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The Mentor: Russian Music, Vol. 4, Num. 18, Serial No. 118, November 1, 1916
The Mentor: Russian Music, Vol. 4, Num. 18, Serial No. 118, November 1, 1916
Several Natural Questions
Q. – How big is Russia, and what is its population?
A. – The area of Russia exceeds 8,660,000 square miles, or one-sixth of the whole land surface of the earth. Its population is over 150,000,000 – or at least it was so before the war.
Q. – How many famous Russian composers are there?
A. – Less than a dozen.
Q. – How old is Russian music?
A. – Less than 150 years. Catherine the Great (1761-1796) was one of the first to encourage national music in Russia. Before her time the music performed in Russia was imported, and was largely Italian. Catherine caused productions of music by Russian composers. She supplied the libretto for one opera.
Q. – What is the origin of Russian music?
A. – Both the music and literature of Russia had a common origin – popular inspiration. The form and spirit of the music and literature were drawn from the legends and primitive songs of the people.
Q. – When did music in Russia become, in a real sense, national?
A. – Not until the first part of the nineteenth century. Composers had been trying for fifty years to establish a national movement in music, but it was not until the advent of Glinka and his opera, “A Life for the Czar,” in 1836, that the Russian school of music can be said to have been inaugurated.