went to Warsaw and lived here until the autumn of 1851. In July of this year, he fell ill after receiving the sad news of his mother’s death. In September he returns to St. Petersburg, lives with his sister L. Shestakova. He composes extremely rarely. In May 1852 he went to Paris and stayed here until May 1854. From 1854-1856 he lived in St. Petersburg with his sister. He is interested in Russian singer D. Leonova. She creates arrangements for her concerts. On April 27, 1856 he left for Berlin, where he settled next door to Dehn. He came to visit him every day and supervised classes in a strict style. The work of M. I. Glinka could continue. But on the evening of January 9, 1857, he caught a cold. On February 3, Mikhail Ivanovich died.

What is Glinka's innovation?

M. I. Glinka created the Russian style in musical art. He was the first composer in Russia who combined musical technique (this concerns melody, harmony, rhythm and counterpoint) with the (Russian folk) song style. Creativity contains quite vivid examples of this kind. This is his folk musical drama "Life for the Tsar", the epic opera "Ruslan and Lyudmila". As an example of the Russian symphonic style, one can name “Kamarinskaya”, “Prince Kholmsky”, overtures and intermissions to both of his operas. His romances are highly artistic examples of lyrically and dramatically expressed songs. Glinka is rightfully considered a classical master of world significance.

Symphonic creativity

The composer created a small number of works for the symphony orchestra. But their role in the history of musical art turned out to be so important that they are considered the basis of Russian classical symphonism. Almost all belong to the genre of fantasies or one-part overtures. "Aragonese Jota", "Waltz Fantasy", "Kamarinskaya", "Prince Kholmsky" and "Night in Madrid" make up Glinka's symphonic work. The composer laid down new principles of development.

The main features of his symphonic overtures:

• Availability.
• The principle of generalized programming.
• Uniqueness of forms.
• Conciseness, laconism of forms.
• Dependence on the general artistic concept.

Glinka’s symphonic work was successfully characterized by P. Tchaikovsky, comparing “Kamarinskaya” to an oak and an acorn. And he emphasized that this work contains a whole Russian symphonic school.

The composer's operatic legacy

"Ivan Susanin" ("Life for the Tsar") and "Ruslan and Lyudmila" constitute Glinka's operatic work. The first opera is a folk musical drama. It intertwines several genres. Firstly, this is a heroic-epic opera (the plot is based on the historical events of 1612). Secondly, it contains the features of epic opera, lyrical-psychological and folk musical drama. If "Ivan Susanin" continues European trends, then "Ruslan and Lyudmila" represents a new type of drama - epic.

It was written in 1842. The public could not appreciate it; it was incomprehensible to the majority. V. Stasov was one of the few critics who noticed its significance for the entire Russian musical culture. He emphasized that this was not just an unsuccessful opera, but a new type of dramaturgy, completely unknown. Features of the opera "Ruslan and Lyudmila":

• Slow development.
• No direct conflicts.
• Romantic tendencies - colorfulness and picturesqueness.

Romances and songs

Glinka's vocal creativity was created by the composer throughout his life. He wrote more than 70 romances. They embody a variety of feelings: love, sadness, emotional impulse, delight, disappointment, etc. Some of them depict pictures of everyday life and nature. Glinka is capable of all types of everyday romance. "Russian song", serenade, elegy. It also covers such everyday dances as waltz, polka and mazurka. The composer turns to genres that are characteristic of the music of other peoples. These are the Italian barcarolle and the Spanish bolero. The forms of romances are quite diverse: three-part, simple verse, complex, rondo. Glinka's vocal work includes texts by twenty poets. He managed to convey in music the peculiarities of the poetic language of each author. The main means of expression of many romances is the melodious melody of wide breathing. The piano part plays a huge role. Almost all romances have introductions that introduce the action and set the mood. Glinka's romances are very famous:

• "The fire of desire burns in the blood."
• "Lark"
• "A passing song."
• "Doubt".
• "I remember a wonderful moment."
• "Don't tempt."
• "You will soon forget me."
• "Don't say it hurts your heart."
• "Don't sing, beauty, in front of me."
• "Confession".
• "Night View".
• "Memory".
• "To her".
• "I'm here, Inesilla."
• "Oh, you're a night, little night."
• "At a difficult moment in life."

Glinka's chamber and instrumental works (briefly)

The most striking example of an instrumental ensemble is Glinka’s major work for piano and string quintet. This is a wonderful divertissement based on Bellini's famous opera La Sonnambula. New ideas and tasks are embodied in two chamber ensembles: the Grand Sextet and the Pathetic Trio. And although these works feel dependent on the Italian tradition, they are quite distinctive and original. In the “Sextet” there is a rich melody, a prominent thematic theme, and a harmonious form. concert type. In this work, Glinka tried to convey the beauty of Italian nature. "Trio" is the complete opposite of the first ensemble. His personality is gloomy and agitated.

Glinka's chamber music significantly enriched the performing repertoire of violinists, pianists, violists, and clarinetists. Chamber ensembles attract listeners with their extraordinary depth of musical thoughts, variety of rhythmic formulas, and naturalness of melodic breathing.

Conclusion

Glinka's musical creativity combines the best European trends with national traditions. The name of the composer is associated with a new stage in the history of the development of musical art, which is called “classical”. Glinka's work covers various genres that have taken their place in the history of Russian music and deserve attention from listeners and researchers. Each of his operas opens up a new type of dramaturgy. "Ivan Susanin" is a folk musical drama that combines various features. "Ruslan and Lyudmila" is a fairy-tale-epic opera without pronounced conflicts. It develops calmly and slowly. It is characterized by colorfulness and picturesqueness. His operas have acquired enormous significance as they truthfully recreate the heroic events of past years. Few symphonic works have been written. However, they were able not only to please listeners, but also to become a real asset and the basis of Russian symphonism, since they are characterized by incredible picturesqueness.

The composer's vocal work includes about 70 works. They are all charming and delightful. They embody various emotions, feelings and moods. They are filled with special beauty. The composer addresses different genres and forms. As for chamber instrumental works, they are also few in number. However, their role is no less important. They expanded the performing repertoire with new worthy examples.

Russian composer

short biography

Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka(June 1, 1804, Novospasskoye village, Smolensk province - February 15, 1857, Berlin) - Russian composer. Glinka's works influenced major Russian composers - A. S. Dargomyzhsky, M. P. Mussorgsky, N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, A. P. Borodin, P. I. Tchaikovsky and others. According to V.V. Stasov, “both [Pushkin and Glinka] created a new Russian language - one in poetry, the other in music.”

Origin

Mikhail Glinka was born on May 20 (June 1), 1804 in the village of Novospasskoye, Smolensk province, on the estate of his father, retired captain Ivan Nikolaevich Glinka (1777-1834). His mother was his father’s second cousin, Evgenia Andreevna Glinka-Zemelka (1783-1851). The composer's great-grandfather was a nobleman from the Glinka family of the Trzaska coat of arms - Wiktoryn Władysław Glinka. After the loss of Smolensk to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1654, V.V. Glinka accepted Russian citizenship and converted to Orthodoxy. The tsarist government retained land holdings and noble privileges for the Smolensk gentry, including the former coats of arms.

Childhood and adolescence

Until the age of six, Mikhail was raised by his paternal grandmother Fyokla Alexandrovna, who completely removed his mother from raising her son. He grew up as a nervous, suspicious and sickly child - a “mimosa”, according to Glinka’s own description. After the death of Fyokla Alexandrovna, Mikhail again came under the complete control of his mother, who made every effort to erase traces of her previous upbringing. At the age of ten, Mikhail began learning to play the piano and violin. Glinka’s first teacher was governess Varvara Fedorovna Klammer, invited from St. Petersburg.

In 1817, Mikhail’s parents brought him to St. Petersburg and placed him in the Noble boarding school at the Main Pedagogical Institute (in 1819 renamed the Noble boarding school at St. Petersburg University), where his tutor was the poet, Decembrist V. K. Kuchelbecker, whose sister Justina (1784-1871) married G. A. Glinka (1776-1818), a cousin of the composer’s father.

In St. Petersburg, Glinka took private lessons from prominent music teachers, including Karl Zeiner and John Field. In 1822, he successfully (as the second student) completed a course of study at the Noble Boarding School at the Imperial St. Petersburg University. At the boarding school, Glinka met A.S. Pushkin, who came there to visit his younger brother Lev, Mikhail’s classmate. Their meetings resumed in the summer of 1828 and continued until the poet’s death.

Periods of life and creativity

1822-1835

After finishing the boarding school, Glinka studied intensively: he studied Western European musical classics, participated in home music playing in noble salons, and sometimes led his uncle’s orchestra. At the same time, Glinka tried herself as a composer, composing variations for harp or piano on a theme from the opera “The Swiss Family” by the Austrian composer Joseph Weigl. From that moment on, Glinka paid more and more attention to composition and soon she was composing an enormous amount, trying her hand at a variety of genres. During this period, he wrote well-known romances and songs today: “Don’t tempt me unnecessarily” to the words of E. A. Baratynsky, “Don’t sing, beauty, in front of me” to the words of A. S. Pushkin, “Autumn night, night dear” to the words of A. Ya. Rimsky-Korsakov and others. However, he remains dissatisfied with his work for a long time. Glinka persistently seeks ways to go beyond the forms and genres of everyday music. In 1823 he worked on a string septet, an adagio and rondo for orchestra and two orchestral overtures. During these same years, Glinka's circle of acquaintances expanded. He met V.A. Zhukovsky, A.S. Griboyedov, Adam Mitskevich, A.A. Delvig, V.F. Odoevsky, who later became his friend.

In the summer of 1823, together with his cousin’s husband, Colonel A.I. Kipriyanov, Glinka made a trip to the Caucasus, visiting Pyatigorsk and Kislovodsk. Acquaintance with the music of the peoples of the Caucasus left a significant mark on the composer’s creative consciousness and was reflected in his later works on oriental themes. Thus, based on the Azerbaijani folk song “Galanin Dibinde”, the composer created the “Persian Choir” for his opera “Ruslan and Lyudmila”. From 1824 to 1828 he worked as assistant secretary of the Main Directorate of Railways. In 1829, M. I. Glinka and N. I. Pavlishchev published the “Lyrical Album,” where among the works of various authors there were also Glinka’s plays.

At the end of April 1830, he went to Italy, stopping along the way in Dresden and making a long journey through Germany, stretching throughout the summer months. Arriving in Italy in early autumn, Glinka settled in Milan, which at that time was a major center of musical culture. In Italy, he met the composers V. Bellini and G. Donizetti, studied the bel canto vocal style and himself composed a lot in the “Italian spirit.” In his works, a significant part of which were plays on the themes of popular operas, there was nothing studentish anymore; all the compositions were executed masterfully. Glinka paid special attention to instrumental ensembles, writing two original works: Sextet for piano, two violins, viola, cello and double bass and Pathetic Trio for piano, clarinet and bassoon. In these works, the features of Glinka’s composer’s style were especially clearly manifested.

In July 1833, Glinka went to Berlin, stopping for some time in Vienna along the way. In Berlin, under the guidance of the German theorist Siegfried Dehn, Glinka studied polyphony and instrumentation. Having received news of his father's death in 1834, Glinka decided to immediately return to Russia.

Glinka returned with extensive plans for the creation of a Russian national opera. After a long search for a plot for the opera, Glinka, on the advice of V. A. Zhukovsky, settled on the legend of Ivan Susanin. At the end of April 1835, Glinka married Marya Petrovna Ivanova, his distant relative. Soon after this, the newlyweds went to Novospasskoye, where Glinka began writing an opera.

1836-1844

In 1836, the opera “A Life for the Tsar” was completed, but Mikhail Glinka managed with great difficulty to get it accepted for production on the stage of the St. Petersburg Bolshoi Theater. This was obstructed with great tenacity by the director of the imperial theaters A. M. Gedeonov, who handed it over to the “director of music”, conductor Katerino Kavos, for trial. Kavos gave Glinka’s work the most flattering review. The opera was accepted.

Portrait of M. Glinka by artist Ya. F. Yanenko, 1840s

The premiere of “A Life for the Tsar” took place on November 27 (December 9), 1836. The success was enormous, the opera was enthusiastically received by society. The next day Glinka wrote to his mother:

Yesterday evening my wishes were finally fulfilled, and my long labor was crowned with the most brilliant success. The audience received my opera with extraordinary enthusiasm, the actors went wild with zeal... the Emperor... thanked me and talked with me for a long time...

On December 13, A. V. Vsevolzhsky hosted a celebration of M. I. Glinka, at which Mikhail Vielgorsky, Pyotr Vyazemsky, Vasily Zhukovsky and Alexander Pushkin composed a welcoming “Canon in honor of M. I. Glinka.” The music belonged to Vladimir Odoevsky.

Sing in delight, Russian choir!
A new product has been released.
Have fun, Rus'! Our Glinka -
Not clay, but porcelain!

Soon after the production of A Life for the Tsar, Glinka was appointed conductor of the Court Singing Chapel, which he led for two years. Glinka spent the spring and summer of 1838 in Ukraine, where he selected singers for the chapel. Among the newcomers was Semyon Gulak-Artemovsky, who later became not only a famous singer, but also a composer.

In 1837, Mikhail Glinka, not yet having a finished libretto, began working on a new opera based on the plot of A. S. Pushkin’s poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila”. The idea of ​​the opera came to the composer during the poet’s lifetime. He hoped to draw up a plan according to his instructions, but the death of Pushkin forced Glinka to turn to minor poets and amateurs from among his friends and acquaintances. The first performance of “Ruslan and Lyudmila” took place on November 27 (December 9), 1842, exactly six years after the premiere of “Ivan Susanin”. Compared to “Ivan Susanin,” M. Glinka’s new opera aroused stronger criticism. The most vehement critic of the composer was F. Bulgarin.

These same years also saw Glinka's stormy relationship with Ekaterina Kern, the daughter of Pushkin's muse Anna Kern. In 1840 they met, which quickly developed into love. From a letter from the composer:

«… my gaze involuntarily focused on her: her clear, expressive eyes, unusually slender figure (...) and a special kind of charm and dignity, spilled throughout her entire person, attracted me more and more. (...) I found a way to talk with this sweet girl. (...) He expressed my feelings at that time extremely cleverly. (...) Soon my feelings were completely shared by dear E.K., and meetings with her became more enjoyable. Everything in life is counterpoint, that is, the opposite (...) I felt disgusted at home, but there was so much life and pleasure on the other side: fiery poetic feelings for E.K., which she fully understood and shared...»

Kern was a source of inspiration for Glinka. A number of small works he composed in 1839 were dedicated to her, in particular the romance “If I Meet You,” the words of which

“...E. K. chose from Koltsov’s works and rewrote it for me. (...) I wrote Waltz-Fantasy for her.”

We are talking about the original piano version of the famous waltz-fantasy, known in the orchestral version, one of Glinka’s works that amazes with its soulful beauty.

After Glinka left his wife M.P. Ivanova at the end of 1839, relations with Kern continued to develop rapidly. But soon she became seriously ill and moved in with her mother. In the spring of 1840, the composer constantly visited Kern and it was then that he wrote the romance “ I remember a wonderful moment” to Pushkin’s poems, dedicating it to the daughter of the one to whom the poet addressed these poems.

In 1841, E. Kern became pregnant. The divorce proceedings between Glinka and his wife, who had been caught in a secret wedding with cornet Nikolai Vasilchikov (1816-1847), the nephew of a major dignitary Illarion Vasilchikov, which had begun shortly before, gave Catherine the hope of becoming the composer’s wife. Glinka was also confident that the matter would be resolved quickly and that he would soon be able to marry Kern. But the trial dragged on. Kern constantly demanded decisive action from Glinka. He gave her a significant amount for an abortion, although he was very worried about what happened. To keep everything secret and avoid a scandal in society, the mother took her daughter to Lubny in Ukraine. for climate change».

In 1842, Kern returned to St. Petersburg. Glinka, who had not yet received a divorce from his former wife, often saw her, but as he admits in his notes: “... there was no longer the same poetry and the same passion.” In the summer of 1844, Glinka, leaving St. Petersburg, stopped by E. Kern and said goodbye to her. After this, their relationship practically ceased. Glinka received the much-desired divorce only in 1846, but he was afraid to tie the knot and lived the rest of his life as a bachelor.

1844-1857

Having a hard time experiencing criticism of his new opera, Mikhail Ivanovich undertook a new long trip abroad in mid-1844. This time he went to France and then to Spain. In Paris, Glinka met the French composer Hector Berlioz, who (later) became an admirer of his talent. In the spring of 1845, Berlioz performed works by Glinka at his concert: a Lezginka from “Ruslan and Lyudmila” and Antonida’s aria from “Ivan Susanin”. The success of these works gave Glinka the idea of ​​giving a charity concert of his compositions in Paris. On April 10, 1845, a large concert by the Russian composer was successfully held in the Hertz Concert Hall on Victory Street in Paris.

On May 13, 1845, Glinka went to Spain, where he studied traditional culture, customs, and the language of the Spanish people, and recorded Spanish folk melodies. The creative result of this trip were two symphonic overtures written on Spanish folk themes. In the autumn of 1845, Glinka completed the overture “Aragonese Jota”, and in 1848, upon returning to Russia, “Night in Madrid”.

In the summer of 1847, Glinka set off on the return journey to his ancestral village of Novospasskoye, then went again to St. Petersburg, but changed his mind and decided to spend the winter in Smolensk. However, invitations to balls and evenings, which haunted the composer almost daily, drove him to despair and to the decision to leave Russia again. Glinka was denied a foreign passport, so in 1848 he stopped in Warsaw, where he wrote a symphonic fantasy “Kamarinskaya” on the themes of two Russian songs: the wedding lyric “Because of the Mountains, High Mountains” and a lively dance song. In this work, Glinka established a new type of symphonic music and laid the foundations for its further development, skillfully creating an unusually bold combination of different rhythms, characters and moods. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky spoke of Glinka’s work as follows:

The entire Russian symphonic school, like an entire oak tree in an acorn, is contained in the symphonic fantasy “Kamarinskaya”.

In 1851, Glinka returned to St. Petersburg, where he gave singing lessons, prepared opera parts and chamber repertoire with such singers as N. K. Ivanov, O. A. Petrov, A. Ya. Petrova-Vorobyova, A. P. Lodiy , D. M. Leonov and others. The Russian vocal school took shape under the direct influence of Glinka. He visited M.I. Glinka and A.N. Serov, who in 1852 wrote down his “Notes on Instrumentation” (published 4 years later). A. S. Dargomyzhsky often came.

In 1852, Glinka went on a journey again. He planned to get to Spain, but tired of traveling by stagecoach and by rail, he stopped in Paris, where he lived for just over two years. In Paris, Glinka began work on the Taras Bulba symphony, which was never completed. The beginning of the Crimean War, in which France opposed Russia, was the event that finally decided the issue of Glinka’s departure to his homeland. On his way to Russia, Glinka spent two weeks in Berlin.

In May 1854, Glinka arrived in Russia. He spent the summer in Tsarskoe Selo at his dacha, and in August he moved again to St. Petersburg. Also in 1854, he began writing memoirs, which he called “Notes” (published in 1870).

In 1856, Glinka left for Berlin, where he began studying the works of J. P. Palestrina and J. S. Bach. In the same year, Glinka wrote music for Church Slavonic liturgical texts: Litany and “Let my prayer be corrected” (for 3 voices).

Death

Glinka died on February 15, 1857 in Berlin and was buried in the Lutheran cemetery. In May of the same year, at the insistence of M.I. Glinka’s younger sister Lyudmila (who, after the death of their mother and her two children, from the early 1850s, devoted herself entirely to caring for her brother, and after his death did everything to publish his works ) the composer's ashes were transported to St. Petersburg and reburied at the Tikhvin cemetery.

During the transport of Glinka’s ashes from Berlin to Russia, his coffin, packed in cardboard, bore the inscription “PORCELAIN” - symbolically, if we recall the canon composed by Glinka’s friends after the premiere of “Ivan Susanin”. At Glinka’s grave there is a monument created according to a sketch by I. I. Gornostaev.

In Berlin, at the Russian Orthodox cemetery, there is a monument that includes a tombstone from Glinka’s original burial site at the Lutheran Trinity Cemetery, as well as a monument in the form of a column with a bust of the composer, built in 1947 by the Military Commandant’s Office of the Soviet Sector of Berlin.

Memory

Postage stamps of Russia for the 200th anniversary of his birth

Memorial plaque to the composer, city of Smolensk

The first monument to Glinka was erected in 1885-87. in the Smolensk Blonier Garden with funds raised by subscription. The pre-revolutionary monument to Glinka has also been preserved in Kyiv. From 1884 to 1917 Glinka Prizes were awarded in the Russian Empire. Two biographical films were shot at the Mosfilm studio - “Glinka” (1946) and “The Composer Glinka” (1952). On the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth, his name was given to the State Academic Chapel. At the end of May 1982, the M. I. Glinka House Museum was opened in the composer’s native estate Novospasskoye.

The name was given to the Novosibirsk State Conservatory and the Chelyabinsk Opera and Ballet Theater.

St. Petersburg, Ertelev Lane, 7.
The apartment building of E. Tomilova, in which M. I. Glinka lived from August 25, 1854 to April 27, 1856

• February 2, 1818 - end of June 1821 - Noble boarding school at the Main Pedagogical Institute - Fontanka River embankment, 164;
• August 1820 - July 3, 1822 - Noble boarding house at St. Petersburg University - corner of Zvenigorodskaya and Kabinetskaya (Pravda) streets;
• summer 1824 - end of summer 1825 - Faleev's house - Kanonerskaya street, 2;
• May 12, 1828 - September 1829 - Barbazan's house - Nevsky Prospekt, 49;
• end of winter 1836 - spring 1837 - Mertz's house - Glukhoy lane, 8, apt. 1;
• spring 1837 - November 6, 1839 - Capella house - Moika River embankment, 20;
• November 6, 1839 - end of December 1839 - officer barracks of the Life Guards Izmailovsky Regiment - embankment of the Fontanka River, 120;
• September 16, 1840 - February 1841 - Mertz's house - Glukhoy Lane, 8, apt. 1;
• June 1, 1841 - February 1842 - Schuppe house - Bolshaya Meshchanskaya Street, 16;
• mid-November 1848 - May 9, 1849 - house of the School for the Deaf and Dumb - embankment of the Moika River, 54;
• October - November 1851 - Melikhov apartment building - Mokhovaya street, 26;
• December 1, 1851 - May 23, 1852 - Zhukov's house - Nevsky Prospekt, 49;
• August 25, 1854 - April 27, 1856 - apartment building of E. Tomilova - Ertelev Lane, 7.

International Vocal Competition named after M. I. Glinka

The second most important vocal competition in Russia is named after Mikhail Glinka - the International Vocal Competition named after M. I. Glinka, which was organized in 1960. From 1968 to 2009, the chairman of the jury was singer and teacher, People's Artist of the USSR, Hero of Socialist Labor, laureate of the Lenin Prize and State Prizes of Russia, academician, professor Irina Konstantinovna Arkhipova.

Over the years, such artists as Vladimir Atlantov, Sergei Leiferkus, Yuri Mazurok, Evgeniy Nesterenko, Elena Obraztsova, Maria Gulegina, Olga Borodina, Dmitry Hvorostovsky, Vladimir Chernov, Anna Netrebko, Askar Abdrazakov, Ildar Abdrazakov, Olga Trifonova have become laureates of the Glinka Competition , Elena Manistina, Mikhail Kazakov, Albina Shagimuratova, Vladimir Vasiliev, Ariunbaatar Ganbaatar and other singers.

Major works

Operas

• “Life for the Tsar” (“Ivan Susanin”) (1836)
• "Ruslan and Lyudmila" (1837-1842)

Symphonic works

• Symphony on two Russian themes (1834, completed and orchestrated by Vissarion Shebalin)
• Music for the tragedy of Nestor Kukolnik “Prince Kholmsky” (1842)
• Spanish Overture No. 1 “Brilliant Capriccio on the Theme of the Aragonese Jota” (1845)
• "Kamarinskaya", fantasy on two Russian themes (1848)
• Spanish Overture No. 2 "Memories of a Summer Night in Madrid" (1851)
• “Waltz-Fantasy” (1839 - for piano, 1856 - extended version for symphony orchestra)

Chamber instrumental compositions

• Sonata for viola and piano (unfinished; 1828, revised by Vadim Borisovsky in 1932)
• Brilliant divertissement on themes from Vincenzo Bellini's opera La Sonnambula for piano quintet and double bass
• A brilliant rondo on a theme from Vincenzo Bellini's opera "Capulets and Montagues" (1831)
• Grand Sextet in Es major for piano and string quintet (1832)
• “Trio Pathétique” in d-moll for clarinet, bassoon and piano (1832)

Romances and songs

• "Venetian Night" (1832)
• Patriotic song (was the official anthem of the Russian Federation from 1991 to 2000)
• "Here I Am, Inesilla" (1834)
• "Night View" (1836)
• "Doubt" (1838)
• "Night Zephyr" (1838)
• “The fire of desire burns in the blood” (1839)
• Wedding song “The marvelous tower stands” (1839)
• Vocal cycle “Farewell to St. Petersburg” (1840)
• “A passing song” (from the cycle “Farewell to St. Petersburg”)
• “Lark” (from the cycle “Farewell to St. Petersburg”)
• "Confession" (1840)
• "Do I Hear Thy Voice" (1848)
• “The Healthy Cup” (1848)
• “Margarita’s Song” from Goethe’s tragedy “Faust” (1848)
• "Mary" (1849)
• "Adele" (1849)
• "Gulf of Finland" (1850)
• “Prayer” (“In a difficult moment of life”) (1855)
• "Don't Say It Hurts Your Heart" (1856)
• “I remember a wonderful moment” (to a poem by Pushkin)

› Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka

Mikhail Ivanovich is an outstanding and very famous Russian composer. His authorship is on many works that are known throughout the world. This is a very bright and creative person who deserves attention thanks to her talent and interesting life path.

Young years.

Mikhail Ivanovich was born in May 1804. Place of birth is the village of Novospasskoye. He grew up quite well in a wealthy family. Mikhail was raised by his grandmother, and his own mother took part in his upbringing only after his grandmother died. At the age of ten, Mikhail Glinka began to show creative abilities and master the piano. He was a very musical and talented boy.

In 1817, his studies began at the Noble boarding school. After graduation, the young talent began to devote a lot of time to music. During this time period, Mikhail created his first works. However, Glinka was not satisfied with his work and constantly strived to expand his knowledge and perfect the works he created.

Creative dawn.

The years 1822-23 are distinguished by the composer’s wonderful works, songs and romances. This is a fruitful time that gave the world real masterpieces. Mikhail makes acquaintances with outstanding people Zhukovsky and Griboyedov.

Glinka travels to Germany and Italy. He was very impressed by Italian talents such as Bellini and Donizetti. Thanks to them, Mikhail improved his own musical style.

After his return to Russia, Glinka worked diligently on the opera "Ivan Susanin". The premiere took place in 1836 on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater and brought enormous success. The next famous work, “Ruslan and Lyudmila,” no longer enjoyed such enormous popularity, received a lot of criticism, and under this influence, Glinka left Russia and headed to Spain and France. The return to their homeland will take place only in 1847.

The travels were not in vain and gave a large number of amazing works by Glinka. Mikhail managed to try himself as a singing teacher and prepared operas. He made a huge contribution to the formation of classical music.

Last years. Death and legacy.

Mikhail died in 1857. His body rested in Trinity Cemetery. And later the composer’s ashes were transported to St. Petersburg and reburied.

Glinka's legacy is very rich. The composer created approximately 20 songs and romances. He also wrote several operas and 6 symphonic works. Mikhail Glinka has put a huge amount of work and contribution into the development of the musical sphere. His works touch our hearts and make us admire the great man.

Option 2

Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka was born in 1804 and died in 1857.

Mikhail Ivanovich was born into a wealthy family. From an early age he showed interest in music and that is why he entered the St. Petersburg Institute and devoted all his free time, both during his studies and after graduation, to music.

Glinka was raised by her grandmother, although her own mother was not dead either. The mother was allowed to raise her son only after the death of his grandmother, which is of particular interest in his biography.

Glinka always saw flaws in his creations and sought to improve each composition, allowing himself to experiment. Mikhail Ivanovich always pursued some kind of ideal. And so, in search of this very knowledge about the ideal, Glinka went abroad, and settled there for a year. This happened at the end of his career and life. He died in Berlin and was cremated. The composer's ashes were safely delivered to his homeland and scattered over the great city of St. Petersburg, where all the most important changes in Glinka's life took place.

Many of his works are still popular and are broadcast in many opera houses.

3rd grade, 4th, 6th grade for children

Creation

Surprisingly, at the beginning of his creative career, the great Russian composer was extremely dissatisfied with himself and his creations. Remarks and ridicule from even people far from music did not add confidence. So, on the day of the premiere of the famous opera “A Life for the Tsar,” someone shouted that such a melody was only suitable for coachmen. Tsar Nicholas I defiantly abandoned “Ruslan and Lyudmila” without waiting for the end. However, time has put everything in its place. He could not stand modern pianists, and once spoke unflatteringly about the playing of Franz Liszt. He considered himself equal to Chopin and Gluck, but did not recognize the others. But all this will happen later, but for now...

The first nightingale trills on June 1, 1804 announced the village of Novospasskoye, Smolensk province, which, according to legend, indicated the extraordinary abilities of the boy who appeared at that hour. Under the overly watchful eye of his grandmother, Mikhail grew up as an unsociable, pampered and sickly child. Music lessons on the violin and piano with the governess Varvara Fedorovna allowed me to distract myself for a short time and immerse myself in the world of beauty. A demanding and uncompromising person for the rest of her life shaped the perception of a six-year-old child that art is also work.

The polishing of his talent continued at the Noble Petersburg boarding school, and a year later at the Pedagogical University, where the musical taste of the future composer was finally formed. Here he meets A.S. Pushkin. At the graduation ceremony, the gifted young man shone with his virtuoso playing of the piano and the diploma of the second most successful student. Small forms - rondos, overtures, written during this period, were approvingly received by critics. He tries to write orchestral music, but the main place of the 20s of the 19th century is occupied by romances, based on poems by Zhukovsky, Pushkin, Baratynsky.

There is no limit to perfection

A passionate dreamer's thirst for knowledge draws him to become more closely acquainted with Western European art. And in the spring of 1830, Glinka went on a trip abroad. Germany, Italy, France, where he studies the basics of composition, bel canto vocal style, polyphony, saw an already mature master. It was here, in a foreign land, that they decided to create a Russian national opera. A friend, Zhukovsky, comes to the rescue, on whose advice the work was based on the story of Ivan Susanin.

He died in Berlin on February 15, 1957, then, at the insistence of his sister, the ashes were transported to Russia. He entered the history of world art as the founder of Russian classical music of two directions - folk musical drama and fairy tale opera, and laid the foundation of the national symphony.

Biography of Composer Mikhail Glinka for children

Glinka Mikhail is the greatest Russian composer, who became the author of numerous great symphonies, as well as operas.

The date of birth is May 20, 1804, and the date of death is February 15, 1857. From childhood, the composer was raised by his grandmother, and his own mother was allowed to raise her son only after the death of his grandmother.

What is noteworthy is that already at the age of ten, Mikhail Ivanovich began playing the piano. In 1817, his studies began at a boarding school at the Pedagogical Institute of St. Petersburg. After Glinka graduated from boarding school, he began to devote all his free time to music. It was during this time period that his first works were written. It is also a known fact that the composer himself did not really like his early works. He constantly refined them to make them better.

The heyday of this great man's work occurred in the period from 1822 to 1823. It was in this time period that such compositions as “Don’t tempt me unnecessarily” and “Don’t sing, beauty, in front of me” were written.

After this, the composer sets off on his trip to Europe, which gives a new round to his work. Upon returning to Russia, the composer wrote yet another great work.

Biography by dates and interesting facts. The most important.

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Biography of Mikhail Glinka

Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka (1804 – 1857) is a great Russian composer. Author of such famous works as: the opera “Ruslan and Lyudmila”, “Kamarinskaya” symphony and “Waltz-Fantasy”, “Pathetic Trio” and many others.

early years

Born on May 20 (June 1), 1804 in the village of Novospasskoye, Smolensk province, on his father’s estate.

An important fact in Glinka’s brief biography is the fact that the boy was raised by his grandmother, and his own mother was allowed to see her son only after the death of his grandmother.

M. Glinka began playing the piano and violin at the age of ten. In 1817, he began studying at the Noble boarding school at the Pedagogical Institute of St. Petersburg. After graduating from boarding school, he devoted all his time to music. At the same time, the first works of the composer Glinka were created. As a true creator, Glinka does not fully like his works; he strives to expand the everyday genre of music.

Creativity flourishes

In 1822-1823, Glinka wrote widely known romances and songs: “Do not tempt me unnecessarily” with the words , “Don’t sing, beauty, in front of me” to the words of A. S. Pushkin and others. During these same years he met famous , and others.

After traveling to the Caucasus, he goes to Italy and Germany. Under the influence of Italian composers Bellini, Donizetti Glinka changes his musical style. Then he worked on polyphony, composition, and instrumentation.

Returning to Russia, Glinka worked diligently on the national opera Ivan Susanin. Its premiere in 1836 at the Bolshoi Theater in St. Petersburg turned into a huge success. The premiere of the next opera “Ruslan and Lyudmila” in 1842 was no longer so loud. Strong criticism pushed the composer to leave; he left Russia, going to France, Spain, and only in 1847 returned to his homeland.

Many works in the biography of Mikhail Glinka were written during trips abroad. Since 1851, in St. Petersburg, he taught singing and prepared operas. Russian classical music was formed under his influence.

Death and legacy

Glinka left for Berlin in 1856, where he died on February 15, 1857. The composer was buried at the Lutheran Trinity Cemetery. His ashes were transported to St. Petersburg and reburied there.

There are about 20 songs and romances by Glinka. He also wrote 6 symphonies, several chamber instrumental works, and two operas.

Glinka’s legacy for children includes romances, songs, symphonic fantasies, as well as the opera “Ruslan and Lyudmila,” which became even more fabulous after the great composer translated it into music.

Music critic V. Stasov briefly noted that Glinka became for Russian music what he became for the Russian language: they both created a new Russian language, but each in their own field of art.

He gave the following description of one of Glinka’s works: “The entire Russian symphonic school, like an entire oak tree in an acorn, is contained in the symphonic fantasy “Kamarinskaya”.”

The Glinka Museum is located in the Novospasskoye village, in the composer’s native estate. Monuments to Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka were erected in Bologna, Kyiv, and Berlin. The State Academic Chapel in St. Petersburg was also named after him.