St Petersburg is known for its
musical traditions. There are wonderful
opera houses like the Mariinsky
Theatre. Its famous
conductor Valery Gergiev organises the annual Easter
Festeval of
classical music. The Mariinsky is famous for the
first
nights of outstanding Russian operas like Life for the Tsar (or Ivan
Susanin). the first Russion national opera.by Mikhail Glinka. It
was straged
in 1836.
The world-famous Russian composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born in the town
of Votkinsk. His most famous works are the ballets Swan Lake, The Nutcracker
and The Sleeping Beauty. His music is considered to be
romantic and
sentimental.
The Russion
choral tradition is long. The first Russian folk choir was
organised by Prince Yuri Golitsyn in the village of Novocherkutino (now Lipetsk
Region) in 1856.
Many Russians like
jazz. The famous Oleg Lundstrem big band was fouded
in Shanghai,China, by Oleg Lundstrem and his brother Igor in the 1930s to
Moscow. Their concerts have always been very popular and successful and they
have often played to full houses.