You Go Nate!: The Munich to Moscow Meander

THE MUSIC AND THE MARBLE:

St. Petersburg Continued...

Thursday, August 30, 2012

I woke up feeling somewhat better than I had the day before. The illness was passing as quickly as it came. Cool!

I looked outside and saw it was a beautiful day. The river was a deep blue...

I explored a bit more of St. Petersburg, including some of the important musical sites. One of my first stops was the Mariinsky Theatre. This world-famous theatre is where many of the great Russian ballets and operas had their premiere.

Two of Tchaikovsky's most famous ballets, The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty, premiered here as did operas by Glinka (the father of Russian classical music), Rimsky-Korsakov, and ballets by Prokofiev. Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov also had its debut here...

Across the street from the theatre was a statue of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, one of the great Russian composers of the 19th Century...

And a plate signed by John Malkovich...

I visited Tikhvin Cemetery where many notable Russians are buried, including some of my favorite composers.

Here is the grave of Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857). As I mentioned before, Glinka was the father of Russian classical music, transforming it from music that simply aped Italian and German styles to something that was more distinctly Russian...

Mili Balakirev (1837-1910) was an important figure in Russian classical music for promoting nationalism in the music (in other words, making the music sound even more Russian). He brought together five other composers who shared his ideals. This group was called "The Mighty Handful."

Perhaps the most famous member of The Mighty Handful was Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908). He wrote many well-known operas and orchestral works (you know Flight of the Bumblebee) and became the most famous of the group...

Alexander Borodin (1833-1887) was another member of the Mighty Handful. He was also a successful doctor and chemist in his day...

Borodin's outstanding gift for melody is also evident on his gravestone. Five of his most well-known themes are inscribed behind his bust...

A lesser-known member of the Mighty Handful is César Cui (1835-1918). He was actually an army officer and teacher of fortifications. His works aren't often performed today, but it's a real shame as his preludes for piano are very nice...

One of the most original of all the Russian composers was Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881). You know Night on Bare Mountain from the original Fantasia and you might know Pictures at an Exhibition or even his epic opera Boris Godunov. Mussorgsky's music stretched the Russian idiom farther than any of his compatriots and often contradicted traditional rules of Western classical music. Definitely one of my faves...

I played the piano on his gravestone...

Another lesser-known, but still remarkable Russian composer is Alexander Glazunov (1865-1936). Glazunov was a transitional composer between the hearty 19th Century Russian composers (like Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky) and the more modern 20th Century composers (like Prokofiev and Shostakovich). He also wrote some wonderful works that are worth checking out...

Perhaps the most famous Russian composer of all was Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893). Tchaikovsky was not quite aligned with the nationalistic Mighty Handful even though much of his music does have a very Russian flavor. His works are performed more than any other Russian composer. The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and Swan Lake are his most famous ballets. The 1812 Overture, the first Piano Concerto, and the Violin Concerto are other famous works, and last three symphonies are staples of the genre...

Maybe my favorite symphony of all symphonies is Tchaikovsky's 6th. The "Pathetique" symphony was written in this house where the composer died only a few days after its completion...

Also in this cemetery is the great Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881)...

For those who have read Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, this is the house where the main character, Raskolnikov, lives...

Not far from Dostoevsky's house is Carl's Jr. I can't get it in Munich so I thought I'd have lunch there...

They didn't speak any English but I figured out what to order...

I also spent some time visiting some of the fascinating Orthodox churches around St. Petersburg...

At the intersection of two canals is the St. Nicholas Orthodox Church...

Russian Baroque...

I love the colors...

I stepped inside to find some sort of midday mass going on. There were priests dressed in long blue robes and I heard a very beautiful choir singing. I thought for sure it was a recording because they were so good but then I looked around and saw an actual group of six or seven singers singing. Not bad church music for the middle of a work day. It was inspiring to see so many active worshipers come to enrich their spirits...

Of course, St. Petersburg's most iconic church is the Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood...

This church was built on the spot where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated in 1881...

The church was completed in 1907 (making it a decade younger than the Salt Lake Temple). I love the level detail on every wall and in every corner of the façade...

I went inside and found it covered with saints and depictions of the Savior...

The iconstasis built out of fine Italian marble...

The memorial canopy in the exact spot where Tsar Alexander II was murdered...

Looking up...

On of St. Petersburg's oldest churches is St. Isaac's Cathedral, built in a more Western classical style...

Relief of young Jesus teaching the scribes and doctors...

St. Isaac's from across the river...

One thing I discovered in St. Pete was that Russians really like hats. Whether it's military officers...

Sailors (reminding me of Donald Duck)...

Or just police officers...

That evening I passed some sort of fire fighting activity at an old Soviet building downtown...

I was on the way to a recommended Georgian restaurant. I ordered a Georgian stew and some sort of Caucasian soft drink. The guy in the background sang Georgian music...

"That's the night that they hung an innocent man..."

It was good food but it got a little loud. And a little awkward when he serenaded me alone at my table.

The next day I decided to take a day trip outside of the big city.

I took the metro to a bus station near an old Soviet building with a huge statue of Lenin...

Did I mention St. Petersburg was once called Leningrad?

Anyway, I took the bus out of the city to the town of Pushkin (re-named after Russia's most famous poet)...

View St. Pete in a larger map

In Pushkin is the great summer palace of the Tsars: Tsarskoye Selo...

I went inside and did a tour...

Lavish banquet rooms...

Grandiose sitting rooms...

A bride in the great hall...

Seeing wedding things just makes me miss butter mints. I love those things...

The old porcelain stoves to keep things warm on those cold Russian nights...

Detail of stove...

Interesting flower pots...

Catherine the Great's dress...

They say Peter the Great, a Russian, tried to make Russia more German and a few generations later Catherine the Great, a German, tried to make it more Russian...