Glinka wrote a series of delightful polkas, mazurkas, galops and waltzes that were predominantly intended for fashionable drawing rooms and salons. He also wrote more substantial pieces such as the Grande Valse in G major and the Polonaise in E major which were initially scored for orchestra. Some pieces were also based on pre-existing melodies such as the Variations on a theme of Mozart, which is inspired by a melody drawn from Die Zauberflöte, and the attractive Tarantella in A minor, a rhythmic adaptation of the Russian folk song In the field there stood a birch tree.

This recording was made on a modern instrument: Steinway, Model D