Mikhail Glinka, the author of the first Russian Opera who suffered from
abuse in his early childhood and barely survived the Napoleon's
invasion of 1812, had lived most of his adult life outside of Russia
and fused Spanish, Italian, French, and other influences in his own
music.
He was born Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka on June 1, 1804 into a wealthy
noble family, in Novospasskoe, Smolensk region, Russia. His early
childhood development was disturbed by his emotionally unstable
grandmother, who was manipulating his parents, until she died, when
Glinka was 6 years old. In 1812 the invasion of Napoleon's Armies shook
Russia, but the Glinka family and their estate survived. His loving
mother hired help to mitigate the traumatizing memories.
Music was the best therapy for Glinka. He had a professional German
teacher of music and a French instructor in languages living with the
family and giving him lessons everyday. Glinka enjoyed the performances
of a hired orchestra in their home. He wrote that orchestral music was
a "special and happy impression". At age 12 he went to the Boarding
School for Nobility in St. Petersburg. He took piano, violin, and voice
lessons from the Italian, German, and Austrian celebrities of that
time. His first love with a singer inspired him on writing his first
compositions: Waltz for piano and Variations on the theme of Mozart for
piano.
Glinka wrote most of his music while in Western Europe, where he lived
and wandered for 23 years, absorbing the culture of the most
artistically advanced European nations. He studied composition with
Siegfrid Dehn in Berlin for 3 years and lived in Rome for 4 years.
There he met Hector Berlioz and Giacomo Meyerbeer and the three composers remained good
friends for many years. Glinka received critical acclaim from Hector Berlioz,
who published an article about him in Paris. Such a publicity was well
received and Glinka later promoted Hector Berlioz to the Russian Royalty and
aristocracy, and helped him to sign and to accomplish a lucrative
concert tour in Russia.
Glinka was inspired by the operas of Gaetano Donizetti, Vincenzo Bellini, and Christoph Willibald Gluck. In
1845 he moved to Spain for 3 years and seriously studied Spanish
culture, falling in love with flamenco. "Spain could cure the wounds of
my heart", wrote Glinka to his mother. There he wrote two symphonic
"Spanish Ouvertures". His music was performed in European capitals and
was praised by Hector Berlioz. Such composers as Felix Mendelssohn and Giacomo Meyerbeer came to
meet Glinka after his concerts. His personal favorites were Ludwig van Beethoven,
Franz Liszt, and Frédéric Chopin.
"A Life for the Tsar" (the feat of Ivan Susanin), became the first
Russian opera, based on eclectic mix of music from Russian, Ukrainian,
and Polish folk-tunes and other European influences. Premiered in 1836
in the presence of the Tsar, the opera became a model for some Russian
composers. From 1837-1839 Glinka was the Emperor's Kapellmeister of the
Imperial Choral Capella in St. Petersburg. In 1840 he again left Russia
for Europe. He worked for six years writing his second opera "Ruslan
and Ludmila", based on the eponymous poem of Aleksandr Pushkin. His other
compositions include the orchestral "Kamarinskaya", quartets, piano
pieces, choral and church works, and over 80 romantic songs.
During the 1850s Mikhail Glinka was at the peak of his popularity
outside of Russia. From 1852-1855 he lived in Paris and Berlin and also
performed his music in other European capitals. In December of 1856
Glinka had a gala-concert of his music performed in Berlin. It was a
great success, and excited Glinka gave an all-night party for his
friends and guests. He was exhausted after a long party and caught a
cold that led to his death on February 15, 1857, in Berlin. Mikhail
Glinka was buried in Berlin, but a few months later his body was taken
to St. Petersburg and was laid to rest in Necropolis of the Masters of
Arts at St. Aleksandr Nevsky Monastery in St. Petersburg,
Russia.
