WHEN ALL THIS COVID-19 STUFF CALMS DOWN I MUST TRAVEL TO RUSSIA

I love music.

But I just realised that, after listening to Classic FM during this lockdown, all of my top 6 favourite classic music composers are Russian.

Shostakovich. Tchaikovsky. Stravinsky. Rimsky-Korsakov. Borodin. Rachmaninoff.

Most of these were before the Bolshevik Revolution. Shostakovich opposed Stalin and only survived because Stalin was scared of executing Shostakovich because he was so loved by the people! Shostakovich's 10th symphony is about Stalin's death, reign of terror and Shostakovich dancing on Stalin's grave.

After that, not in any particular order, it's Chopin, Beethoven, Kachaturian, Faure, Brahms, Debussy and Puccini.

Respect to Mozart and Haydn for their prolific work but nowhere near creating emotion and atmosphere. The Strauss' were OK but are only known for the Blue Danube Waltz and Die Fledermaus.

So hopefully at some time soon I can see what Russia is all about now and what it was all about before 1917 to produce such composers.