65
DOI: 10.4312/mz.57.2.65-81
UDK 929Šestakova L. I.:78.071.1(470)Glinka M. I. 
Lyudmila Ivanovna Shestakova, née Glinka: The 
Younger Sister of the Genius
Zuzana Dupalová 
Masaryk University, Brno
ABSTRACT
This paper describes the life and work of Lyudmila Ivanovna Shestakova (1816–1906), the 
younger sister and faithful companion of the Russian composer Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka. 
The focus is especially on her activities after her brother’s death, which were motivated by 
the wish to honour his memory and to spread his music and fame. 
Keywords: Lyudmila Ivanovna Shestakova, Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka, nineteenth-century 
Russian music
IZVLEČEK
Članek opisuje življenje in delo Ljudmile Ivanovne Šestakove (1816–1906), mlajše sestre in 
zveste spremljevalke ruskega skladatelja Mihaila Ivanoviča Glinke. Poudarek je predvsem 
na njenih dejavnostih po bratovi smrti, ki jih je gnala želja, da bi počastila spomin nanj in 
širila njegovo glasbo in slavo.
Ključne besede: Ljudmila Ivanovna Šestakova, Mihail Ivanovič Glinka, ruska glasba 19. 
stoletja
muzikološki zbornik • musicological annual lvii/ii
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The name of Lyudmila Ivanovna Shestakova (1816–1906) is well known to 
many admirers of nineteenth-century Russian music, but her personality and 
contribution to Russian culture are still overlooked.1 As Mikhail Ivanovich 
Glinka’s sister and his best friend, she spent the last years of his life with him. 
A lover of Russian music, she later befriended members of the Mighty Hand-
ful and other musicians who looked up to her as the sister of an admired geni-
us. It became her destiny to spread Glinka’s music with the help of her friends 
in musical circles and to nurture her brother’s legacy after his death.
Lyudmila Ivanovna was born on 17 November 1816,2 in the village of 
Novospasskoye, as the tenth child3 of retired captain Ivan Nikolayevich Glinka 
and Yevgenia Andreyevna née Glinka (despite the same surname, according 
to Shestakova there was no family relationship between the parents).4 Dur-
ing Mikhail’s later visits home, he taught his younger siblings and played with 
them. He tutored Lyudmila science, geography, and music, and this teacher-
student relationship led to their further rapprochement.5 In 1835, at her moth-
er’s request, Lyudmila married a neighbour, Vasily Illarionovich Shestakov, a 
retired naval officer. Mikhail Ivanovich also married in the spring of 1835. The 
marriages took place in the same year and unfortunately neither marriage was 
happy, which brought the siblings even closer together. Shestakova had two 
sons with her husband, but both died in 1849.6 After separating from his wife, 
Mikhail Ivanovich returned home and spent the winter at the turn of 1847 
and 1848 in Smolensk, which was not far from Novospasskoye. Shestakova 
1 The number of studies on Shestakova is negligible; more often she is mentioned only in texts 
about her brother. For example, David Brown in his biography Mikhail Glinka barely mentions 
Shestakova, although he has taken information from her memoirs. Ekaterina Lobankova wrote 
more, though not in detail, about Shestakova and her activities during and after her brother’s 
death in her book Glinka, which represents one of the latest Russian-language books on this 
composer. The following study is based primarily on Shestakova’s memoirs, data and other facts 
are presented in compliance with them. David Brown, Mikhail Glinka: A Biographical and Criti-
cal Study (London: Oxford University Press, 1974); Ekaterina Lobankova, Glinka: Zhizn’ v epohe, 
Epoha v zhizni (Moskva: Molodaya Gvardiya, 2019).
2 Unless otherwise stated, dates are given according to the Julian calendar (which was in use in Rus-
sia at the time and differed by twelve days from the Gregorian calendar in use in Europe) or both 
variants are given.
3 The Glinkas had thirteen children. Perepelkina states that Lyudmila was the ninth child. Vladimir 
Stasov, “Biograficheskie zametki o L. I. Shestakovoy,” in Byloe M. I. Glinki i ego roditeley, Lyudmila 
I. Shestakova (Sankt-Peterburg: Tipografiya Imperatorskih Sankt-Peterburgskih teatrov, 1864), 
35; Zoya Perepelkina, “L. I. Shestakova – sestra, drug i hranitel’nica naslediya M. I. Glinki,” in 
Kul’turnoe nasledie Zemli Smolenskoy, accessed June 1, 2021, 
 https://nasledie.admin-smolensk.ru/personalii/glinka-mihail-ivanovich/novospasskij-sbornik-
vypusk-vtoroj/3-m-perepelkina-l-i-shestakova-sestra-drug-i-hranitelnica-naslediya-m-i-glinki/.
4 Lyudmila Ivanovna Shestakova, Byloe M. I. Glinki i ego roditeley (Sankt-Peterburg: Tipografiya 
Imperatorskih Sankt-Peterburgskih teatrov, 1864), 4.
5 Lyudmila Ivanovna Shestakova, “Glinka v vospominaniyah ego sestry,” in Glinka v vospominani-
yah sovremennikov, ed. Aleksandra A. Orlova (Moskva: Muzgiz, 1955), 47.
6 Stasov, “Biograficheskie zametki,” 40.
Z. Dupalová: Lyudmila Ivanovna Shestakova, née Glinka: The Younger Sister of the Genius
67
spent all the time with him there until his departure for Warsaw at the end of 
February 1848. After the death of her children, Shestakova took care of her 
mother who had lost her sight. Yevgenia Andreyevna died in May 1851, dur-
ing Glinka’s stay in Warsaw. After the death of his beloved mother, Glinka 
never returned to Novospasskoye again.7 At this time, Lyudmila unofficially 
separated from her husband, whom she did not love, but she never completely 
cut off contact with him.8
At the beginning of July 1851, Lyudmila visited Mikhail in Warsaw and 
her presence helped him greatly in terms of his physical and mental health. 
They remained together in Warsaw until the end of August 1851, when Glinka 
was to go abroad.9 However, he unexpectedly returned to St. Petersburg, and 
only a week after arriving home Lyudmila received his letter asking her to 
come to St. Petersburg at once, as he was ill. His wish did not go unheard. She 
remained with him from October 1851 until May of the following year, when 
she had to return home and Glinka left for Paris. During her stay in St. Pe-
tersburg she patiently cared for Glinka, managed his household, and organized 
musical evenings with friends.10 By this time she was already making efforts to 
disseminate his music. In April 1852, for example, she arranged with the con-
ductor Karl Schuberth for her brother’s works to be performed in a concert at 
which Glinka heard some of them for the first time.11
Even when the siblings lived apart, they kept in touch, and Glinka found his 
sister’s absence very difficult. Until 1854, however, Lyudmila was unable to leave 
her home, as she initiated the building of a new church, took care of the household, 
and gave birth to Mikhail’s goddaughter Olga,12 with whom she wanted to spend 
at least the first year of her life in the fresh country air. In April 1854 Lyudmila 
Ivanovna and her daughter went to Tsarskoye Selo, where Glinka joined them 
in May.13 Here Mikhail Ivanovich spent the time playing with his niece and, at 
Shestakova’s suggestion, writing down his memoirs Zapiski (Notes). He did not 
compose anything new during this time, but he did orchestrate some of his works. 
At the end of August, at Glinka’s insistence, they moved to St. Petersburg, and 
Glinka began to toy with the idea of devoting more time to church music.14 At 
his sister’s request he wrote smaller compositions, but he was unable to complete 
7 Shestakova, Byloe M. I. Glinki, 21–23.
8 Perepelkina, “L. I. Shestakova.”
9 Stasov, “Biograficheskie zametki,” 40 and 41.
10 Shestakova, “Glinka v vospominaniyah,” 48 and 49.
11 Perepelkina, “L. I. Shestakova.”
12 According to diary notes of musicologist Nikolai Findeisen, Vladimir Stasov told him that Olga 
was the daughter of his brother Dmitry. Nikolai Findeisen, Dnevniki: 1892–1901 (Sankt-Peterburg: 
Dmitri Bulanin, 2004), 164.
13 Shestakova, Byloe M. I. Glinki, 24 and 25.
14 Lyudmila Ivanovna Shestakova, “Poslednie gody zhizni i konchina M. I. Glinky, (Vospominaniya 
sestry ego, L. I Shestakovoy),” Russkaya starina 1, no. 2 (1870): 611–615.
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large-scale works; he was unable to finish either the symphony Taras Bulba nor 
the opera Dvumuzhnica (The Bigamist).15
In May 1855, Shestakova had to return to her native village, leaving her 
brother behind. Although he was well cared for in St. Petersburg, his letters 
became increasingly bitter. In August he asked her to come to him at once 
and accompany him to Warsaw. Lyudmila complied with his request directly, 
but two days after her arrival he decided to stay in St. Petersburg until spring. 
Glinka eventually changed his plan to move to Warsaw and chose Berlin as 
his next destination, where he would study church music with the musicologist 
and his former teacher Siegfried Dehn. Before Glinka’s departure, Vladimir V. 
Stasov conceived the idea of making a new portrait of the composer. This idea 
was implemented by Shestakova, and his last photograph was taken by the 
photographer Sergey Levitsky.16 In April 1856, Glinka went to Berlin where 
he felt very much at home, and intended to stay until May 1857. Lyudmila 
was to join him in May 1857, and together they would decide where to live.17 
However, these plans were thwarted by the composer’s death in February 1857.
After the death of her beloved brother, Shestakova remained in St. 
Petersburg to care for her daughter Olga, who died of diphtheria in December 
1863. Lyudmila Ivanovna then broke off all contact, which she was slow to 
resume. According to her, she was revived by Miliy Balakirev and Vladimir V. 
Nikolsky18 when they began to give music and science lessons to children at 
her house. Shestakova herself later joined them and had a small school until 
about 1877, when she stopped teaching for health reasons.19 In the second 
half of the 1860s, members of the Mighty Handful and other St. Petersburg 
musicians met frequently in her salon. 
In October 1871, she suffered a stroke which considerably reduced the 
mobility of the right side of her body, but in about two years she recovered 
sufficiently to take part again in public life in St. Petersburg.20 Towards the 
end of her life, Shestakova shut herself off from the rest of the world. In May 
1903, she attended the laying of the cornerstone of the Glinka Monument in St. 
Petersburg, after which she rarely left her apartment and was eventually confined 
to bed by her illness. Lyudmila Ivanovna died after a long illness shortly before 
the unveiling ceremony of the M. I. Glinka monument on 18 January 1906, at 
half past six in the evening and was buried next to her brother.21
15 Shestakova, “Glinka v vospominaniyah,” 51.
16 Shestakova, “Poslednie gody,” 618–621.
17 Ibid., 623–624.
18 Russian historian, philologist, and literary scholar. 
19 Shestakova, “Glinka v vospominaniyah,” 51 and 52.
20 Lyudmila Ivanovna Shestakova, “Moi vechera,” in Ezhegodnik Imperatorskih Teatrov 4, Prilozhenie 
2, season 1893–1894 (Sankt-Peterburg: Imperatorskie teatry, 1895): 125 and 126.
21 Nikolai Findeisen, “Pamyati L. I. Shestakovoy,” Russkaya muzykal’naya gazeta 13, no. 6 (1906): 152.
Z. Dupalová: Lyudmila Ivanovna Shestakova, née Glinka: The Younger Sister of the Genius
69
Shestakova’s Merits for Glinka’s Music during His Life
Shestakova took care of her brother and provided a pleasant working environ-
ment; moreover, at her request Glinka wrote the aforementioned autobiog-
raphy Zapiski. It is thanks to her that a complete collection of his romances 
(songs) was created:
After moving to the city to Tomilov’s house in Ertelev Lane, I began to take care 
of my brother’s music. I began by putting my brother’s romances in order. This 
was fraught with great difficulty; my brother remembered that he had written 
in the Caucasus, in Moscow, abroad, and in Little Russia, but he did not know 
whom exactly to ask about these works. I managed to gather almost everything. 
My brother himself made a list of what year he had written what, and in my 
book all the romances are arranged according to his instructions, and there are 
also a few lines written by his hand confirming that I have arranged them.22
The title page of Lyudmila’s collection of romances has a statement in 
Glinka’s own hand: 
This book contains a collection of romances and songs by M. I. Glinka, 
carefully collected and put in a probable order by L. I. Shestakova, to whom 
this book belongs.23
One of her most significant contributions during Glinka’s lifetime was the 
commissioning of two copies of the orchestral scores of Ruslan and Lyudmila and 
A Life for the Tsar (Zhizn za carya). Until then, only a few manuscripts existed, and 
they also had many errors. She decided to do this after the scores of both operas 
had burned at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow (1853), and Glinka feared that a 
similar incident might happen in St. Petersburg, where the last copies of the full 
orchestral scores were located. Had it not been for the new copies, the beloved 
Ruslan would have been lost forever, for it burned in the fire of the Mariinsky 
Theatre in 1859. The copies were sent to Vladimir Stasov and to Siegfried Dehn 
in Berlin.24
22 “По пeрeeздe в город в дом Томиловa, Эртeлeв пeрeyлок, я принялaсь зaботиться о мyзыкe 
брaтa. Нaчaлa я с того, что вздyмaлa привeсти в порядок ромaнсы брaтa. Это было связaно 
с большими зaтрyднeниями; брaт помнил, что он писaл и нa Кaвкaзe, и в Москвe, и зa 
грaницeй, и в Мaлороссии, но y кого имeнно нyжно было спрaшивaть эти сочинeния, – он 
нe знaл. Мнe yдaлось собрaть почти всe; брaт сaм состaвил список, в котором годy он что 
сочинял, и y мeня в книгe всe ромaнсы рaсположeны по eго нaзнaчeнию, и тaм жe eго рyкой 
нaписaно нeсколько строк, которыми он подтвeрждaeт, что это привeдeно в порядок мною.” 
Shestakova, “Glinka v vospominaniyah,” 50.
23 “Этa книгa содeржит в сeбe собрaниe ромaнсов и пeсeн М. И. Глинки, тщaтeльно собрaнныx 
и привeдeнныx в возможный порядок Л. И. Шeстaковой, коeй и принaдлeжит сия книгa.” As 
cited in Perepelkina, “L. I. Shestakova.” 
24 Stasov, “Biograficheskie zametki,” 39 and 41.
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Transport of Glinka’s Remains from Berlin to St  Petersburg
Glinka sent his last letter to Shestakova from Berlin in January 1857, inform-
ing her that he was not well. Another letter (dated 30 January / 11 February)25 
was written at Glinka’s request by the composer Vladimir Kashperov, who was 
also in Berlin at the time, stating that Glinka had a bad cold but that his con-
dition was not serious. Thereafter, on 12 February, Shestakova received news 
of Glinka’s death at 5 a.m. on 3/15 February and of the subsequent funeral at 
the local cemetery.26
On February 3, 1857, Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka died and the lifework of 
his sister, Ludmila Ivanovna, began. From that moment till her death in 
1906 at the age of eighty-eight, every hour of Ludmila's life was dedicated 
to Glinka's interests, to keeping his name warm and alive, to giving encour-
agement and friendship to those musicians he would have helped, to bring-
ing order into the piled-up disorder that "my dear brother" left behind him.27
Shestakova immediately decided that her brother’s mortal remains should 
be transferred to St. Petersburg. For this she needed the consent of the Tsar 
(at that time Alexander II). She obtained this with the help of Vladimir 
Stasov and the politician Ivan M. Tolstoy.28 In addition, the Tsar ordered that 
all expenses be paid by the state first, so that Shestakova would have time 
to pay them back. After receiving the sad news, Shestakova wrote to Dehn 
and Kashperov asking them to describe Glinka’s last days.29 In the letter from 
Dehn, who spent every day with Glinka during his illness, there is a very 
interesting account of the composer’s cause of death (to this day it is often 
claimed that he died of a cold or pneumonia, which the following lines and 
the medical report30 refute):
25 Julian calendar / Gregorian calendar. In this chapter, both calendar variants are given in the con-
text of Berlin.
26 He was buried on February 6/18 at the Dreifaltigkeitsfriedhof evangelical cemetery in Berlin. 
Meyerbeer, Dehn, Kasperov and several other musicians were present at the modest funeral. 
Shestakova, “Poslednie gody,” 629.
27 The author of this text has known Shestakova all his life because his parents were friends with her, 
but his recollections are incorrect in many respects. For example, in the quoted text Shestakova’s 
age at the time of her death is given as 88, but in reality she was 89. Serge Bertensson, “Ludmila 
Ivanovna Shestakova – Handmaid to Russian Music,” The Musical Quartely 31, no. 3 (1945): 331.
28 Stasov described his talks with Tolstoy in a letter to Shestakova. Lyudmila Ivanovna Shestakova, 
“Novye materialy dlya biografii M. I. Glinki,” Russkaya muzykal’naya gazeta 5, no. 12 (1898): 
1022–1023.
29 Shestakova, “Poslednie gody,” 624–625.
30 This report, which indicates enlarged liver as the cause of death, was published in the Russian 
translation in the article: Shestakova, “Novye materialy,” 1022.
Z. Dupalová: Lyudmila Ivanovna Shestakova, née Glinka: The Younger Sister of the Genius
71
17 (5.) the corpse was dissected in the presence of a physician, in compliance 
with all legal regulations. Glinka demanded this often and persistently, made 
it my duty, and made me promise to do it. The dissection revealed that Glinka 
had died of an excessive development of the so-called fatty liver disease and 
that under these circumstances he did not have long to live.31
In the same letter Dehn wrote:
Following your wish, I put a temporarily simple monument on his grave, made 
of Silesian marble, with the inscription: Michail von Glinka. Kaiserlicher 
russischer Kapellmeister. Geb. 20 Mai zu Spasskoe, Guv. Smolensk. Gest. 15 
Februar 1857 zu Berlin.32
Vasily Pavlovich Engelhardt, an astronomer and friend of Glinka, came to 
Berlin to arrange for the exhumation and subsequent transfer of the remains 
to Russia. The exhumation took place at 4 a.m. on 14/26 May. In his letter of 
16/28 May, Engelhardt recounted the resting place and the procedure of the 
exhumation to Glinka’s sister:
There was no smell, but none of us dared to lift the sheet and look at the 
body, only the undertaker had the courage and then said “Das Gesicht sieht 
böse aus”. According to him, it was impossible to distinguish any features 
because the whole face was covered with a white substance, like a layer of 
cotton wool.33
Dehn described that Glinka’s grave was not located directly in the cemetery, 
but outside of it behind the wall where the new cemetery was laid out. The 
grave was poorly built and its outer part was dilapidated. Along with the letter, 
Engelhardt sent several flowers from Glinka’s grave.
On May 21, Shestakova, accompanied by some of Glinka’s friends, left 
for Kronstadt, where the steamer carrying Glinka’s body arrived the next 
31 “17 (5-го) тeло, с соблюдeниeм всex зaконныx формaльностeй, в присyтствии врaчa aнaто-
мировaно. Глинкa чaсто и нaстойчиво этого трeбовaл, постaвив мнe это в обязaнность и 
взял с мeня в том обeщaниe. Диссeкция yкaзaлa, что Глинкa yмeр вслeдствиe чрeзмeрного 
рaзвития, тaк нaзывaeмого ожирeния пeчeни и что при этиx yсловияx он, ни в кaком слyчae, 
нe мог долго жить.” Shestakova, “Poslednie gody,” 628–629.
32 “Сообрaзно с вaшим жeлaниeм, я постaвил врeмeнно простой пaмятник нa eго могилe из 
силeзского мрaморa с тaкою нaдписью: Michail von Glinka. Kaiserlicher russischer Kapell-
meister. Geb. 20 Mai zu Spasskoe, Guv. Smolensk. Gest. Februar 15, 1857 zu Berlin.” Ibid., 629.
33 “Зaпaxa никaкого нe было, но никто из нaс нe рeшaлся приподнять простыню и посмотрeть 
нa тeло, только гробощик имeл столько смeлости и скaзaл ‘Das Gesicht sieht böse aus’. По 
eго словaм, нeльзя yжe было рaзличить ни одной чeрты, ибо всe лицо было покрыто кaким-
то бeлым вeщeством, кaк-бы слоeм вaты.” Shestakova, “Novye materialy,” 1023.
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day. That evening his remains were transferred to the Lazarus church in St. 
Petersburg, and on May 23 the coffin was taken to the Dukhovskaya church, 
where a funeral ceremony was held the following evening. Glinka was buried 
in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in the Tikhvin cemetery. Above his new 
grave, Shestakova had a monument erected, designed by academician Ivan 
Gornostayev. The tombstone on Glinka’s Berlin tomb was preserved even after 
the exhumation at her request.34
Printing of Scores
In addition to transporting Glinka’s remains, Engelhardt had another task in 
Berlin. Following Shestakova’s instructions, he had the scores of the overtures 
of A Life for the Tsar, Ruslan and Lyudmila, Noch v Madride (Summer Night in 
Madrid), and Aragonskaya khota (Jota Aragonesa) printed. These overtures were 
dedicated to Meyerbeer, Liszt, Berlioz, and Dehn. All these musicians spoke 
very highly of Glinka’s music and, naturally, Shestakova’s aim in taking this 
step was to make her brother’s music known abroad. Jota Aragonesa was dedi-
cated to Ferenc Liszt, who then wrote to Shestakova:
I would like to tell you how much I was moved by your letter! I thank you 
for remembering me as one of the most sincere and zealous admirers of your 
brother, a magnificent genius, so worthy of high fame precisely because he was 
above vulgar success. [...] I accept your honourable dedication with sincere 
gratitude, and it will be my pleasure and duty to promote as soon as possible 
the diffusion of Glinka’s works, for which I have always felt the most sincere 
and enthusiastic sympathy.35
Liszt, the then bandmaster of the Weimar Orchestra, performed Jota 
Aragonesa at the New Year’s concert in 1858, where, according to his letter 
to Engelhardt, it met with great success and was very popular among the 
members of the orchestra, too.36
After Glinka’s death, Shestakova became the heiress of all his tangible and 
intangible assets, but she renounced everything in favour of her sisters, re-
taining only the musical rights, though not for material reasons (much of his 
34 Shestakova, “Poslednie gody,” 632.
35 “Я жeлaл бы выскaзaть вaм, кaк мeня тронyло вaшe письмо! Блaгодaрю вaс зa то, что 
вы вспомнили обо мнe, кaк об одном из сaмыx искрeнниx и рeвностныx поклонников 
вeликолeпного гeния вaшeго брaтa, столь достойного высокой слaвы имeнно потомy, что 
он стоял вышe вyльгaрныx yспexов… Я принимaю с истинною блaгодaрностью почeтноe 
вaшe посвящeниe, и для мeня это бyдeт yдовольствиe и обязaнность, кaк только возможно, 
содeйствовaть рaспрострaнeнию создaний Глинки, к которым я питaл всeгдa сaмyю 
искрeннюю и восторжeннyю симпaтию.” As cited in Stasov, “Biograficheskie zametki,” 45.
36 Ibid., 45.
Z. Dupalová: Lyudmila Ivanovna Shestakova, née Glinka: The Younger Sister of the Genius
73
work, including the two operas, had been previously sold by Glinka himself ).37 
In order to better disseminate Glinka’s work, Shestakova decided to publish 
the scores of his operas. She reached an agreement with the prominent pub-
lisher and editor Fyodor Stellovsky,38 who already owned many of Glinka’s 
works, and sold him all the previously unsold works for a symbolic 25 rubles. 
In addition, she gave his publisher a thousand rubles, knowing that publishing 
Glinka’s scores was not a profitable venture for him. However, after Stellovsky 
took no steps to print the scores, Shestakova asked permission to print operas 
abroad. Stellovsky initially gave his consent, but instead of providing Balakirev 
with the necessary scores, he initiated a lawsuit against Shestakova in 1866, 
which she won in 1867 with the help of Dmitri Stasov.39 Nevertheless, Stello-
vsky was still the owner of the operas, and the possibility of printing them was 
not in sight.40 
Towards the end of his life Stellovsky suffered from mental illness and 
died in April 1875. After his death, the publishing house passed into the 
inheritance of his sister, who authorised the lawyer F. A. Gake, with whom 
Shestakova eventually arranged to print the scores. In 1876, under conditions 
favourable to the publisher, she obtained consent to print Ruslan in Leipzig. 
The conditions were as follows: She received permission to print one hun-
dred copies of the score of Ruslan, fifty of which she could give to anyone 
she wished, the remaining fifty going to Stellovsky’s publishing house. Gake 
undertook to publish 50 copies of the score of A Life for the Tsar, of which he 
gave 25 to Shestakova. In order to print the scores, which was a very expensive 
affair, Lyudmila Ivanovna sacrificed her last possessions and also had to bor-
row money from Nikolsky.41 Having raised the necessary sum, she commis-
sioned Balakirev, who asked Rimsky-Korsakov and Lyadov for help, to pre-
pare the score for printing. The printing and the necessary proofreading were 
accompanied by a number of worries and inconveniences, and Shestakova had 
to borrow additional money:
The money I had borrowed was not enough, I borrowed more, and finally, on 
10 November 1878, I received the first printed edition of the score of Ruslan 
from Leipzig. There are no words to express what I felt when I held that 
copy in my hands! I forgot all the difficulties, all the hard times, and was 
37 Glinka sold many of his works to his friend Pyotr Gurskalin, who owned the Odeon publishing 
house, and Fyodor Stellovsky bought the rights to Glinka’s music (incl. both operas) from this 
company during Glinka’s lifetime. Shestakova, “Poslednie gody,” 631.
38 Stellovsky was not only a music publisher; he also published the first collections of writers such as 
Lev Tolstoy or Fyodor Dostoevsky.
39 According to Lobankova, the lawsuits lasted until 1870. Lobankova, Glinka, 524.
40 Shestakova, “Poslednie gody,” 631.
41 Shestakova, “Glinka v vospominaniyah,” 53.
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74
completely happy. On the evening of the next day I invited those who had 
made this possible to my house, placed my brother’s bust on the dais, lit it, 
decorated it with flowers, and spread the score of Ruslan near the bust; after 
dinner, with a glass in my hand, I said with a joyful feeling in my soul, “Mi-
sha, today I can drink a glass to your memory with a clear conscience and a 
pure soul. Your wish is fulfilled, the printed score of Ruslan lies at your feet.”42
A month later she received the rest of the scores, which she distributed to 
major European and Russian libraries, theatres and conservatories, and gave 
some away to prominent people and art lovers.43 The score of A Life for the Tsar 
was printed in Leipzig in 1881.
Ruslan and Lyudmila in Prague
At the time when it was impossible to print the scores of Glinka’s operas 
because of Stellovsky, Shestakova decided to make Glinka’s music known 
in other ways. When she learned that Prague was extremely friendly to 
Russian music and that A Life for the Tsar was to be performed there, she 
took this opportunity to make an offer to the Provisional Theatre in Prague to 
perform Glinka’s beloved opera Ruslan and Lyudmila. To make the necessary 
arrangements, she visited Prague herself at the end of October 1866.44 After 
successful discussions, she ordered costume and scene designs at her own 
expense from the artist Gornostayev, the designer of Glinka’s tombstone, 
which she then sent to Prague.
The Stellovsky case dragged on, and there was no thought of printing the 
scores. But I wanted to do something for my brother’s music, and so, having 
learned that the Czechs were very friendly to Glinka’s music and were stag-
ing A Life for the Tsar in Prague, I asked Miliy Alexeyevich Balakirev to 
travel there and take the score of Ruslan with him. Balakirev travelled for 
quite a long time, but could do nothing, for it was the time of the Austro-
Prussian War of 1866. In September 1866, after the end of the war, I pursued 
my idea of staging Ruslan in Prague and travelled there [...] The matter of 
42 “Зaнятыx мною дeнeг окaзaлось нeдостaточно, я зaнялa eщe и, нaконeц, в 1878 годy, 10-
го ноября, я полyчилa пeрвый пeчaтный экзeмпляр пaртитyры Рyслaнa из Лeйпцигa. Что 
почyвствовaлa я, взяв этот экзeмпляр в рyки, нeт слов вырaзить! Я зaбылa всe нeприятности, 
всe тяжeлыe чaсы и былa совeршeнно счaстливa. Нa дрyгой жe дeнь я приглaсилa к сeбe 
вeчeром всex сотрyдников, постaвилa бюст брaтa нa возвышeнии, освeтилa, yкрaсилa eго 
цвeтaми и близ бюстa рaзложилa пaртитyрy Рyслaнa; зa yжином, с бокaлом в рyкax, с рa-
достным чyвством в дyшe, скaзaлa: – Мишa, сeгодня с чистой дyшой и совeстью могy вы-
пить бокaл в пaмять твою. Твоe жeлaниe исполнeно, – пeчaтнaя пaртитyрa Рyслaнa y ног 
твоиx.” Shestakova, “Glinka v vospominaniyah,” 53–54.
43 Ibid., 54.
44 According to the Gregorian calendar.
Z. Dupalová: Lyudmila Ivanovna Shestakova, née Glinka: The Younger Sister of the Genius
75
staging Ruslan was settled within ten minutes, so that on the very day I re-
turned from the theatre I wrote to Balakirev in St. Petersburg.45
After visiting Prague, Shestakova remembered the Czechs with respect. 
She made friends during her stay, for example with Josef Kolář, a Slavist and 
translator with whom she later corresponded. Her letters to him reveal that 
Ruslan’s score was kept in Prague and that Shestakova had to press for its 
return because Stellovsky died and the printing of scores was again on the 
agenda. Based on her note from the letter of 8 February 1875, the score in 
Prague was probably one of the copies made at her request after the Bolshoi 
Theatre fire:
[…] moreover, these are the only copies reviewed and corrected by the brother 
himself, and the scores should be printed according to them.46
Balakirev visited Prague for the first time in August 1866, when he was to 
negotiate a performance of Ruslan, but because of the ongoing Prussian-Aus-
trian War he soon had to leave the city. Six months later he returned, and on 
16 February 1867,47 he famously conducted Ruslan and Lyudmila. This opera 
and its conductor earned general esteem there. The Russian press, as well as V. 
Stasov,48 for example, wrote about Prague as the place where Balakirev and 
Ruslan received the recognition they deserved, despite minor disagreements 
and problems Balakirev had in Prague, a recognition this opera had to wait for 
in Russia. This great success in Prague was also one of the impulses that led to 
the opera Ruslan and Lyudmila being reassessed there when it was performed 
again at the Mariinsky Theatre in 1871.
Monuments and Museum
On 20 May 1885, the day of Glinka’s birthday, his bronze statue, financed 
by voluntary donations, was unveiled in Smolensk. Shestakova played an 
important role in this event as well. At her expense, an iron and copper fence 
45 Shestakova, “Glinka v vospominaniyah,” 52 and 53.
46 “[…] к томy жe это eдинствeнныe экзeмпляры просмотрeнныe и испрaвлeнныe сaмым 
брaтом, и понятно, что по ним должны пeчaтaться пaртитyры.” Lyudmila Ivanovna Shesta-
kova, “A letter to Josef Kolář,” February 2, 1875, Museum of Czech Literature, Josef Kolář fonds 
(no. 818).
47 According to the Gregorian calendar.
48 Stasov wrote a comprehensive article about this opera on the fiftieth anniversary of the premiere 
of Ruslan, where he also mentioned the Prague performance. Vladimir Stasov, “Ruslan i Lyud-
mila M. I. Glinki: K 50-letiyu etoy opery na scene,” Ezhegodnik Imperatorskih Teatrov 2, season 
1891–1892 (1893): 289–333.
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76
with musical motifs from Glinka’s works was erected around the statue.49 This 
statue was the first ever monument to Glinka and the first monument to a 
Russian composer in Russia.50
On the day of the fiftieth anniversary of the premier of Ruslan, 27 
November 1893, thanks to the efforts of Shestakova and other friends, the 
name of Nikolskaya Street leading to the Mariinsky Theatre was changed to 
Glinka Street in honour of the composer. The house where he lived in St. 
Petersburg was decorated with a memorial marble plaque.51
On the occasion of the five hundredth performance of A Life for the Tsar, 
on 28 November 1879, Shestakova received a sum of 2,500 roubles, which she 
was to dispose of as she saw fit. She did not keep any part of the money. She 
donated a thousand rubles to the Free School of Music, which had been close 
to her heart since its foundation, and decided to give 1,500 rubles as an “Olga 
scholarship” (in memory of her deceased daughter) to a girl of her choice who 
was studying at a girls’ grammar school.52
On 27 November 1892, a celebratory performance of Ruslan and Lyudmila 
took place at the Mariinsky Theatre to mark the fiftieth anniversary of its pro-
duction. At this performance, Shestakova was given a place of honour in the 
auditorium. Upon her arrival in the auditorium, she was greeted with applause 
and a bouquet of flowers by members of the opera. During the intermission, a 
delegation led by V. V. Stasov came to her and presented her with a wreath in 
the form of a star with the inscription “for 50 years of service to her brother” on 
the ribbon.53 On that day, thanks to the initiative of V. V. Stasov, an exhibition 
museum was set up in the foyer of the theatre, where objects related to Glinka 
and his fairy-tale opera were displayed. The list of objects that were in the 
museum and a description of their location can be found in the Ezhegodnik 
Imperatorskih teatrov54 and in more detail in the Russkaya muzykal’naya 
gazeta,55 where Stasov’s letter describing his motives for setting up the 
exhibition was also published.56 After this performance, the opinion began to 
prevail that the composer Glinka deserved a permanent museum. Shestakova, 
who was nearly eighty years old, was aware of this.
49 Stasov, “Biograficheskie zametki,” 46.
50 Lobankova, Glinka, 525.
51 Stasov, “Biograficheskie zametki,” 46.
52 Ibid., 47.
53 “Obozrenie deyatel’nosti Imperatorskih scen v sezon 1890–91 g.,” Ezhegodnik Imperatorskih Teat-
rov 3, season 1892–1893 (1894): 199.
54 “Muzey Glinki v foye Mariinskogo teatra v den’ prazdnovanya 50-ti-letiya opery Ruslan i Lyud-
mila,” Ezhegodnik Imperatorskih Teatrov 3, season 1892–1893 (1894): 551–555.
55 The described exhibits did not become part of the new Glinka Museum. Nikolai Findeisen, 
“Muzey Glinki,” Russkaya muzykal’naya gazeta 3, no. 12 (1896): 1525–1536.
56 Vladimir Stasov, “Muzey Glinki v foye Marrinskago teatra, (Pismo k N. F. Findeisenu),” Russkaya 
muzykal’naya gazeta 3, no. 12 (1896): 1519–1524.
Z. Dupalová: Lyudmila Ivanovna Shestakova, née Glinka: The Younger Sister of the Genius
77
In November 1895, she approached the Russian Musical Society with the 
idea of establishing a Glinka Museum in the building of the Conservatory, 
which was still under construction (it had been created by the reconstruction of 
the Bolshoi Theatre in St. Petersburg). This project met with a positive response 
in the Conservatory, and a separate room was set aside for the museum. Shesta-
kova set the opening day on the symbolic date of 27 November 1896, when the 
premiere of A Life for the Tsar turned 60.57 Shestakova herself donated exhibits 
for the museum and made a financial contribution to it. The museum’s catalogue 
was also prepared at her expense. The proceeds from the sale of the catalogues 
were intended for the support of the poor students of the conservatory.58
The significance of the museum lay not only in the fact that it was the first 
permanent Glinka museum, but also the first institution of its kind dedicated to 
a single musician in Russia.59 Musicologist Nikolai Findeisen, later the author 
of Glinka’s biography, whom the composer’s sister met shortly after the afore-
mentioned anniversary of Ruslan and Lyudmila, helped Shestakova set up this 
museum.60 He later published the list of exhibits in an article “Muzey Glinki” in 
his journal Russkaya muzykal’naya gazeta.61 According to his diary entries, at the 
time of its opening the museum was “still very poor and unattractive” and the 
exhibition at the Mariinsky Theatre was “splendid compared to this museum.”62
Conclusion
Shestakova herself wrote several memoirs describing her brother’s life, which 
are an invaluable source of information about Glinka and his life. The present 
study also draws on them. These include Byloe M. I. Glinki i ego roditeley, “M. I. 
Glinka v vospominaniyah ego sestry” and “Poslednie gody zhizni i konchina 
Mihaila Ivanovicha Glinki.” She was also the author of the memoir Moi vechera, 
in which she reminisces about the composers of the New Russian School and 
their meetings, among other things. Since she wrote these memoirs many years 
after the events described, there are some inaccuracies. Shestakova, the Stasovs 
and Engelhardt donated documents about Glinka, his letters and autographs to 
the Imperial Public Library (now the Russian National Library), which to this 
day houses the most extensive collection of Glinka.63
57 In 1917 the Glinka Museum was closed; today most of the documents from this museum are at 
the Russian Institute of Art History. Lobankova, Glinka, 519 and 525.
58 Ol’ga Gavrilina, “Komnata Glinki: Pochemu zakrylsya muzey kompozitora v Peter-
burge?” Sankt-Peterburgskie vedomosti, May 5, 2019, https://spbvedomosti.ru/news/nasledie/
komnata_glinki_pochemu_zakrylsya_muzey_kompozitora_v_peterburge_/.
59 Findeisen, “Muzey Glinki,” (1896): 1525.
60 Findeisen, “Pamyati L. I. Shestakovoj,” 149.
61 According to this article, there were 98 exhibits in the museum after its opening. Nikolai Find-
eisen, “Muzey Glinki,” Russkaya muzykal’naya gazeta 4, no. 1 (1897): 119–126.
62 Findeisen, Dnevniki: 1892–1901, 180.
63 Lobankova, Glinka, 519.
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78
Lyudmila Ivanovna devotedly cared for her brother and his legacy, and her 
merits are undeniable. Thanks to her, we can still hear the opera Ruslan and 
Lyudmila today, which would have been lost forever without her involvement 
in the transcription of the opera scores. She also collected her brother’s ro-
mances, and it is possible that without her efforts some of them would not 
have been preserved for future generations. She tried to make Glinka’s music 
known abroad and thus promote Russian music in general, and she played an 
important role in the lives of many musicians of the time. She urged Glinka 
to write his autobiography Zapiski, and she herself wrote several texts about 
her brother’s life, which are an important source of information about Glin-
ka. After her brother’s death, she also played a certain role in the publication 
(and censorship) of his letters and Zapiski. Together with Vladimir Stasov, she 
helped to create a kind of cult, the composer’s “second life”, which fundamen-
tally influences the way Mikhail Glinka, the father of Russian music, is per-
ceived to this day.
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Z. Dupalová: Lyudmila Ivanovna Shestakova, née Glinka: The Younger Sister of the Genius
81
POVZETEK 
Ljudmila Ivanovna Šestakova, roj  Glinka:  
genijeva mlajša sestra
Ljudmila Ivanovna Šestakova (1816–1906) je bila mlajša sestra ruskega skladatelja Mikhaila 
Ivanoviča Glinke (1804–1857). Za časa njegovega življenja, predvsem pa v njegovih zadnjih 
letih, je predano skrbela zanj in ga podpirala. Prav zaradi njene podpore je Glinka napisal 
svojo avtobiografijo Zapiski, prav tako pa je poskrbela za to, da sta se partituri obeh njegovih 
oper ohranili. Po bratovi smrti (in zaradi svoje nesrečne usode) si je zadala življenjski cilj, 
da poskrbi za njegovo zapuščino in širi njegovo glasbo. Takoj po bratovi smrti je (s pomoč-
jo prijateljev) začela urejati prenos njegovih posmrtnih ostankov iz Berlina, kjer je Glinka 
umrl, v St. Peterburg. V slednjem je organizirala pogreb na pokopališču Tikvin. Pozneje je 
pomagala širiti njegovo glasbo, s tem da je, denimo, dala natisniti partiture njegovih uvertur 
in oper (tisk oper je zapletel sodni spor z glasbenim urednikom Fjodorjem Stelovkijem). Prav 
tako je igrala pomembno vlogo pri izvedbi ljube mu opere Ruslan in Ljudmila v Pragi (1867), 
ko je bila ta tam prvič uprizorjena zunaj Rusije. S tem si je prizadevala zlasti za promocijo 
Glinkovega dela v tujini. Ljudmila Ivanovna Šestakova je bila tudi pobudnica ustanovitve 
Glinkovega muzeja v St. Peterburgu (1896), prvega muzeja v Rusiji, posvečenega posamezne-
mu skladatelju. Vedno so se je spominjali in jo slavili kot sestro čaščenega genija. Poleg tega, 
da je širila bratovo glasbo, je bila pomembna osebnost sanktpeterburške glasbene scene, saj je 
prijateljevala z mnogimi glasbeniki tistega časa (npr. s skladatelji Ruske peterke, Vladimirjem 
V. Stasovim in Nikolajem Findejznom). Napisala je številne spomine o bratu in prijateljih, 
sanktpeterburških glasbenikih, ki predstavljajo neprecenljiv vir informacij o Glinkovem 
življenju in družini, izoblikovanju nove ruske šole in tedanjem glasbenem življenju v Sankt 
Peterburgu. Ko je umrla, so jo pokopali ob bratu.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ZUZANA DUPALOVÁ (dupalova.zuzana@email.cz) is a PhD student in Musicology and 
Philological Area Studies at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic. Her dissertation 
focus on the topics of Russian-Czech opera relations in the nineteenth century and Czech 
and Slovak Pseudo-Demetrius dramatic works in the nineteenth century.
O AVTORICI
ZUZANA DUPALOVÁ (dupalova.zuzana@email.cz) je doktorska študentka muzikologije 
in slovanskih študij na Masarykovi univerzi v Brnu na Češkem. V svoji doktorski disertaciji 
se ukvarja zlasti z odnosi med rusko in češko opero v devetnasjtem stoletju ter preučuje češka 
in slovaška pseudo-demetrijska dramska dela 19. stoletja.