Princess Natalia Ivanovna Kurakina (russian: Наталья Ивановна Куракина; 16 August 1766 - 2 July 1831) ''née'' Golovina (russian: Головина) was a Russian composer, singer, and harpist in the 18th and 19th centuries. In her lifetime, Kurakina has 45 songs attributed to her and at the time of this writing, only one other Russian composer, Osip Antonovich Kozlovsky (1757-1831), is known to have more. In 1795, a collection of eight of her songs, Huit romances composees et arangees pour la harpe, was published by Breitkopf. Additionally she was published by Gerstenberg and Dittmar which were other major music publishers in this time. Her compositions were written specifically for the

salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

environment and thus were written for either piano or harp accompaniment and voice. Kurakina started performing in salons at the age of 14 and continued after she married Prince Aleksei Borisovich Kurakin (1759-1829). After her marriage, she and her husband lived and performed at the court of

Tsar Paul I Paul I (russian: Па́вел I Петро́вич ; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1796 until his assassination. Officially, he was the only son of Peter III of Russia, Peter III and Catherine the Great, although Catherine hinted that he w ...

. A set of three of her compositions titled Trois romances, pour le piano, composées par la Princesse Nathalie de Kourakin were published and performed at the salon of

Empress Elizabeth Elizabeth Petrovna (russian: Елизаве́та (Елисаве́та) Петро́вна) (), also known as Yelisaveta or Elizaveta, reigned as Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular Russian ...

, the wife of

Tsar Alexander I Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. The son of Gra ...

. Additionally, most of her compositions are considered to French romances which meet Rousseau's definition. In 1797, she became a Dame of Lesser Cross of the

Order of Saint Catherine The Imperial Order of Saint Catherine (russian: Императорский Орден Святой Екатерины) was an award of Imperial Russia. Instituted on 24 November 1714 by Peter the Great on the occasion of his marriage to Catherine ...

and became a

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

in 1826. After her husband had a falling out with Tsar Paul I, she and her husband moved to France and she hosted a Paris salon in 1815 and traveled from 1816 to 1819, 1822 to 1824, and 1829 to 1830. Her travel diary which was written in French, was eventually published in 1903.

References

Further listening

These two albums contain songs which Kurakina composed in addititon to other female composers in the 18th century. *Music of the Russian Princesse

*Russian Women Composers of the 18th Centur

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kurakina, Natalia Ivanovna 1766 births 1831 deaths Ladies-in-waiting from the Russian Empire Composers from the Russian Empire Women singers from the Russian Empire Musicians from the Russian Empire Salon holders from the Russian Empire Diarists from the Russian Empire Deaths from cholera

References

Further reading

Further listening