Mirrors of Memory: Liudmila Shestakova and Mikhail Glinka. Second Article

Abstract

The article continues its examination of one of the memorial articles by Liudmila Shestakova (1816–1906). The analysis of the correlation of her memoirs of her brother with his own personal self-perception, his compositional and public activities prove the following: Shestakova was very subjective in her description of the last years of the life of a person who was close to her. At the center of our attention is Shestakova’s assertion of the “fading” of Glinka’s musical talent, his limited creative activities and the wish to withdraw from music entirely, which manifested itself in him from time to time. The sources for such a perspective are analyzed. Parallels are traced with the attitude of society towards the late stage of Alexander Pushkin’s evolution as a poet and artist. Shestakova’s perspective of Glinka’s milieu is examined. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the document sent to Shestakova by Siegfried Wilhelm Dehn. Proof is provided that Shestakova’s memoirs presented in the article had been conducive in no small degree to the formation of the myth of the barrenness of the last stage of Glinka’s music, which has survived to a considerable degree up to our days. The attempt of reconstruction of Glinka’s activities after a decade and a half after his demise was the result of the subjective view of Glinka’s sister on the composer’s legacy during the final years of his life, which created an impact on Glinka studies in Russia during the 19th and 20th centuries.

Keywords: Liudmila Shestakova, Mikhail Glinka, history of Russian music, Glinka’s biography, Glinka studies in Russia