Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka

Born: 1804
Died: 1857
Education: He learned Latin, English, and Persian, studied mathematics and zoology, and considerably widened his musical experience at Saint Petersburg
Career: Assistant secretary of the Department of Public Highways.

He was the first Russian composer to gain wide recognition within his own country, and is often regarded as the father of Russian classical music. Glinka's compositions were an important influence on future Russian composers, notably the members of The Five, who took Glinka's lead and produced a distinctive Russian style of music. Mikhail Glinka was born in the village of Novospasskoye, not far from the Desna River in the Smolensk Governorate of the Russian Empire. His father was a wealthy retired army captain, as the family had a strong tradition of loyalty and service to the Tsar, while several members of his extended family had also developed a lively interest in culture. His great-great-grandfather was a Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth nobleman Wiktoryn W