Glinka can justifiably be described as the fertile acorn from which grew the mighty oak of 19th century Russian national music. The graceful Variations on a Theme by Mozart, based on material from The Magic Flute, is remodelled so skilfully that it has effectively become an original theme.

Fashionable salon pieces include the Variations on Benadetta sia la madre, an Italian romance, and Variations on a Theme from Cherubini’s Faniska, an opera greatly admired by Glinka. In Milan he became famous for his ability to reproduce on the piano the nuances of the voices of the great singers of the day, giving rise to two entertaining sets of operatic variations on themes by Donizetti and Bellini. The Variations on The Nightingale represent his return to the Russian style.

• Glinka: Variations on a Original Theme in F major
• Glinka: Variations on a theme from Die Zauberflöte by Mozart
• Glinka: Variations on a theme from the opera Faniska by Cherubini in B major
• Glinka: Variations on a theme from the opera I Capuleti e i Montecchi by Bellini in C major
• Glinka: Variations on the Romance Benedetta sia la madre in E major
• Glinka: Variations on the Russian folk-song Sredi doliny rovnyya (In the shallow valley) in A minor
• Glinka: Variations on the song The Nightingale by Alexandr Alabiev in E minor
• Glinka: Variations on two themes from the ballet Chao-Kang in D major
• Glinka: Variazioni brillianti on a theme from the opera Anna Bolena by Donizetti in A major