Tchaikovsky is Russia's Handel and Rimsky-Korsakov is Russia's Bach.
Discuss.
-----
I'll mark myself for death by zombie Stravinsky and say that he IS Russia's Beethoven - great with motifs; good with melodies but they don't come naturally to him; a natural at sturm-und-drang stuff like The Rite of Spring, but really wanted to write sweetness-and-light classical music (like Beethoven in, for example, his 8th symphony).
That’s a great description of both Beethoven and Stravinsky. Interestingly, Beethoven’s eighth is my favorite among his symphonies, perhaps the best of his pieces written in a lighter mode. Comparatively, which pieces do you believe to be the best of Stravinsky’s light side?