Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (1839 – 1881) was a
Russian composer, one of the group known as "The Five".
He was an innovator of Russian music in the romantic
period. He strove to achieve a uniquely Russian musical
identity, often in deliberate defiance of the
established conventions of Western music. Many of his
works were inspired by Russian history, Russian
folklore, and other national themes. Such works include
the opera Boris Godunov, the orchestral tone poem Night
on Bald Mountain and the ...(+)
Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (1839 – 1881) was a
Russian composer, one of the group known as "The Five".
He was an innovator of Russian music in the romantic
period. He strove to achieve a uniquely Russian musical
identity, often in deliberate defiance of the
established conventions of Western music. Many of his
works were inspired by Russian history, Russian
folklore, and other national themes. Such works include
the opera Boris Godunov, the orchestral tone poem Night
on Bald Mountain and the piano suite Pictures at an
Exhibition.
His musical education was erratic, he toiled as a civil
servant and wrote music only part-time, influenced few
if any of his contemporaries, died early from
alcoholism, and left a small body of work. Yet Modest
Mussorgsky was a towering figure in nineteenth century
Russian music. His works exhibit a daring, raw
individuality, a unique sound that well-meaning
associates tried to conventionalize and smooth over. He
is best known for Night on Bald Mountain (bowdlerized
by Rimsky-Korsakov), Pictures at an Exhibition (a
difficult piano suite orchestrated by Ravel), and the
dark, declamatory opera Boris Godunov (polished by
Rimsky-Korsakov) -- bastardized works all, yet each one
full of arresting harmonies, disturbing colors, and
grim celebrations of Russian nationalism.
Mussorgsky died in poverty, but he was born to a
wealthy landowning family. Under his mother's tutelage,
he developed a facility at the piano, but entered a
cadet school in preparation for a military career. He
joined a choir and discovered Russian church music,
which would profoundly influence his later work.
Upon graduation in 1856, Mussorgsky entered the Russian
Imperial Guard. That year he started to socialize with
the composers Dargomizhsky and Cui, and through them
Balakirev, with whom he began composition lessons.
During this period he wrote small piano pieces and
songs, and after an emotional crisis in 1858 resigned
his commission with the intention of composing
full-time. He began to go his own way as a composer in
1861, but was preoccupied helping to manage his
family's estate. The decline in his family's fortunes
led him to accept low-level civil service positions. He
joined a commune with other intellectuals and became a
proponent of musical Realism, applying the style to his
songs. He had difficulty finishing works in larger
formats, but his music circulated widely enough that by
the late 1860s he was cast with Balakirev, Cui,
Rimsky-Korsakov, and Borodin as part of Russia's
"Mighty Handful."
Mussorgsky toiled many years at his masterpiece, Boris
Godunov, which reflected in music the inflections of
Russian speech and met with great success in 1874. That
year he also produced his innovative piano suite
Pictures at an Exhibition. Yet his heavy drinking led
to his dismissal from government service in 1880.
Friends offered some financial help and Mussorgsky
occasionally accompanied singers at the piano, but his
finances and mental state quickly deteriorated. He died
in 1881, leaving it to posterity to sort through and
complete his unfinished works of unruly genius.
Source: AllMusic
(https://www.allmusic.com/artist/modest-mussorgsky-mn00
00035381/biography).
Although originally created for Accompanied Voice, I
created this Arrangement of the "King Saul" (IMM 65)
for Winds (Flute, Oboe, Bb Clarinet, French Horn &
Bassoon) & Strings (2 Violins, Viola, Cello & Bass).
PARTITION