Mikhail ivanovich glinka. Short biography of Mikhail Glinka Michal Ivanovich Glinka

Glinka's biography is full of interesting facts and events. The huge legacy left by Mikhail Ivanovich includes romances, works for children, songs and compositions, symphonic fantasies. The main work of the composer is the opera Ruslan and Lyudmila, which became famous all over the world. Music critics call Glinka Pushkin in music. Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka, whose biography is replete with extraordinary facts, wrote the first Russian opera based on historical events. In this article, we will trace the life of the great composer. Glinka Mikhail Ivanovich, whose short biography is full of unpredictable twists and turns, has been in love with music since childhood.

Origin

The composer was born at his father's estate on May 20 (according to the old style - June 1) 1804. The first house of Glinka was the village of Novospasskoye, Smolensk province. Mikhail Glinka's father was a retired captain - Ivan Nikolaevich Glinka. Their family originated from the gentry. The composer's mother is Evgenia Andreevna. Immediately after the birth of the boy, his grandmother, Fyokla Aleksandrovna, took him away. She was so diligent in raising the boy that already in childhood he became painfully touchy. By the age of six, Misha was completely removed from society, even from his own parents. In 1810, the grandmother dies, and the boy is returned to be raised in the family.

Education

Mikhail Glinka, whose short biography is incredibly interesting, was convinced from an early age that he would devote his life to music. The fate of the musician has been known since childhood. As a young child, he studied violin and piano. The boy was taught all this by the governess Varvara Klammer from St. Petersburg. After Mikhail mastered the first basics in art, he was sent to education in the St. Petersburg boarding school, which is located at the pedagogical institute. Wilhelm Küchelbecker becomes his first tutor. Glinka takes lessons from great music teachers, including John Field and Karl Zeiner. It is here that the future composer meets Alexander Pushkin. Strong friendships are established between them, which last until the death of the great poet.

The flowering of creativity

Glinka, whose biography is full of many events, was fascinated by music from an early age, by the age of ten he already skillfully handled the piano and violin. Music for Mikhail Glinka is a vocation from an early age. After graduating from the Noble Boarding School, he gives performances in salons, is actively engaged in self-education, studying the history and features of Western European music. At the same time, the composer composes the first successful works for piano and harp. He writes romances, rondos for orchestras, as well as string septets and orchestral overtures. Zhukovsky, Griboyedov, Mickiewicz, Odoevsky and Delvig replenished his circle of acquaintances. Glinka's biography is interesting not only to his admirers, but also to everyone who is interested in music.

Mikhail Ivanovich spends several years in the Caucasus. But already in 1824 the young composer got a job as an assistant secretary in the Main Directorate of Railways. However, despite being busy, already at the end of the twenties, together with Pavlishchev, he published "Lyric Album". It also includes Mikhail Ivanovich's own works. As you can see, Glinka's biography is interesting with unusual events and unexpected turns.

Since 1830, a new period begins, which is characterized as Italian. Before its start, Glinka makes a summer trip to German cities, and then stops in Milan. At that time, it was this city that was the central point of musical culture all over the world. It is here that Mikhail Glinka meets Donizetti and Bellini. He researches and studies bel canto in detail, after which he composes works in the Italian spirit.

A few years later, in 1833, the composer settled in Germany. Learning from Zigrified Den, he hones and polishes his musical talent. However, the news of the death of his father in 1834 forces the composer to return to Russia. Glinka, whose short biography is interesting not only to the residents of the Russian Federation, but also to Europeans, gave the world two great operas.

"Life for the Tsar"

His dreams are directed towards the creation of a Russian national opera. Working hard, he chooses Ivan Susanin and his feat as the central figure. The author devotes three whole years of his life to his work, and in 1836 he finishes a grandiose opera, which was called "A Life for the Tsar". The first production took place on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater in St. Petersburg and was received by the society with great enthusiasm. After the overwhelming success of Mikhail Glinka was appointed to the post of Kapellmeister of the Court Chapel. The composer devoted 1838 to rest and travel across Ukraine.

1842 is the year of the release of the opera Ruslan and Lyudmila. The work is received ambiguously by the public and is hotly debated.

Living abroad

Mikhail Glinka, whose biography is rich in facts and events, has devoted many years to the study of the cultures of different European peoples. The year 1844 was marked by a new trip abroad for the great composer. This time, his path lies in France. Here his works are performed by the great Berlioz. In Paris in 1845, Mikhail Ivanovich gave a huge charity concert, after which he went to sunny Spain. Studying the local culture, he composes several symphonic overtures on Spanish folk themes, and the Aragonese Jota overture is also created here.

In 1827, the composer again came to his native Russia, and then immediately went to Warsaw. It is here that he composes the famous "Kamarinskaya". It has become the newest type of symphonic music that combines a variety of rhythms, moods and characters. 1848 - the year of the creation of "Night in Madrid".

Influence of the composer

In 1851 Glinka returned to St. Petersburg again. Here he finds time to give lessons to the new generation, to write opera parts. Thanks to his influence, a Russian vocal school was even created in this city. Glinka Mikhail Ivanovich, whose short biography is interesting for its unpredictability, is the founder of many musical trends.

Just a year later, the composer resumes his travels in Europe. On his way to Spain, he stays in Paris for two years. He devotes all his time to the Taras Bulba symphony, but it remains unfinished.

In 1854, the composer returned to his homeland, where he wrote his memoirs and his "Notes". However, he was briefly enough, and he again went to Europe, this time heading for Berlin. Glinka, whose biography begins in Russia, managed to visit many European cities, creating his brilliant works there.

Family life

In 1835, Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka married his distant relative Maria Petrovna Ivanova. However, their marriage did not work out, and they soon separated.

Three years after the first marriage and an unsuccessful union, Glinka meets Ekaterina Kern. The best works of the composer were dedicated to her. Glinka loved this woman until the end of his days.

Death of a composer

His biography is of great interest. Glinka M.I. is a great composer and a true patriot.

In February 1857, while in Berlin, Mikhail Glinka died. On February 15, when he was gone, he was first buried in the Lutheran cemetery. However, a couple of months later, his ashes were transported to Russia and reburied at the Tikhvin cemetery in the city of St. Petersburg.

Major achievements

• Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka, whose biography allows us to consider it a national treasure, managed to create a lot of beauty in his life, influencing many of his composers-followers.
• He founded the Russian national composer school.
• Glinka's works have an impact on the development of Russian and world music. In particular, Dargomyzhsky and Tchaikovsky developed his original ideas in their musical compositions.
• Glinka created the first Russian national opera entitled "A Life for the Tsar", which is based on a historical plot.
• Thanks to the influence of the composer, a Russian vocal school was formed in St. Petersburg.

Glinka's biography is of interest to adults and children.

• Not many people know that Fyokla Aleksandrovna, the grandmother of Mikhail Glinka, the mother of his father, took the boy for upbringing for a reason. A year before Misha was born, a son was born in the family, who died in infancy. The grandmother blamed the mother for this, and therefore, with the appearance of Misha, she took the child to her. She possessed unrestrained autocracy, and therefore no one dared to object to her - neither her daughter-in-law, nor even her own son.
• The first wife of Mikhail Ivanovich, Maria Petrovna, was uneducated. She also did not know anything about music, and she did not even know who Beethoven was. Perhaps this was the reason that their marriage was unsuccessful and so fleeting.
• Glinka created patriotic music, which was the anthem of the Russian Federation for almost ten years - from 1991 to 2000.

• During the transportation of the composer's ashes from Germany to Russia, the box in which the coffin was packed was written in large letters: "PORCELAIN".
• During his life, Mikhail Ivanovich created about twenty songs and romances, six symphonic works, two great operas, as well as several chamber instrumental compositions.
• Glinka, whose short biography is studied in Russian and European schools, devoted his life to music.
• In the native estate of the composer, in Novospasskoye Selo, the Mikhail Glinka Museum was created.
• In total, three monuments to the composer have been erected in the world: in Kiev, Berlin and Bologna.
• After Glinka's death, the State Academic Chapel in the city of St. Petersburg was named in his honor.

From all the facts and events described by us, his biography is formed. Glinka M.I. made a huge contribution to Russian culture, many European composers were guided by it.

The Russian composer Glinka left a significant mark on world music, stood at the origins of a kind of Russian composer school. His life contained a lot: creativity, travel, joys and difficulties, but his main asset is music.

Family and childhood

The future outstanding composer Glinka was born on May 20, 1804 in the Smolensk province, in the village of Novospasskoye. His father, a retired captain, had a sufficient fortune to live comfortably. Glinka's great-grandfather was a Pole by birth, in 1654, when the Smolensk lands passed to Russia, he received Russian citizenship, converted to Orthodoxy and lived the life of a Russian landowner. The child was immediately given to the care of his grandmother, who raised her grandson in the traditions of that time: she kept him in stuffy rooms, did not develop physically, and fed him with sweets. All this had a bad effect on Mikhail's health. He grew up sickly, capricious and effeminate, he later called himself "mimosa".

Glinka learned to read almost spontaneously after the priest showed him the letters. From an early age, he showed musicality, he himself learned to imitate the ringing of bells on copper basins and sing along to the songs of the nanny. Only at the age of six does he return to his parents, and they begin to engage in his upbringing and education. A governess was invited to him, who, in addition to general education subjects, taught him to play the piano, later he still mastered the violin. At this time, the boy reads a lot, is fond of books about travel, this passion will then turn into a love of changing places, which will possess Glinka all his life. He also paints a little, but music is central to his heart. The boy in the serf orchestra learns many works of that time, gets acquainted with musical instruments.

Years of study

Mikhail Glinka did not live in the village for long. When he was 13 years old, his parents took him to the newly opened Noble Boarding House in St. Petersburg at the Pedagogical Institute. The boy was not very interested in studying, since he had already mastered most of the program at home. His tutor was the former Decembrist V.K.Kyukhelbeker, and his classmate was A.S. Pushkin's brother, with whom Mikhail first met at that time, and later became friends.

In his boarder years, he converges with the princes Golitsyn, S. Sobolevsky, A. Rimsky-Korsakov, N. Melgunov. During this period, he significantly expanded his musical horizons, got acquainted with opera, attends numerous concerts, and also studied with famous musicians of that time - Boehm and Field. He improves his pianistic technique and receives the first lessons in the composing profession.

The famous pianist S. Mayer studied with Mikhail in the 1920s, teaching him the work of a composer, correcting his first opuses, and giving him the basics of working with an orchestra. At the graduation party of the boarding house, Glinka, paired with Mayer, played a Hummel concert, publicly demonstrating his skills. Composer Mikhail Glinka graduated from the boarding school second in academic performance in 1822, but did not feel the desire to study further.

First writing experiences

After graduating from the boarding school, the composer Glinka was in no hurry to look for service, since his financial situation allowed him. The father did not rush his son with the choice of a place of work, but did not think that he would be engaged in music all his life. The composer Glinka, for whom music is becoming the main thing in life, got the opportunity to go to the waters in the Caucasus to improve his health and abroad. He does not leave music lessons, studies the Western European heritage and composes new motives, this becomes a constant internal need for him.

In the 1920s, Glinka wrote the famous romances "Don't tempt me unnecessarily" to the poems of Baratynsky, "Don't sing, beauty, with me" to the text of A. Pushkin. His instrumental works also appear: adagio and rondo for orchestra, string septet.

Living in the light

In 1824, the composer M.I. Glinka entered the service, became an assistant secretary in the Chancellery of Railways. But the service did not work out, and in 1828 he resigned. At this time Glinka acquires a large number of acquaintances, communicates with A. Griboyedov, A. Mitskevich, A. Delvig, V. Odoevsky, V. Zhukovsky. He continues to study music, participates in musical evenings in Demidov's house, writes many songs and romances, publishes, together with Pavlishchev, "Lyric Album", which contains works by various authors, including himself.

Overseas experience

Traveling was a very important part of Mikhail Glinka's life. He makes his first major foreign voyage after graduating from a boarding house.

In 1830 Glinka embarked on a long journey to Italy, which lasted for 4 years. The purpose of the trip was treatment, but it did not bring the desired result, and the musician did not do it seriously, constantly interrupting therapy courses, changing doctors and cities. In Italy, he met K. Bryullov, with outstanding composers of that time: Berlioz, Mendelssohn, Bellini, Donizetti. Impressed by these meetings, Glinka wrote chamber works on themes by foreign composers. He studies a lot abroad with the best teachers, improves his performing technique, studies the theory of music. He is looking for his strong theme in art, and this becomes homesickness for him, it pushes him to write serious works. Glinka creates "Russian Symphony" and writes variations on Russian songs, which will later be included in other major works.

Great composer's work: operas by M. Glinka

In 1834, Mikhail's father dies, he gains material independence and begins writing an opera. While still abroad, Glinka realized that his task was to write in Russian, this was the impetus for the creation of an opera based on national material. At this time, he entered the literary circles of St. Petersburg, where Aksakov, Zhukovsky, Shevyrev, Pogodin visited. Everyone is discussing a Russian opera written by Verstovsky, this example inspires Glinka, and he starts sketches for an opera based on Zhukovsky's novella Maryina Roshcha. The idea was not destined to be realized, but this was the beginning of work on the opera "A Life for the Tsar" based on the plot suggested by Zhukovsky, based on the legend of Ivan Susanin. The great composer Glinka entered the history of music precisely as the author of this work. In it he laid the foundations of the Russian opera school.

The premiere of the opera took place on November 27, 1836, and it was a tremendous success. Both the public and critics took the composition extremely well. After that, Glinka was appointed Kapellmeister of the Court Choir Choir and became a professional musician. The success inspired the composer, and he began work on a new opera based on Pushkin's poem Ruslan and Lyudmila. He wanted the poet to write the libretto, but his untimely death prevented the implementation of these plans. In this work, Glinka demonstrates a mature composer's talent and the highest technique. But Ruslan and Lyudmila was received more coolly than the first opera. This upset Glinka very much, and he again was going to go abroad. The composer's operatic heritage is small, but it had a decisive influence on the development of the national school of composition, and to this day these works are a vivid example of Russian music.

Glinka's symphonic music

The development of the national theme was reflected in the author's symphonic music. The composer Glinka creates a large number of experimental compositions; he is obsessed with finding a new form. In his writings, our hero shows himself as a romantic and melodist. The works of the composer Glinka develop such genres in Russian music as folk-genre, lyric-epic, and dramatic. His most significant works are the overtures "Night in Madrid" and "Aragonese Jota", symphonic fantasy "Kamarinskaya".

Songs and Romances

The portrait of Glinka (the composer) will be incomplete without mentioning his songwriting. All his life he writes romances and songs, which become incredibly popular during the life of the author. In total, he wrote about 60 vocal compositions, of which the most notable are: "I remember a wonderful moment", "Confession", "Passing Song" and many others, which are still part of the classical repertoire of vocalists.

Private life

In his personal life, the composer Glinka was not lucky. He married a sweet girl Ivanova Marya Petrovna in 1835, hoping to find in her a like-minded person and a loving heart. But very quickly, a lot of disagreements arose between husband and wife. She led a stormy social life, spent a lot of money, so that even the income from the estate and payment for the musical works of Glinka was not enough for her. He was forced to take disciples. The final break occurs when, in the 1840s, Glinka is carried away by Katya Kern, the daughter of Pushkin's muse. He files for divorce, at this time it turns out that his wife secretly married the cornet Vasilchikov. But the separation drags on for 5 years. During this time, Glinka had to go through a real drama: Kern became pregnant, demanded drastic measures from him, he subsidized her to get rid of the child. Gradually, the heat of the relationship faded away, and when the divorce was obtained in 1846, Glinka no longer had the desire to marry. He spent the rest of his life alone, was fond of friendly feasts and orgies, which had a detrimental effect on his already poor health. On February 15, 1857, Glinka died in Berlin. Later, at the request of his sister, the ashes of the deceased were transported to Russia and buried at the Tikhvin cemetery in St. Petersburg.

The composer Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka remained in history as a great composer of music and the founder of the Russian classical movement in it, as well as the author of the first Russian opera. His work influenced the emergence of other talented names in the musical world of Russia. This master is revered not only at home, but also far beyond its borders.

Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka is a great Russian composer.

early years

Future composer was born in 1804 in the village of Novospasskoye, Smolensk province. His father, a wealthy nobleman, was a former army captain. Until the age of 6, Misha was raised by his grandmother.

As a child, Mikhail did not hear almost any music - only the play of the church bell and the songs of the peasants. But it was precisely these motives that helped him create complex dramatic compositions in the future, not at all similar to the graceful European melodies of that era.

Young Misha with his sister and mother in a painting by an unknown artist.

The boy heard the first serious musical works on the estate of his uncle, where he moved after the death of his grandmother. There was an orchestra with a good repertoire - they played Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. At the same time, the young talent began to take violin and piano lessons.

The beginning of the composer's career

The subsequent years of Mikhail's life were spent in St. Petersburg. There he enters a boarding school (closed school) for noble children and in parallel learns composition from renowned maestros John Field and Karl Zeiner, who taught in St. Petersburg in those years. Glinka wrote his first musical composition at the age of 13.

After graduating from the boarding school, the young man receives a job as an official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The service leaves him a lot of free time, and the aspiring composer is actively involved in the musical life of the city.

By this time, he had already acquired his first fame. Glinka composes a lot, especially romances(so called songs on tender, lyrical verses).

At the age of 26, M.I. Glinka embarks on a long journey across Europe. He
everywhere he meets famous composers, attends classes in conservatories, listens to the best singers.

Mikhail Glinka is rightfully considered the founder of Russian opera.

At the same time, Mikhail comes to understand that his place is in his homeland, that it is for his people that he must create.

The flowering of creativity

Glinka experienced great love during his travels. And although it did not end with marriage, it became an impetus for creativity.

In 1836, the young composer's opera "A Life for the Tsar" appeared. Its original name is "Ivan Susanin" in honor of a peasant who, during the Russian-Polish war of 1612, led an enemy detachment into an impassable swamp.

The opera was a huge success. Tsar Nicholas I received her with enthusiasm and presented the composer with an expensive ring.

In parallel, the composer writes instrumental compositions for keyboards and wind instruments, as well as wonderful romances to verses by Russian poets.

Soon work began on a new opera Ruslan and Lyudmila based on the tale of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. This work was shown to the public in 1842 and was very disliked by music connoisseurs.

Contemporary production of the opera Ruslan and Lyudmila.

Glinka was so upset by the criticism that he even left Russia. From now on and until the end of his life, he will return to his homeland only for a short time.

Later years. Death

The last years of Mikhail Ivanovich's life were spent almost in continuous travel. In southern Europe, France and Spain, he collects and processes folk melodies.

In Paris he met the famous composer Berlioz and wrote works for a symphony orchestra.

In Warsaw composes the musical play "Kamarinskaya", where he combines the melodies of Russian folk songs - a melodious wedding and a fiery dance song.

At work.

The last city of the composer was Berlin, where he suddenly died of a cold in February 1857.

Facts from life

There are many autobiographical notes of the maestro, as well as messages about him from friends and contemporaries:

1. Glinka called himself "mimosa" because of the too caring grandmother's upbringing.
2. In his youth, the composer had a wonderful voice, he was admired even by Italian singers.
3. The author found performers for the choir in his operas in different provinces of the Russian Empire.
4. Glinka had a special connection with Pushkin. They were friends during the poet's life. Alexander Sergeevich wrote a poem "I remember a wonderful moment" and dedicated it to Anna Kern. And Mikhail Ivanovich was in love with Katenka Kern, Anna's daughter, and wrote a romance based on these verses.

Heritage. Meaning

The legacy of M.I. Glinka compose 2 operas, several symphonic works, compositions for piano and strings, romances and songs, church themes. Pieces for one instrument were sometimes reworked for an orchestra (for example, the famous Waltz-Fantasy).

Composer became the founder of the Russian trend in classical music. His melodies were based on folk traditions, and the themes of most of his musical compositions were inspired by the events of Russian history.

It was with the recognition of Glinka's creativity that our culture began to occupy an increasingly prominent place in the world.

Three conservatories are named after the composer. Monuments have been erected to him in Smolensk, St. Petersburg, Kiev. The estate where he was born has been turned into a house-museum.

Monument to M.I. Glinka in St. Petersburg.

"Patriotic Song" by M. I. Glinka sounded like the official anthem of Russia in 1991 - 2000.

Childhood and adolescence

Creative years

Major works

Anthem of the Russian Federation

Addresses in St. Petersburg

(May 20 (June 1) 1804 - February 3 (15), 1857) - a composer, traditionally considered one of the founders of Russian classical music. Glinka's works had a strong influence on subsequent generations of composers, including members of the New Russian School, who developed his ideas in their music.

Biography

Childhood and adolescence

Mikhail Glinka was born on May 20 (June 1, new style), 1804 in the village of Novospasskoye, Smolensk province, on the estate of his father, retired captain Ivan Nikolaevich Glinka. Until the age of six, he was brought up by his grandmother (on his father's side) Fyokla Alexandrovna, who completely removed Mikhail's mother from raising her son. Mikhail grew up as a nervous, suspicious and painful barich-not-so-so - "mimosa", according to Glinka's own characteristics. After the death of Fyokla Alexandrovna, Mikhail again passed into the full control of his mother, who made every effort to erase the traces of his previous upbringing. At the age of ten, Mikhail began to study piano and violin. The first teacher of Glinka was the governess Varvara Fedorovna Klammer, invited from St. Petersburg.

In 1817, the parents brought Mikhail to St. Petersburg and placed him in the Noble boarding house at the Main Pedagogical Institute (in 1819 it was renamed the Noble boarding house at the St. Petersburg University), where his tutor was the poet, Decembrist V.K. In St. Petersburg, Glinka takes lessons from major musicians, including the Irish pianist and composer John Field. At the boarding house, Glinka meets A.S. Pushkin, who came there to see his younger brother Lev, a classmate of Mikhail. Their meetings resumed in the summer of 1828 and continued until the death of the poet.

Creative years

1822-1835

After graduating from the boarding house in 1822, Mikhail Glinka is intensively engaged in music: he studies Western European musical classics, participates in home music in the salons of the nobility, sometimes leads his uncle's orchestra. At the same time, Glinka tried himself as a composer, composing variations for harp or piano on a theme from the opera The Swiss Family by the Austrian composer Josef Weigl. From that moment on, Glinka pays more and more attention to composition and soon already composes a lot, trying her hand at a variety of genres. During this period, he wrote well-known today romances and songs: "Do not tempt me unnecessarily" to the words of E. A. Baratynsky, "Do not sing, beauty, with me" to the words of A. 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 is persistently looking for ways to go beyond the forms and genres of everyday music. In 1823 he worked on a string septet, adagio and rondo for orchestra and two orchestral overtures. In the same years, Mikhail Ivanovich's circle of acquaintances expanded. He meets Vasily Zhukovsky, Alexander Griboyedov, Adam Mitskevich, Anton Delvig, Vladimir Odoevsky, who later became his friend.

In the summer of 1823, Glinka made a trip to the Caucasus, visiting Pyatigorsk and Kislovodsk. From 1824 to 1828, Mikhail worked as assistant secretary of the Main Directorate of Railways. In 1829 M. Glinka and N. Pavlishchev published "Lyric Album", where among the works of various authors were also plays by Glinka.

At the end of April 1830, the composer leaves for Italy, having lingered on the way to Dresden and made a long journey across Germany, which stretched out over 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 outstanding composers V. Bellini and G. Donizetti, studied the vocal style of bel canto (Italian. bel canto) and himself composes a lot in the "Italian spirit". In his works, a significant part of which are plays on the themes of popular operas, there is no longer anything student-centered, all compositions are performed masterfully. Glinka pays special attention to instrumental ensembles, having written two original compositions: 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 set off for Berlin, stopping for some time in Vienna on the way. In Berlin, Glinka, under the guidance of the German theorist Siegfried Dehn, works in the field of composition, polyphony, instrumentation. Having received the news of his father's death in 1834, Glinka decided to immediately return to Russia.

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

1836-1844

In 1836, the opera "A Life for the Tsar" was completed, but Mikhail Glinka, with great difficulty, managed to get it accepted for staging at the St. Petersburg Bolshoi Theater. The director of the imperial theaters, A.M. Gedeonov, obstinately prevented this from happening, and he handed it over to the "director of music" Katerino Cavos, the "music director". Kavos, on the other hand, gave Glinka's work the most flattering review. The opera was accepted.

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 the advanced part of society. The next day Glinka wrote to his mother:

On December 13, AV Vsevolzhsky hosted a celebration for MI Glinka, at which Mikhail Vielgorsky, Pyotr Vyazemsky, Vasily Zhukovsky and Alexander Pushkin composed a welcome "Canon in honor of MI Glinka." Music belonged to Vladimir Odoevsky.

Soon after the production of A Life for the Tsar, Glinka was appointed Kapellmeister of the Court Choir Choir, which he directed for two years. Glinka spent the spring and summer of 1838 in Ukraine. There he selected choristers 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 ready-made libretto, began working on a new opera based on the poem by Alexander Pushkin "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 secondary 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. In comparison with Ivan Susanin, the new opera by M. Glinka drew stronger criticism. The most fierce critic of the composer was F. Bulgarin, who was still a very influential journalist at that time.

1844-1857

Grieving the criticism of his new opera, Mikhail Ivanovich in the middle of 1844 undertook a new long trip abroad. This time he leaves for France and then Spain. In Paris, Glinka met the French composer Hector Berlioz, who became a great admirer of his talent. In the spring of 1845, Berlioz performed at his concert works by Glinka: Lezginka from Ruslan and Lyudmila and Antonida's aria from Ivan Susanin. The success of these works prompted Glinka to give a charity concert of his works in Paris. On April 10, 1845, a large concert by the Russian composer was successfully held at the Hertz Concert Hall on Victory Street in Paris.

On May 13, 1845 Glinka went to Spain. There, Mikhail Ivanovich studies the culture, customs, language of the Spanish people, records Spanish folk melodies, observes folk festivals and traditions. The creative result of this trip was two symphonic overtures written on Spanish folk themes. In the fall of 1845 he created the overture "Jota Aragonese", and in 1848, after returning to Russia - "Night in Madrid".

In the summer of 1847, Glinka set off on the return journey to his ancestral village Novospasskoye. Glinka's stay in her native places was short-lived. Mikhail Ivanovich again went to St. Petersburg, but having changed his mind, he decided to spend the winter in Smolensk. However, invitations to balls and evenings that haunted the composer almost daily drove him to despair and to the point of deciding to leave Russia again, becoming a traveler. But Glinka was denied a foreign passport, therefore, having reached Warsaw in 1848, he stopped in this city. Here the composer wrote a symphonic fantasy "Kamarinskaya" on the themes of two Russian songs: the wedding lyric "From behind the mountains, high mountains" and a lively dance song. In this work, Glinka approved a new type of symphonic music and laid the foundations for its further development, skillfully creating an unusually bold combination of various rhythms, characters and moods. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky said this about the work of Mikhail Glinka:

In 1851 Glinka returned to St. Petersburg. He makes new acquaintances, mostly young people. Mikhail Ivanovich gave singing lessons, prepared operatic roles and a chamber repertoire with such singers as N.K. Ivanov, O.A. Petrov, A. Ya. Petrova-Vorobyova, A.P. Lodiy, D.M. Leonova and others. The Russian vocal school was formed under the direct influence of Glinka. He visited MI Glinka and AN Serov, who in 1852 wrote down his Notes on Instrumentation (published in 1856). AS Dargomyzhsky often came.

In 1852 Glinka went on a journey again. He planned to get to Spain, but tired of traveling in stagecoaches and by rail, he stopped in Paris, where he lived for a little 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 an event that finally decided the issue of Glinka's departure to his homeland. On the way to Russia, Glinka spent two weeks in Berlin.

In May 1854 Glinka arrived in Russia. He spent the summer in Tsarskoe Selo at the dacha, and in August he again moved to St. Petersburg. In the same 1854, Mikhail Ivanovich began to write memoirs, which he named "Notes" (published in 1870).

In 1856 Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka left for Berlin. There he began to study old Russian church tunes, the works of old masters, choral works of the Italian Palestrina, Johann Sebastian Bach. Glinka was the first of the secular composers to compose and process church melodies in the Russian style. An unexpected illness interrupted these studies.

Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka died on February 16, 1857 in Berlin and was buried in the Lutheran cemetery. In May of the same year, at the insistence of Mikhail Glinka's younger sister Lyudmila Ivanovna Shestakova, the composer's ashes were transported to St. Petersburg and reburied at the Tikhvin cemetery. There is a monument on the grave created by the architect A.M. Gornostaev. Currently, the slab from the grave of Glinka in Berlin has been lost. On the site of the grave in 1947, the Military Commandant's Office of the Soviet sector of Berlin erected a monument to the composer.

Memory

• At the end of May 1982, the House-Museum of M.I. Glinka was opened in the composer's native estate Novospasskoye

• Monuments to M.I.Glinka:
• in Smolensk created with folk funds collected by subscription, opened in 1885 in the eastern side of the Blonie garden; sculptor A.R. von Bock. In 1887, the monument was compositionally completed by the installation of an openwork cast fence, the drawing of which was composed of musical lines - excerpts from 24 works of the composer
• in St. Petersburg was built on the initiative of the City Duma, opened in 1899 in the Alexander Garden, at the fountain in front of the Admiralty; sculptor V.M. Pashchenko, architect A.S. Lytkin
• In Veliky Novgorod, at the 1000th Anniversary of Russia Monument, among 129 figures of the most prominent personalities in Russian history (as of 1862) there is a figure of M.I. Glinka

• in St. Petersburg, built on the initiative of the Imperial Russian Musical Society, opened on February 3, 1906 in the park near the Conservatory (Teatralnaya Square); sculptor R.R.Bach, architect A.R.Bach. Monument of monumental art of federal significance.
• opened in Kiev on December 21, 1910 ( Main article: Monument to M.I.Glinka in Kiev)

• Films about M.I. Glinka:
• In 1946, a biographical film "Glinka" about the life and work of Mikhail Ivanovich (in the role of Boris Chirkov) was shot at Mosfilm.
• In 1952, Mosfilm released a feature biographical film "Composer Glinka" (in the role of Boris Smirnov).
• In 2004, on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of his birth, a documentary film about the life and work of the composer “Mikhail Glinka. Doubts and passions ... "

• Mikhail Glinka in philately and numismatics:

• In honor of M. I Glinka named:
• State Academic Capella of St. Petersburg (in 1954).
• Moscow Museum of Musical Culture (in 1954).
• Novosibirsk State Conservatory (Academy) (in 1956).
• Nizhny Novgorod State Conservatory (in 1957).
• Magnitogorsk State Conservatory.
• Minsk Music College
• Chelyabinsk Academic Opera and Ballet Theater.
• Petersburg Choir School (in 1954).
• Dnipropetrovsk Music Conservatory named after Glinka (Ukraine).
• Concert Hall in Zaporozhye.
• State String Quartet.
• Streets of many cities of Russia, as well as cities of Ukraine and Belarus. Street in Berlin.
• In 1973, astronomer Lyudmila Chernykh named the minor planet discovered to her in honor of the composer - 2205 Glinka.
• Crater on Mercury.

Major works

Opera

• A Life for the Tsar (1836)
• Ruslan and Lyudmila (1837-1842)

Symphonic works

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

Chamber instrumental compositions

• Sonata for viola and piano (unfinished; 1828, finalized by Vadim Borisovsky in 1932)
• Brilliant divertissement on themes from Bellini's opera La Sonnambula for piano quintet and double bass
• Large Sextet Es-dur for piano and string quintet (1832)
• "Pathetic Trio" in d-moll for clarinet, bassoon and piano (1832)

Romances and songs

• Venetian Night (1832)
• "I am here, Inesilla" (1834)
• "Night Review" (1836)
• Doubt (1838)
• "Night Marshmallow" (1838)
• "The fire of desire burns in the blood" (1839)
• wedding song "The Wonderful Tower Stands" (1839)
• vocal cycle "Farewell to St. Petersburg" (1840)
• "Passing Song" (1840)
• "Recognition" (1840)
• "Do I Hear Your Voice" (1848)
• "Healthy Cup" (1848)
• "Song of Margaret" 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)

Anthem of the Russian Federation

Mikhail Glinka's patriotic song from 1991 to 2000 was the official anthem of the Russian Federation.

Addresses in St. Petersburg

• February 2, 1818 - end of June 1820 - Noble boarding house at the Main Pedagogical Institute - 164 Fontanka River Embankment;
• August 1820 - July 3, 1822 - Noble boarding house at St. Petersburg University - Ivanovskaya street, 7;
• summer 1824 - late summer 1825 - Faleev's house - Kanonerskaya street, 2;
• May 12, 1828 - September 1829 - Barbazan's house - Nevsky prospect, 49;
• end of winter 1836 - spring 1837 - Merz's house - Glukhoy lane, 8, apt. one;
• spring 1837 - November 6, 1839 - Capella's house - 20 Moika River embankment;
• November 6, 1839 - late December 1839 - officers' barracks of the Izmailovsky Life Guards Regiment - 120 Fontanka River Embankment;
• September 16, 1840 - February 1841 - Merz's house - Glukhoy lane, 8, apt. one;
• June 1, 1841 - February 1842 - Shuppe house - Bolshaya Meshchanskaya street, 16;
• mid-November 1848 - May 9, 1849 - the house of the School for the Deaf and Mute - 54 Moika River Embankment;
• October - November 1851 - Melikhov's tenement house - Mokhovaya street, 26;
• December 1, 1851 - May 23, 1852 - Zhukov's house - Nevsky prospect, 49;
• August 25, 1854 - April 27, 1856 - E. Tomilova's apartment building - Ertelev lane, 7.

1. The greenhouse child: the childhood of Mikhail Glinka
2. Studying at the St. Petersburg boarding house and the first musical experiments
3. From Variations to the First National Opera: The Story of a Life for the Tsar
4. Interesting Facts

Mikhail Glinka settled in Milan. In the “Notes of M.I. Glinka "he wrote: "I came to life with the appearance of the wonderful Italian spring, my imagination stirred and I began to work."... The composer wrote variations for operas and ballets. Two themes from Anne Boleyn by Donizetti were published in French music magazines. In 1832 Glinka wrote the romance "Venetian Night".

In Italy, the composer did not miss the premiere: the theater was his favorite pastime. He traveled a lot around the country: Bologna, Rome, Parma, Naples and met the Italian composers Vincenzo Bellini and Gaetano Donizetti. However, already in 1833, Glinka admitted in a letter home: “I honestly couldn't be Italian. Longing for my homeland gradually led me to the idea of ​​writing in Russian ".

In July 1833 Mikhail Glinka decided to leave Italy for Berlin. There he wrote two romances to the poems of Zhukovsky and Delvig, finished a variation of Alyabyev's "Nightingale" and wrote several Russian songs for playing four hands. In April 1834, the composer returned to Russia.

Mikhail Glinka arrived in St. Petersburg and settled in the house of his friend Alexei Stuneev. The family was also visited by Maria Ivanova, a relative of Stuneev. They spent a lot of time together and soon fell in love with each other. In 1835 Glinka and Ivanova got married.

Unknown artist. Lithograph "Ivan Susanin or" Life for the Tsar ". 1862. Private collection

The composer returned to social life: every week he attended the evenings of Vasily Zhukovsky in the Winter Palace. The poet gathered a creative elite, regulars were Alexander Pushkin, critics Pyotr Pletnev and Pyotr Vyazemsky, writers Nikolai Gogol and Vladimir Odoevsky. At one of the evenings, Mikhail Glinka announced the idea of ​​writing a national Russian opera. Zhukovsky immediately suggested a plot - the story of a peasant Ivan Susanin, who led a Polish-Lithuanian detachment into the forest and thereby saved the tsar from death. The poet liked Glinka's idea so much that he himself wanted to write the words and soon composed "Oh, not me, poor stormy wind." However, business did not allow him to complete what he had begun - Zhukovsky asked his friend, Baron Yegor Rosen, to help the composer with the libretto for the opera.

“As if by magic, a plan for a whole opera was suddenly created, and the idea of ​​opposing Russian music to Polish music. Finally, many topics and even details of the development, all of this flashed in my head at once "

Mikhail Glinka, Notes of M.I. Glinka

The composer wrote quickly: in the spring of 1835, drafts of not only the first and second acts, but also most of all the themes were ready. Baron Rosen wrote poems to music, taking into account its tempo and size. Glinka recalled: “Baron Rosen was good at it; you order so many poems of such and such size, 2x, 3x complex and even unprecedented - he doesn't care; you come in a day - it's already ready "... The composer finished the opera already in the village of Novospasskoye - Glinka moved there with his wife after the wedding. In the “Notes of M.I. Glinka "he wrote: “I painted the scene of Susanin in the forest with the Poles in winter; this whole scene, before I began to write, I often read aloud with feeling, and was so vividly transferred to the position of my hero that my hair stood on end and the frost blew through my skin ".

In early 1836 the opera was completed. Rehearsals soon began - they wanted to open a new season of the St. Petersburg Bolshoi Theater with the performance. Rumors of the first national opera quickly spread throughout the capital: open rehearsals were held in full halls. Nicholas I came to one of the pre-premiere screenings. Mikhail Glinka decided to dedicate the opera to the emperor and called it A Life for the Tsar. The premiere took place on December 9, 1836.

“Yesterday evening my desires were finally fulfilled, and my long labor was crowned with the most brilliant success. The audience received my opera with extraordinary enthusiasm, the actors lost their temper with zeal ... the Emperor deigned to invite me to his box, took my hands, thanked me and talked with me for a long time. The heir, empress and grand duchess Maria Nikolaevna also honored me with flattering reviews about my music "

Nicholas I liked the opera so much that he presented Mikhail Glinka with a present: a ring with topaz surrounded by three rows of diamonds. And the composer's friends: Alexander Pushkin, Pyotr Vyazemsky, Vasily Zhukovsky and Mikhail Vielgorsky, decided to congratulate the composer with a comic song "for four voices." Each one composed a quatrain.

“Sing in delight, Russian choir!
A new novelty has been released.
Have fun, Russia! Our Glinka -
Not clay, but porcelain "

Alexander Pushkin

Kapellmeister work and the idea of ​​"Ruslan and Lyudmila"

Ilya Repin. Mikhail Glinka during the composing of the opera Ruslan and Lyudmila (fragment). 1887. State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

In 1837 Mikhail Glinka was appointed Kapellmeister of the Court Singing Chapel. He was supposed to prepare new productions, but after a couple of rehearsals, the composer decided to first work out with the singers and give a couple of lessons in solfeggio: the artists lacked skill. Glinka taught himself, he carefully prepared for classes and even wrote a couple of educational pieces for the choir. At the same time, the composer had an idea to compose an opera based on the plot of Pushkin's poem Ruslan and Lyudmila. According to Glinka's idea, the libretto for the production was to be written by Pushkin himself. However, the poet soon died, and the musician temporarily abandoned the idea of ​​an opera.

In 1838, Glinka, along with two assistants, was sent to Ukraine. He was instructed to find new singers for the chapel. The selection took place in several stages: first, they arranged an audition at the seminary, then the most talented were invited home and asked to perform already technically complex works. During the spring and summer of the same year, 19 boys and two adult men were selected. Under the impression of Ukraine, Mikhail Glinka wrote the romances "Buzzing wind" and "Do not chirp the nightingale."

In the autumn of the same year, Mikhail Glinka returned to St. Petersburg. He spent almost all his time in the service: he taught new singers, rehearsed with a choir or orchestra. The composer's relationship with his wife deteriorated: “My wife was one of those women for whom dresses, balls, carriages, horses, liveries, etc. were everything; she did not understand music well<...>» ... Therefore, Glinka tried to spend his free evenings outside the house.

In 1838 the composer returned to the idea of ​​the opera Ruslan and Lyudmila and got down to work. However, she moved slowly, Glinka wrote in fits and starts - only small excerpts came out. The musician recalled: “I always wrote in the morning after tea, and I was constantly torn away from this cavatina: before I had time to write a page or two, a non-commissioned officer appeared, his hands at his seams, and respectfully reported:“ Your honor! The singers have gathered and are waiting for you ".

In 1839, Glinka met Ekaterina Kern, the daughter of Anna Kern, the muse of Alexander Pushkin. In the “Notes of M.I. Glinka ”, the composer wrote: “... My gaze involuntarily settled on her: her clear expressive eyes, unusually slender figure<...>and a special kind of charm and dignity, poured into her whole person, attracted me more and more "... Ekaterina Kern shared his passion for music: they played four hands, together they sang arias from the opera A Life for the Tsar. Mikhail Glinka wrote "Waltz-Fantasy" for his beloved and dedicated the romance "If I Meet You" - a poem by Alexei Koltsov was picked up by Kern. Glinka decided to leave his wife: she did not give a divorce. At the same time, Ekaterina Kern fell seriously ill. The composer wrote: "I was not only sick, not that healthy: there was a heavy sediment on my heart from grief, and gloomy vague thoughts involuntarily crowded in my mind."... He stopped appearing in the service, and in December 1839 Glinka was dismissed with the rank of collegiate assessor.

The innovative music of Mikhail Glinka

In 1841, Catherine Kern recovered, but doctors recommended that she leave for the south of Russia. Mikhail Glinka wanted to follow her and even wrote a cycle of 12 romances Farewell to St. Petersburg. However, the divorce proceedings with his wife forced the composer to stay. On the night when Kern was leaving the city, Glinka wrote music: “All night I was in a feverish state, my imagination stirred and that night I invented and realized the Final of the Opera, which later served as the basis for the overture of the opera“ Ruslan and Lyudmila ”... By 1842, the opera was ready, and rehearsals began almost immediately at the St. Petersburg Bolshoi Theater.

On November 27, 1842, the premiere took place in St. Petersburg. The opera Ruslan and Lyudmila failed: during the fifth act, the imperial family left the box.

“When the curtain was lowered, they began to call me, but they applauded very unfriendly, meanwhile they shouted diligently, mainly from the stage and the orchestra. I turned then to General Dubelt, who was in the director's box, with the question: "It seems they are shrieking, should I go to the challenge?" - "Go," answered the general, Christ suffered more than you. "

Mikhail Glinka, “Notes of M.I. Glinka "

All the circumstances were against the composer. At first, the chief decorator had a conflict with the director of the theater, and he in revenge "Made the most vulgar of all sets"... Glinka recalled: “The castle looked like a barracks, the fantastic flowers of the proscenium were ugly and disgustingly painted with the simplest colors<...>In short, it was not a decoration, but a trap for the actors. "... Then, just before the premiere, the prima fell ill and was replaced by a young, inexperienced artist. Nevertheless, during the winter of 1842, the opera was performed 32 times.

In 1844, Mikhail Glinka went to Paris. There, the composer became friends with the famous musician Hector Berlioz, and he included Glinka's works in his concert program. The full audience applauded. Success prompted Mikhail Glinka to give a solo concert in Paris, which took place in April 1845. He recalled: “During the concert, the hall was full. Russian ladies are like decorating a compatriot's concert; they appeared in splendid attire "... The concert was highly appreciated by the press: flattering articles appeared at once in three leading French magazines.

In 1845 Glinka came to Spain. The beautiful nature and atmosphere of the city of Valladolid impressed the composer - shortly after his arrival he wrote the orchestral piece "Jota Aragonese". Glinka became interested in national music. He invited a mule driver to his apartment, asked him to sing folk songs and transferred them to notes.

In the summer of 1847, Glinka returned to Russia. For several months he stayed at home in the village of Novospasskoye, but his health deteriorated, and the composer decided to spend a couple of months in Warsaw. Soon a cholera epidemic began in the Polish city. Glinka did not leave the apartment and spent all the time at the piano. At this time, romances appeared "Do I Hear Your Voice" to the words of Lermontov and "Zdravny Cup" to a poem by Pushkin. In 1848 Glinka composed the dance song "Kamarinskaya". The composer combined the melodies of two folk songs: the wedding song "From behind the mountains, mountains, high mountains" and the dance song Kamarinskaya. In the “Notes of M.I. Glinka "he wrote: “Suddenly, the fantasy played out, and instead of the piano I wrote a piece for the orchestra<...>I can assure you that I was guided by my only inner musical feeling while composing this play, not thinking about what happens at weddings, how our Orthodox people walk. "... Glinka was the first Russian composer to combine different rhythms, characters and moods in one piece of music.

In 1851, Glinka briefly returned to St. Petersburg, where he gave singing lessons. Soon he went abroad again - this time to Paris. In France, the composer began work on the third opera Taras Bulba, but soon abandoned it - there was no inspiration. The Crimean War of 1853 forced Glinka to leave Paris: Britain and France, in coalition with the Ottoman Empire, fought against Russia. In 1854 the composer came to St. Petersburg again, but in 1856 he left it again. Mikhail Glinka went to Berlin, where he lived until the end of his life.

In February 1857, Glinka died. He was buried at the Lutheran cemetery in Berlin, but soon the composer's ashes were transported to St. Petersburg and reburied at the Tikhvin cemetery.

1. Mikhail Glinka knew the writer and diplomat Alexander Griboyedov. Griboyedov was a great connoisseur of music and suggested to the composer the melody of a Georgian song. Later, already specially for her, Alexander Pushkin wrote the poem "Don't sing, sorceress, with me."

2. For the first opera "A Life for the Tsar" Mikhail Glinka did not receive a single ruble from the theater. The director of the St. Petersburg Bolshoi Theater took a signature from the composer that he would not demand remuneration.

3. The composer sometimes received letters from the governors. If a member of the imperial family came to the region, the officials asked Glinka to compose a choir for the ball: the music of the famous patriotic author was supposed to endear the sovereign to the local nobility.

4. One of the main themes of the overture to Ruslan and Lyudmila parodies the knock of knives and forks at the wedding of the daughter of Nicholas I, Grand Duchess Maria Romanova. The composer invented the melody at the wedding ceremony. He recalled: “During dinner, music played, the tenor and the courtiers sang; I was in the choir and the knock of knives, forks, and plates amazed me and gave me the idea to imitate him in the introduction of Ruslan, which I subsequently did ”.

5. During his visit to St. Petersburg in 1842, Franz Liszt listened to Glinka's new opera Ruslan and Lyudmila and praised the composer for the work. In the “Notes of M.I. Glinka "he wrote: “Liszt heard my opera, he truly felt all the wonderful places<...>he reassured me about success ".

6. Mikhail Glinka tried to learn the language of the country he visited. In Italy he hired a teacher for Italian, in Spain for Spanish. Languages ​​were easy for the composer, and after a short time he could already understand conversations on the street.

7. The music critic Theophilus Tolstoy not only gave his own interpretation of "Kamarinskaya" Glinka, but also convinced Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of his interpretation. In his opinion, the French horn pedal in the last part of the dance hall depicts a drunkard who knocks on the room where there is fun and asks to open the door for him.