Composer Glinka MI: creativity and biography

Russian composer Glinka left a significant mark in the world music, stood at the sources of a kind of Russian composer school. His life contained much: creativity, travel, joys and difficulties, but his most important asset is music.

Family and childhood

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

Glinka almost spontaneously learned to read after the priest showed him the letters. From an early age, he showed musicality, he himself learned to simulate a bell ring on the copper basins and sing along to the nanny's songs. Only in six years he returns to his parents, and they begin to engage in his upbringing and education. A governess is invited to join him, who, in addition to general educational subjects, taught him how to play the piano, later on he learns the violin. At this time the boy reads a lot, is fond of books about travel, this passion will then turn into a love for the change of places that will own Glinka all his life. He also draws a little, but music occupies a central place in his heart. A boy in a serf orchestra learns a lot of works of that time, gets acquainted with musical instruments.

Years of study

Mikhail Glinka did not live long in the village. When he was 13 years old, his parents took him to a Noble boarding school recently opened in St. Petersburg at the Pedagogical Institute. Learning the boy was not very interesting, since most of the program he had already mastered at home. His tutor was the former Decembrist V. K. Küchelbeker, and his classmate was the brother of Alexander Pushkin, whom Mikhail first met at that time, and later became friendly.

In the boarding years he converges with the princes Golitsyn, S. Sobolevsky, A. Rimsky-Korsakov, N. Melgunov. During this period, he significantly expands his musical horizons, acquainted with the opera, attends numerous concerts, and also deals with famous musicians of that time - Bem and Field. He improves his pianistic technique and receives the first lessons of the composer's profession.

The famous pianist S. Mayer was engaged with Mikhail in the 1920s, teaching him the work of the composer, ruling his first opuses, giving the basics of working with the orchestra. At the final evening of the guesthouse Glinka paired with Mayer played a Gummel concert, publicly demonstrating his skills. Composer Mikhail Glinka graduated from the boarding school second in his academic performance in 1822, but did not feel the desire to study further.

The first writing experiments

After graduating from the boarding school, the composer Glinka was in no hurry to seek service, for the material condition it allowed him. Father did not hurry his son to choose a place to work, but did not think that he would be engaged in music all his life. Composer Glinka, music for which becomes the main thing in life, got the opportunity to go to the waters to the Caucasus for health and abroad correction. He does not abandon music lessons, studies the West European heritage and composes new motives, it becomes for him a constant internal need.

In the twenties, Glinka wrote the famous romances "Do not tempt me without need" into the verses of Baratynsky, "Do not sing, beauty, with me" to A. Pushkin's text. Appear and his instrumental works: adagio and rondo for orchestra, string septet.

Life in the Light

In 1824 the composer MI Glinka entered the service, becoming an assistant secretary in the Chancellery of Communications. But the service did not ask, and in 1828 he resigned. At this time, Glinka acquires a large number of acquaintances, communicates with A. Griboyedov, A. Mickiewicz, A. Delvig, V. Odoevsky, V. Zhukovsky. He continues to study music, participates in musical evenings in the house of Demidov, writes many songs and romances, publishes along with Pavlishchev the "Lyrical album", where works of various authors, including himself, were collected.

Foreign experience

Travel was a very important part of Mikhail Glinka's life. The first large foreign voyage he makes after the release of the boarding house.

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

Great composer's work: M. Glinka's operas

In 1834, Michael dies his father, he receives material independence and begins writing the opera. Glinka also realized abroad that his task was to write in Russian, this was the impetus for creating an opera based on national material. At this time he enters the literary circles of St. Petersburg, where there were Aksakov, Zhukovsky, Shevyrev, Pogodin. Everyone is discussing the Russian opera written by Verstovsky, this example inspires Glinka, and he is mistaken for sketches for the opera by Zhukovsky's novella "Marina Grove". The idea was not destined to be realized, but it was the beginning of work on the opera "Life for the Tsar" on the plot, prompted 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, the success was grandiose. Both the audience and the critics took the composition extremely favorably. After this, Glinka receives an appointment as the conductor of the Court Choir and becomes a professional musician. Success inspired the composer, and he begins work on a new opera based on Pushkin's poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila." He wanted the libretto written by the poet, but his untimely death prevented the implementation of these plans. In the composition Glinka shows mature compositional talent and the highest technique. But "Ruslan and Lyudmila" was adopted more coolly than the first opera. This greatly upset Glinka, and he again was going to go abroad. The opera heritage of the composer is small, but it had a decisive influence on the development of the national composer school, and so far these works are a vivid example of Russian music.

Symphonic music of Glinka

The development of the national theme found its reflection in the symphonic music of the author. Composer Glinka creates a large number of works of an experimental nature, 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, lyrical-epic, dramatic. The most significant of his works are the overtures "Night in Madrid" and "Aragon Hota", symphonic fantasy "Kamarinskaya".

Songs and Romances

The portrait of Glinka (the composer) will be incomplete if you do not mention his song work. All his life he writes romances and songs, which acquire incredible popularity already during the life of the author. In total, he wrote about 60 vocal works, of which the most notable are "I remember a wonderful moment", "Recognition", "Accompanying 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 the lovely girl Ivanova Marya Petrovna in 1835, hoping to find in her like-minded and 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 revenues 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 comes when, in the 1840s, Glinka is fond of Katya Kern, the daughter of Pushkin's Muse. He filed for divorce, at this time it turns out that his wife secretly married the cornet Vasilchikov. But parting is delayed for 5 years. During this time, Glinka had to go through a real drama: Kern became pregnant, demanded decisive measures from him, he subsidized her getting rid of the child. Gradually, the heat of relations was extinguished, and when the divorce was received in 1846, Glinka no longer had the desire to marry. The rest of his life he spent alone, was fond of friendly feasts and orgies, which adversely affected his already poor health. February 15, 1857 in Berlin, Glinka died. Later, at the request of his sister, the remains of the deceased were transported to Russia and buried at the Tikhvin Cemetery of St. Petersburg.