The aims of this book are, firstly, to record the progress of the art of musical composition in Russia during the period of its most rapid development in the words of contemporary critics – that is, to provide a kind of history through texts; secondly, to set this repertory in the context of the distinctive ideas in which it burgeoned, or, in other words, to help to define the elements from which what is widely known as Russian musical nationalism was formed; thirdly, to sketch something of the background of musical life against which these new works were created.

Writing about music can scarcely exist without music, or criticism without material to analyse and comment upon; by ‘criticism’ is meant here, naturally, something more than a passage of a few hundred words lodged with an editorial office before midnight on the day of a performance: published Russian responses to new music usually involved lengthier discussion of matters of principle than is possible in that format, and writing in which such issues are raised is featured here. Material tending towards the ‘music theory’ end of the spectrum has not found a place here. Russian music criticism thus arose more or less in step with the growth of Russian music. While certain factors in the rise of both music and criticism were common to several European nations in the nineteenth century, others were peculiar to one alone. Those relevant to Russia are set forth briefly here.

The Russian army's role in the defeat of Napoleon made the Russian state a major actor on the European political stage.