Smithsonian Associates: The Glory of Russian Masterworks, Lecture 1 – Mikhail Glinka and the Ancient Soil He Sprang From

Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev: Russia has provided us with some of the most exciting and original music in the repertoire today. Vibrant colors, explosive energy, and passionate emotional drive characterize the works of these composers. Yet this tradition seemed to spring from nowhere barely 150 years ago, expanding meteorically in breadth and national confidence over an amazingly short period. As she explores the riches of Russian concert works, popular speaker and concert pianist Rachel Franklin combines lecture and piano demonstrations to also trace the turbulent historical movements that acted both as backdrop and engine for this fascinating musical evolution.

British-born Franklin has been a featured speaker for organizations including the Library of Congress and heard on NPR, exploring intersections among classical and jazz music, film scores, and the fine arts.

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Mikhail Glinka almost single-handedly laid the foundation for the Russian concert music tradition. Franklin leads a lightning survey of ancient Russian folk song and chant, exploring how he incorporated those styles into such important works as his delightful Kamarinskaya, and his opera Ruslan and Lyudmila. She also examines the Piano Concerto No. 4. by Russian piano virtuoso Anton Rubinstein, whose political activism laid the practical foundations for the mighty Russian musical institutions of today.