THE RUSSIANS
AND THEIR WONDERFUL MUSIC

Experiences designed to broaden one’s knowledge of the impact made  everywhere by the musical heritage of Russia.

Click here to PURCHASE the ENTIRE (5) DVD Set for only $150

INDIVIDUAL LECTURES ARE AVAILABLE FOR $35 EACH

Lecture 1 - FROM ANCIENT TIMES TO THE MUSIC WE KNOW
The voice of the Russian people was heard in imposing liturgical chant for centuries long before the emergence of secular art music serving the courts at St. Petersburg – where European taste was given its amazing Eastern twist. Music by Bortniansky, Fomin, Alyabyev, Dargomizhsky & Glinka.

Lecture 2 - THE MIGHTY FIVE CARVE OUT THEIR PLACE
Led by the fearless critic Stasov, five men struggle against the demands of their professions – seamanship, chemistry, military engineering, civil service – to create a grand national style of musical expression by drawing deeply from the soul and soil of the long-oppressed people of Russia. Music of Borodin, Cui, Balakirev, Mussorgsky & Rimsky-Korsakov.

Lecture 3 - GESTURES OF PASSION: THE GREAT ROMANTICS
Freed of past restraints, the composers under the last Tsars give boldly daring, uniquely Russian expression to all the forms of music practiced in the rest of Europe and create a vast body of literature which still captivates audiences throughout the world. Music of Tchaikowsky, Glazounov, Arensky, Blumenfeld, Rubinstein & Scriabin.

Lecture 4 - PRIDE OF THE SOVIETS
Communism influences both the way of life for musicians and the music they compose – yet greatness thrives! Under Stalin, modernism is made to speak to the people through such composers as Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Kabalevsky & Khachaturian as well as through performers such as Gilels, Richter & Oistrakh.

Lecture 5 - AN EXPLOSION: THE ÉMIGRÉ TRANSMISSION
Fleeing the Russian Revolution & what followed, artists of every sort hied themselves to Europe & America, creating artistic foment, influencing the young & challenging critics. The protagonists: Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff, Chaliapin, Auer, Milstein, Heifetz, Piatigorsky, Koussevitsky, Horowitz & Nureyev.

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