Rimsky-Korsakov, << RIHM skih KAWR suh kawf, >> Nikolai (1844-1908), was a celebrated Russian composer and teacher. He is especially known for his imaginative and colorful orchestral compositions, including Spanish Capriccio (1887), Scheherazade (1888), and the Russian Easter Overture (1888). Russian folk songs can be heard in his music, as can choral music and bell ringing of the Russian Orthodox Church.
In spite of his orchestral successes, Rimsky-Korsakov’s main emphasis was on opera. He based many of his 15 operas on Russian history and folklore. Only two of them, however, have gained success outside Russia. They are Sadko (1898) and The Golden Cockerel (1909). But still popular today in Russia are The Snow Maiden (completed in 1881, revised about 1895), The Tsar’s Bride (1899), and The Tale of Tsar Saltan (1900). His masterpiece, The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevroniia (1907), is virtually unknown in the West. Two of his best-known pieces come from his operas–“Song of India” from Sadko and “The Flight of the Bumblebee” from Tsar Saltan.
Loading the player...Spanish Capriccio
Rimsky-Korsakov was born in Tikhvin, near Velikiy Novgorod. In 1861, he met the composer Mily Balakirev and joined a group of his students who later became known as The Five. Balakirev encouraged them to draw upon their Russian heritage in their music.
In 1871, Rimsky-Korsakov joined the faculty of the St. Petersburg Conservatory. Realizing he knew almost no music theory, he began to teach himself counterpoint, harmony, and musical form. As a musical theorist and teacher, he had a decisive influence on the course of Russian music in the early 1900’s. Several of his students became important composers, including Sergei Prokofiev and Igor Stravinsky. His book Principles of Orchestration (published in 1913, after his death) has become a standard work. He also wrote an autobiography, translated into English as My Musical Life.
Loading the player...Song of India
Rimsky-Korsakov edited and revised compositions that his friends Alexander Borodin and Modest Mussorgsky had left unfinished at their deaths. Today, his version of Mussorgsky’s opera Boris Godunov is usually performed. Borodin’s opera Prince Igor is usually performed in the version completed by Rimsky-Korsakov and Russian composer Alexander Glazunov.
See also Golden Cockerel, The .
