Prairie Performances: Russian Romantics
Soviet era Stamp Depicting Pyotr Tchaikovsky, a scene from "Iolanta."
By Mel Miller
On tonight’s episode, we look at the works of Russian Romantic composers. Think passionate pieces, dramatic operas, and sweeping works to stir the soul. The Romantic period of the 19th century was a time when composers found the freedom to get more creative with their work, which led to new forms of expression in classical music.
First, we’ll hear the overture from Mikhail Glinka’s Opera Ruslan and Ludmilla, based on a poem of the same name by Alexander Pushkin, a key figure in Russian literary Romanticism. After that, we explore more distant lands in Alexander Borodin’s In the Steppes of Central Asia, a piece whose originally planned premiere performance was cancelled by an assassination attempt, of all things. Finally, we end with a well-known Russian composer whose first Piano Concerto was inspired in part by his Ukrainian heritage.
This Episode aired Thursday, September 11 at 7pm CST on WILL 90.0 Classical FM. Stream here until September 25th.
