Russian composers for kids: ten to know

Russian classical music is known for big tunes, church bells, fairy tales, and ballet. This list has ten Russian composers in order of birth, with a short story and one piece to hear for each. Seven of them have a full page on this site. Start with “Flight of the Bumblebee” or Peter and the Wolf for a young child.

Ten Russian composers

1. Mikhail Glinka (1804 to 1857)

Glinka is often called the father of Russian classical music. He grew up on a country estate, where he heard village songs and his uncle’s small orchestra. Before him, the music at the Russian court came, for the most part, from Italy, France, and Germany. Glinka wrote operas on Russian stories with tunes that sounded like home.

Hear: The overture to Ruslan and Lyudmila. Five minutes at top speed.

2. Alexander Borodin (1833 to 1887)

Borodin was a chemist. He taught at a medical school in St. Petersburg and did research in his laboratory. He wrote music in his spare time, and he said that he could compose only when he was too ill to teach. His opera Prince Igor was not finished when he died, and two friends completed it.

Hear: The Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor.

3. Modest Mussorgsky (1839 to 1881)

Mussorgsky had little formal training, and his music sounds bold and rough in a way that was new. He wrote pieces full of witches, chicks, castles, and bells. Read Mussorgsky for kids.

Hear: “Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks” from Pictures at an Exhibition. See the Pictures at an Exhibition guide.

4. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 to 1893)

Tchaikovsky wrote three of the best-loved ballets: Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker. He trained for government work and became a composer in his twenties. Read Tchaikovsky for kids and Tchaikovsky facts for kids.

Hear: “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” from The Nutcracker.

5. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844 to 1908)

Rimsky-Korsakov was a naval officer who sailed around the world before he became a composer and teacher. He was a master at making an orchestra shine with color. Read Rimsky-Korsakov for kids.

Hear: “Flight of the Bumblebee.” See what to listen for.

6. Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 to 1943)

Rachmaninoff was one of the great pianists of his time, with hands so large that he could play chords few others could reach. His music is full of long, sweeping tunes and the sound of church bells. He left Russia in 1917 and spent the rest of his life abroad. Read Rachmaninoff for kids.

Hear: The 18th variation from the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.

7. Igor Stravinsky (1882 to 1971)

Stravinsky wrote three ballets as a young man that made him famous: The Firebird, Petrushka, and The Rite of Spring. His rhythms jolt and surprise. Read Stravinsky for kids.

Hear: The finale of The Firebird. See the Firebird guide.

8. Sergei Prokofiev (1891 to 1953)

Prokofiev was born in a village in what is now Ukraine. He wrote Peter and the Wolf, a story told with an orchestra, in which each character has its own instrument. Read Prokofiev for kids.

Hear: Peter and the Wolf. Read the story first.

9. Dmitry Kabalevsky (1904 to 1987)

Kabalevsky wrote a great deal of music for children and young players. Piano students around the world still learn his short pieces. He also worked on how music was taught in schools.

Hear: The “Galop” from The Comedians, with its racing xylophone.

10. Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 to 1975)

Shostakovich wrote 15 symphonies and 15 string quartets. He spent his whole career in the Soviet Union, where the government told artists what kind of work it wanted. Read Shostakovich for kids.

Hear: The Waltz No. 2, a swaying tune for saxophone and orchestra.

Four more to hear

• Anatoly Lyadov (1855 to 1914). Hear Baba Yaga, a short piece about the witch of Russian fairy tales.
• Alexander Glazunov (1865 to 1936). Hear “Autumn” from his ballet The Seasons.
• Alexander Scriabin (1872 to 1915). A pianist who linked musical keys with colors. Hear one of his short piano preludes.
• Aram Khachaturian (1903 to 1978). An Armenian composer who worked in Moscow. Hear the Sabre Dance. Read Khachaturian for kids.

The Five

In the 1860s, five composers in St. Petersburg set out to write music that sounded Russian and not German or Italian. People called them The Five.

Composer	Day job
Mily Balakirev	Musician, and the leader of the group
César Cui	Army engineer
Modest Mussorgsky	Government clerk
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov	Naval officer
Alexander Borodin	Chemist

When the group formed, four of the five earned their living outside music. They met in the evenings to play each other their new pieces.

What makes music sound Russian

Folk songs. Russian composers built tunes on village songs. Tchaikovsky put a folk song about a birch tree into the last movement of his Fourth Symphony.

Bells. Church bells ring through this music. Listen at the end of Pictures at an Exhibition and the 1812 Overture.

Fairy tales. Firebirds, witches, and enchanted swans turn up again and again.

Ballet. Russian theaters made ballet famous around the world. Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, and Prokofiev all wrote for dancers.

A note on borders

Russia’s borders have changed many times. Some composers on this list were born in places that are now other countries, and some left Russia and never went back. Rachmaninoff and Stravinsky both died in the United States.

Things to do together

Race the bumblebee. Play “Flight of the Bumblebee.” Run a finger along a table as fast as the notes go.

Find the bells. Play the last two minutes of the 1812 Overture. Raise a hand each time you hear a bell. See the 1812 Overture for kids.

Sort by story. Play one minute each of Baba Yaga, The Firebird, and Peter and the Wolf. Ask which one has a witch, a bird, and a wolf.

Make a timeline. Write the ten names and birth years on cards and put them in order.

Find the cities. Find Moscow and St. Petersburg on a map.

Print and play

Fill in a composer study notebook page for each composer you hear. Read the Nutcracker story and Scheherazade for kids.

For more lists by country, read American composers for kids and French composers for kids. For more composers by era, see classical composers for kids.