In this program of Russian music I wanted to express my love and appreciation for my country of birth. In these dark times for Russia, I wanted to paint an ideal image and bring out the best of Russian music. My aim is not to write an essay on Russian music; my playing can tell you much more than my words, but I want to add some short program notes, which follow.
MiKhail Glinka
Mikhail Glinka was the first Russian composer to become famous internationally.
He laid the foundation of the Russian national school of composition. Among his most famous works are two operas, Ruslan and Ludmila and Life for the Tsar, as well as some beautiful orchestral compositions, songs for the voice and piano, and piano pieces. I will be performing some of them in this program.
Glinka skillfully developed a traditional Russian song into a beautiful set of variations in Variations on the Russian Theme. Variations have been widely used in Western European music for centuries, starting from music compositions of the Renaissance and later in baroque, classical, and romantic music. This piece is an example of early romantic style, where you can hear a lot of influence of Italian opera, which Glinka knew very well as he lived and studied in Milan for three years.
In the Nocturne, Glinka develops the tradition of his teacher, Irish composer John Field, the first composer to create the piano nocturne genre. Glinka dedicated this charming and sad music to his sister.
In the Mazurka, we can see the elegance and sophistication of harmonies and melody. Glinka, a talented and sensitive composer, captured the spirit of this Polish dance very well. That is not surprising, considering that Glinka was the grandson of a Polish aristocrat.
Glinka wrote many beautiful songs for the piano and voice. One of them, Song of the Lark, was used by Mily Balakirev in his famous piano transcription Song of the Lark. Very well written, this music is one of the treasures of the Russian piano repertoire. In this composition, Balakirev follows the steps of F. Liszt’s famous piano transcriptions of Schubert's songs.
Pyotr Tchaikovsky
In many ways, Tchaikovsky continues and develops Glinka’s music tradition. Glinka’s orchestral composition “Kamarinskaya” was said by Tchaikovsky to be ”the acorn from which the oak of the Russian symphony grew.”
Unlike Chopin, who primarily wrote music for the piano, Tchaikovsky was an outstanding symphonist. Among his works are 11 operas, three ballets, five suites, three overtures, three piano concertos, works for the choir, chamber music, romances for the voice and piano, and many more beautiful pieces. Piano music is only a tiny part of Tchaikovsky’s heritage. However, the beauty of this music is difficult to overestimate.
Tchaikovsky’s Nocturnes were inspired by the Nocturnes of Glinka and Chopin. From the first note of the Nocturne op. 10 #1, we hear very intimate and sophisticated music. The melody flows like a breath. It develops and modulates surprisingly beautifully into the second theme. With the remark “con grazia e sentimento,” this music sounds like trees whispering a beautiful lullaby at night. The first theme returns, refreshed with the imitations in the left hand. In these imitations, one can imagine two people talking to each other.
Feuillet d'album is a charming and humorous little piece. How much can the composer express on only two pages of sheet music? In this tiny masterpiece, we hear exceptional use of harmonies and a diversity of themes.
Nocturne op.19 #4 is a very well-known piece. This heartbreaking music is one of the most tragic pieces in this program. When listening to this music, one can feel how deeply Tchaikovsky suffered.
Theme and Variations in F major, op.19 #6, is known to have been performed by Hans von Bulow in 1874 in London, representing the earliest known performances of Tchaikovsky outside of Russia. This piece is written in a style of late romantic variations and follows the tradition of variations written by Schumann, Mendelsohn, and Brahms. In Variation Eleven, Tchaikovsky writes the remark ”Alla Schumann,” acknowledging this connection.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, two distinct schools of classical composers emerged in Russia: The Mighty Five and the Westernizers. The Mighty Five were slavophiles who sought to create a uniquely Russian musical identity by drawing inspiration from traditional folk music and rejecting Western European influences. This program represents the opposite camp: Westernizer composers who embraced the western tradition.
Knowing how much Russian culture owes to Western European tradition is essential. When Peter the Great founded the city of St. Petersburg, he set the goal of building a Venice of the North. Famous Italian architects Rastrelli, Rossi, Quarenghi, and many others contributed their talents to create this beautiful city; the Russian Ballet flourished thanks to the efforts of the great French choreographer Marius Petipa. The Russian piano school has German, Austrian, Polish, and French roots: Polish-Austrian professor of piano Theodor Leshetizky, who studied with Czerny in Vienna, lived in St Petersburg from 1852 to 1877. He was the head of the piano department and one of the founders of St. Petersburg Conservatory of Music in 1862. There are much more similar examples of the connection between Russian and Western culture.
It is with sadness I see the conflict between Russia and the Western world. Progress and peace only come with cooperation and respect, not hate and conflict.
