Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and The Five - Prologue: Growing Debate

Prologue: Growing Debate

With the exception of Mikhail Glinka, who became the first "truly Russian" composer, the only music indigenous to Russia before Tchaikovsky's birthday in 1840 were folk and sacred music; the Russian Orthodox Church's proscription of secular music had effectively stifled its development. Starting in the 17th century, European musicians and composers were invited by the Imperial Court to fill this void. An Italian opera company was established there after the first presentation of an opera in Russia in 1731 and senior position of court music director and court conductor were created. However, while these positions were held by a string of distinguished composers, they were all foreigners. Likewise, while the first public concert in Russia had taken place in 1746 and though public concerts had become a common occurrence by the end of the century, most concerts took place in the homes of the aristocracy and were similarly dominated by foreigners. (Exceptions were public concerts held during the six weeks of Lent, when the theaters were closed.)

The cultural schism that resulted in Russia's identity crisis began with the arrival of the first foreign artists. The lower classes, mindful of the then-recent expulsion of foreign rulers during the Time of Troubles and resurgence of the Orthodox church that followed, viewed Europeans with suspicion and branded them as heretics and infidels. As the upper classes adapted European social and artistic graces and spoke French instead of Russian to distinguish themselves from those under them, the lower classes watched "a culture regarded as the creation of the Antichrist" By the end of the 18th century, the split between peasant and noble had become acute. The state and the church failed to promote an image of Russianness that would bridge this gap and appeal to a broad spectrum of people. Neither did they offer a narrative of Russia's history and traditions that would unify the populace. An imperial consciousness, based on French and German social and cultural values asserted itself in the army and upper classes but differed markedly from what of the peasants, clergymen and tradesmen considered true Russianness.