Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka

Romantic · 1804–1857

Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka was born in 1804 on his family's estate near Smolensk, in western Russia, and drifted through a short civil service career before music took over. Travel was his education: years in Italy soaking up opera, then formal training in Berlin, after which he came home determined to write Russian opera rather than imitations of Italian ones.

He delivered twice. A Life for the Tsar, staged in 1836, told a Russian historical story in Russian musical accents and made him a national figure. Ruslan and Lyudmila, based on a fantastical Pushkin poem, followed in 1842. Nearly every Russian composer who came after, from Mussorgsky to Tchaikovsky, treated him as the starting point of their tradition. He died in Berlin in 1857.

Start with the overture to Ruslan and Lyudmila, five exhilarating minutes that orchestras love to play at full sprint, then explore more of that opera's fairy-tale music.

119 works in the catalog, across 5 genres. Log what you listen to with Opus, the classical music journal for iPhone.

Chamber

Nocturne for Harp in E flat major, G.vi62
Septet in B flat major for Oboe, Bassoon, French Horn, and String Quartet, G.iii3
Serenade Es-dur on Themes from Donizetti’s Opera 'Anna Bolena', for piano, harp, bassoon, horn, cello and double bass
Sextet in E flat major, for piano, string quartet, and double bass, "Grand"
String Quartet in D major, G.iii67
String Quartet in F major, G.iii125
Trio pathétique, for clarinet, bassoon, and piano in D minor, G.iv173
Viola Sonata in C minor, G.iv3

Keyboard

3 Fugues
3 Mazurkas in A flat major
5 Contredanses, G.vi166
5 Nouvelles quadrilles françaises, G.vi267
A Greeting To My Native Land, G.vi220
Bolero in D minor, G.vi208
Capriccio brillante on Russian themes in A major, for piano, 4 hands, G.v19
Children's Polka in B flat major, G.vi257, "Detskaya Polka"
Cotillon in B flat major, G.vi67
Farewell Waltz in G major, G.vi117, "Proschal'nïy val's"
Galopade in E flat major, G.vi174
Grande valse in G major, G.vi175
Impromptu and Galop on the barcarolle from Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore in B flat major, for piano, 4 hands, G.v9
La couventine, G.vi188
Las Mollares in G major, G.vi264
La séparation in F minor, G.xvi204
Mazurka in C major, G.x256
Mazurka in C minor, G.x219
Mazurka in G major, G.vi70
Nocturne in E flat major, G.vi62
Nocturne in F minor, "Le regret"
Polka in B flat major, for piano, 4 hands, G.v47
Polka in D minor, G.vi250
Polonaise in E major, G.vi184
Tarantella in A minor, G.vi217
The Lark
Trot de cavalerie in C major, for piano, 4 hands, G.v7
Trot de cavalerie in G major, for piano, 4 hands, G.v3
Valse-Fantaisie in B minor, for 2 pianos, G.vi193
Valse-favorite in B flat major, G.vi170
Valse mélodique in E flat major, G.vi164
Variations on 'Benedetta sia la madre' in E major, G.vi26
Variations on Alyabyev's 'Solovey' in E minor, G.vi135
Variations on an Original Theme in F major, G.vi1
Variations on a Theme from Bellini's 'I Capuleti e i Montecchi' in B flat major, G.vi104
Variations on a Theme from Bellini's 'I Capuleti e i Montecchi' in C major, G.vi118
Variations on a Theme from Cherubini's 'Faniska' in B flat major, G.vi55
Variations on a Theme from Donizetti's 'Anna Bolena' in A major, G.vi79
Variations on a Theme of Mozart in E flat major, G.vi13
Variations on the Song 'Among the Gentle Valleys' in A minor, G.vi51
Variations on Two Themes from the Ballet 'Chao-Kang' in D major, G.vi93

Orchestral

Capriccio brillante on the Jota Aragonesa, G.ii3
Kamarinskaya, G.ii105 Symphonic fantasy
Overture, for orchestra in G minor, G.i85
Overture in D major, G. i129
Souvenirs of a summer night in Madrid, G.ii143
Symphony, for orchestra in B flat major. G.xvii142
Symphony on Two Russian Themes in D minor, G. i193
Valse-Fantaisie in B minor, G.ii213

Stage

Ivan Susanin: Zhizn' za tsarya, G. xii Opera
Ruslan and Lyudmila, G.xiv Opera

Vocal

A Blushing Rose Once You Were
Adèle, G.x316
A farewell to St. Petersburg, G.x206
Ah, my sweetheart, thou art a beautiful maiden, G.x18
Ah, rammenta, o bella Irene, G.x73
A Knight's Romance
Alla cetra, G.x76
A Road Song
A voice from the other world, G.x100
Bitter, bitter it is for me, G.x28
Boyan's Song
Call her not heavenly, G.x151
Cherubim’s Song, for chorus and orchestra
Confession
Conversation, G.x309, "Rozmowa"
Cradle Song, G. ix120
Darling, G.x287, "Milochka"
Declaration, G.x280, "Priznaniye"
Disenchantment, G.x82, "Razocharovaniye"
Don't Tell Me that Your Heart is Aching
Do Not Tempt Me Needlessly, elegy for voice and piano, G.x2
Doubt, G.x108
Doubt, G.x176
Ekteniya pervaya, for chorus
Ho perduto, il mio tesoro, G.x47
How Sweet it is to Be With You, G.x277, "Kak sladko s toboyu mne bït"
I Am Here, Inezilla, G.x161
I Had But Recognized You, G.x159, "Tol'ko uznal ya tebya"
I Love You, Dear Rose, G.x281, "Lyublyu tebya, milaya roza"
I Love You was your assurance, G.x24
I Recall that Wonderful Moment, G.x201, "Ya pomnyu chudnoye mgnoven'ye"
L'iniquo voto, G.x123
Love Songs, for voice and piano
Mary, G.x322, "Meri"
Mio ben ricordati, G.x63
Mi sento il cor trafiggere, G.x42
O Gentle Autumn Night, G.x96
Oh, If I Had Known This Before
Say Not that it Grieves the Heart, G. x335, "Ne govori, chto serdtsu"
Shall I Forget?, G.x94, "Zabudu l'ya"
Sing Not, Thou Beauty, in My Presence, G.x92
Soon you will forget Me, G.x290, "Tï skoro menya pozabudesh"
Souvenir
Stanzas, G.x173
Tell Me Why, G.x31, "Skazhi zachem"
The Bird-Cherry Tree is Blossoming, G.x197
The Fire of Longing Burns in My Heart, G.x180
The Gulf of Finland, G.x326
The Night Review, G.viii93, "Nochnoy smotr"
The Night Review, G.x165
The Night Zephyr, G.x190
The North Star, G.x194, "Severnaya svezda"
The Patriotic Song, G.xvii227
The Poor Singer, G.x10
The Toasting Cup, G.x296, "Zazhdravnïy kubok"
To Her, G.x283, "Kney"
Tyashka pechal'i grusten svet, G.x302
Venetian Night, G.x117
When I Hear Your Voice, G.x294, "Slïshu li golos tvoy"
Where is our rose?, G.x182

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