Music at the Court of Catherine the Great

Lucie Skeaping introduces music from the court of Catherine the Great in Russia. We hear how the queen, despite having personally little interest in music, but aware of its cultural importance, brought Italian composers to St Petersburg as she wanted to position Russia as a cultural powerhouse to compete with their European neighbours in the west. The programme focuses on opera and sacred works, some written especially for her court, some adapted, by composers such as Galuppi, Paisiello, Sarti and Traetta - but we hear how Catherine promoted local talent as well, like Dmytro Bortniansky, who wrote colourful choral works, and also a talented group of princesses, part of her inner circle, who composed mainly songs - some inspired by Russian folk music.