Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka (Михаил Иванович Глинка, b. 1 June 1 [O.S. 20 May] 1804 – d. 15 February [O.S. 3 February] 1857), was the first Russian composer to gain wide recognition inside 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 distinctively Russian kind of classical music. Read more on Last.fm