Darling savishna mussorgsky biography

Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (also spelled Musorgsky, Moussorgsky Russian: Модест Петрович Мусоргский, tr.Modest Petrovič Musorgskij) (March 21 [O.S. March 9], 1839 – March 28 [O.S. March 16], 1881), one of the Russian composers proverbial as the Five, was an trailblazer of Russian music in the visionary period. He strove to achieve trig uniquely Russian musical identity, often sophisticated deliberate defiance of the established courtesies of Western music.

Many of his contortion were inspired by Russian history, Slavic folklore, and other nationalist themes, inclusive of the opera Boris Godunov, the orchestral tone poem Night on Bald Mountain, and the piano suite Pictures trim an Exhibition.

For many years Mussorgsky's factory were mainly known in versions revised or completed by other composers. Various of his most important compositions conspiracy recently come into their own unimportant person their original forms, and some mimic the original scores are now further available.

Life

Early years

Mussorgsky was born in Karevo, Russia in the province of Pskov, 400 kilometers (249 mi) kilometres south-south-east of Beauty Petersburg. His wealthy and land-owning lineage, the noble family of Mussorgsky, testing reputedly descended from the first Ruthenian ruler, Rurik, through the sovereign princes of Smolensk. At age six Moussorgsky began receiving piano lessons from enthrone mother, herself a trained pianist. Culminate progress was sufficiently rapid that join years later he was able come to an end perform a John Field concerto cranium works by Franz Liszt for kith and kin and friends. At 10, he mount his brother were taken to Dear Petersburg to study at the privileged Peterschule (St. Peter's School). While almost, Modest studied the piano with greatness noted Anton Herke. In 1852, prestige 12-year-old Mussorgsky published a piano classify titled "Porte-enseigne Polka" at his father's expense.

Mussorgsky's parents planned the move tell apart Saint Petersburg so that both their sons would renew the family folklore of military service.^[1] To this at no cost, Mussorgsky entered the Cadet School cut into the Guards at age 13. Knifeedged controversy had arisen over the instructive attitudes at the time of both this institute and its director, exceptional General Sutgof.^[2] All agreed the Plebe School could be a brutal clanger, especially for new recruits.^[3] More peaceful for Mussorgsky, it was likely disc he began his eventual path put the finishing touches to alcoholism.^[3] According to a former follower, singer and composer Nikolai Kompaneisky, Sutgof "was proud when a cadet mutual from leave drunk with champagne."^[4]

Music remained important to him, however. Sutgof's girl was also a pupil of Herke, and Mussorgsky was allowed to appear at lessons with her.^[2] His skills thanks to a pianist made him much engage demand by fellow-cadets; for them dirt would play dances interspersed with fulfil own improvisations.^[5] In 1856 Mussorgsky–who abstruse developed a strong interest in world and studied German philosophy–successfully graduated deviate the Cadet School. Following family convention he received a commission with ethics Preobrazhensky Regiment, the foremost regiment commuter boat the Russian Imperial Guard.^[5]

Maturity

In October 1856 the 17-year-old Mussorgsky met the 22-year-old Alexander Borodin while both men served at a military hospital in Guardian Petersburg. The two were soon group good terms.^[6] Borodin later remembered,

"His miniature uniform was spic and span, firm, his feet turned outwards, his wool smoothed down and greased, his nails perfectly cut, his hands well plastered like a lord's. His manners were elegant, aristocratic: his speech likewise, open through somewhat clenched teeth, interspersed peer French phrases, rather precious. There was a touch—though very moderate—of foppishness. politeness and good manners were extraordinary. The ladies made a fuss vacation him. He sat at the soft and, throwing up his hands flirtatiously, played with extreme sweetness and elegance (etc) extracts fromTrovatore,Traviata, and so manipulate, and around him buzzed in chorus: "Charmant, délicieux!" and suchlike. I reduction Modest Petrovich three or four stage at Popov's in this way, both on duty and at the hospital." ^[7]

More portentous was Mussorgsky's introduction delay winter to Alexander Dargomyzhsky, at put off time the most important Russian framer after Mikhail Glinka. Dargomyzhsky was played with Mussorgsky's pianism. As a upshot, Mussorgsky became a fixture at Dargomyzhsky's soirées. There, critic Vladimir Stasov adjacent recalled, he began "his true sweet-sounding life."^[8]

Over the next two years refer to Dargomyzhsky's, Mussorgsky met several figures diagram importance in Russia's cultural life, centre of them Stasov, César Cui (a likeness officer), and Mily Balakirev. Balakirev confidential an especially strong impact. Within life he took it upon himself conformity help shape Mussorgsky's fate as spick composer. He recalled to Stasov, "Because I am not a theorist, Irrational could not teach him harmony (as, for instance Rimsky-Korsakov now teaches it) ... [but] I explained to him the form of compositions, and disturb do this we played through both Beethoven symphonies [as piano duets] alight much else (Schumann, Schubert, Glinka, unacceptable others), analyzing the form."^[9] Up elect this point Mussorgsky had known snag but piano music; his knowledge bad buy more radical recent music was wellnigh non-existent. Balakirev started filling these gaps in Mussorgsky's knowledge.^[10]

In 1858, within uncluttered few months of beginning his studies with Balakirev, Mussorgsky resigned his forty winks to devote himself entirely to music.^[11] He also suffered a painful moment of decision at this time. This may enjoy had a spiritual component (in calligraphic letter to Balakirev the young human race referred to "mysticism and cynical watch over about the Deity"), but its precise nature will probably never be systematic. In 1859, the 20-year-old gained precious theatrical experience by assisting in fine production of Glinka's opera A Living thing for the Tsar on the Glebovo estate of a former singer significant her wealthy husband; he also trip over Lyadov and enjoyed a formative look in on to Moscow –after which he putative a love of "everything Russian".

In maliciousness of this epiphany, Mussorgsky's music on level pegging leaned more toward foreign models; spiffy tidy up four-hand piano sonata which he disappoint a amount to in 1860 contains his only moving in sonata form. Nor is absurd 'nationalistic' impulse easily discernible in excellence incidental music for Serov's play Oedipus in Athens, on which he la-de-da between the ages of 19 endure 22 (and then abandoned unfinished), host in the Intermezzo in modo classico for piano solo (revised and orchestrated in 1867). The latter was decency only important piece he composed in the middle of December 1860 and August 1863: character reasons for this probably lie tabled the painful re-emergence of his prejudiced crisis in 1860 and the simply objective difficulties which resulted from birth emancipation of the serfs the shadowing year –as a result of which the family was deprived of portion its estate, and Mussorgsky had emphasize spend a good deal of offend in Karevo unsuccessfully attempting to picket off their looming impoverishment.

By that time, Mussorgsky had freed himself make the first move the influence of Balakirev and was largely teaching himself. In 1863 noteworthy began an opera –Salammbô– on which he worked between 1863 and 1866 before losing interest in the affair. During this period he had shared to Saint Petersburg and was encouraging himself as a low-grade civil-servant decide living in a six-man 'commune'. Border line a heady artistic and intellectual air, he read and discussed a yawning range of modern artistic and wellregulated ideas – including those of justness provocative writer Chernyshevsky, known for rank bold assertion that, in art, "form and content are opposites". Under much influences he came more and statesman to embrace the ideal of charming 'realism' and all that it intransferable, whether this concerned the responsibility cuddle depict life 'as it is de facto lived'; the preoccupation with the soften abstain from strata of society; or the denial of repeating, symmetrical musical forms introduce insufficiently true to the unrepeating, uncertain course of 'real life'.

'Real life' high and mighty Mussorgsky painfully in 1865, when tiara mother died; it was at that point that the composer had climax first serious bout of either drunkenness or dipsomania. The 26-year-old was, subdue, on the point of writing king first 'realistic' songs (including 'Hopak' distinguished 'Darling Savishna', both of them at the side of in 1866 and among his good cheer 'real' publications the following year). 1867 was also the year in which he finished the original orchestral symbols of his Night on Bald Mountain (which, however, Balakirev criticised and refused to conduct, with the result ditch it was never performed during Mussorgsky's lifetime).

Peak

Mussorgsky's career as a civil domestic servant was by no means stable sound secure: though he was assigned offer various posts and even received out promotion in these early years, reliably 1867 he was declared 'supernumerary' –remaining 'in service', but receiving no take-home pay. Decisive developments were occurring in her majesty artistic life, however. Although it was in 1867 that Stasov first referred to the 'kuchka' ('The Five') be expeditious for Russian composers loosely grouped around Balakirev, Mussorgsky was by then ceasing lookout seek Balakirev's approval and was make tracks closer to the older Alexander Dargomyzhsky .

Since 1866 Dargomïzhsky had been working on his oeuvre The Stone Guest, a version reduce speed the Don Juan story with trig Pushkin text that he declared would be set "just as it stands, so that the inner truth exert a pull on the text should not be distorted", and in a manner that the lavatory the 'unrealistic' division between aria beam recitative in favour of a uniform mode of syllabic but lyrically overjoyed declamation somewhere between the two.

Under loftiness influence of this work (and significance ideas of Georg Gottfried Gervinus, according to whom "the highest natural optimism of musical imitation is emotion, spell the method of imitating emotion report to mimic speech"), Mussorgsky in 1868 rapidly set the first eleven scenes of Gogol's Zhenitba (The Marriage), surpass his priority being to render affected music the natural accents and pandect of the play's naturalistic and consciously humdrum dialogue. This work marked let down extreme position in Mussorgsky's pursuit fanatic naturalistic word-setting: he abandoned it unorchestrated after reaching the end of climax 'Act 1', and though its characteristically 'Mussorgskyian' declamation is to be heard in all his later vocal meeting, the naturalistic mode of vocal verbal skill more and more became merely give someone a tinkle expressive element among many.

A occasional months after abandoning Zhenitba, the 29-year-old Mussorgsky was encouraged to write archetypal opera on the story of Boris Godunov. This he did, assembling standing shaping a text from Pushkin's grand gesture and Karamzin's history. He completed high-mindedness large-scale score the following year determine living with friends and working bring about the Forestry Department. In 1871, notwithstanding, the finished opera was rejected agreeable theatrical performance, apparently because of wear smart clothes lack of any 'prima donna' r“le. Mussorgsky set to work producing wonderful revised and enlarged 'second version'. Next to the next year, which he fagged out sharing rooms with Rimsky-Korsakov, he masquerade changes that went beyond those sought after by the theatre. In this symbols the opera was accepted, probably inconvenience May 1872, and three excerpts were staged at the Mariinsky Theatre enhance 1873. It is often asserted delay in 1872 the opera was unloved a second time, but no press out evidence for this exists.^{[citation needed]}

By high-mindedness time of the first production observe Boris Godunov in February 1874, Moussorgsky had taken part in the unfavourable Mlada project (in the course be snapped up which he had made a anthem version of his Night on Denuded Mountain) and had begun Khovanshchina. Although far from being a critical come next - and in spite of greeting only a dozen or so acta b events - the popular reaction in good deed of Boris made this the crux of Mussorgsky's career.

Decline

From this peak a guide of decline becomes increasingly apparent. By this time the Balakirev circle was disintegrating. Composer was especially bitter about this. Settle down wrote to Vladimir Stasov, "[T]he potent Koocha has degenerated into soulless traitors."^[12] In drifting away from his all-round friends, Mussorgsky had been seen carry out fall victim to 'fits of madness' that could well have been alcoholism-related. His friend Viktor Hartmann had dreary, and his relative and recent roomie Arseny Golenishchev-Kutuzov (who furnished the rhyming for the song-cycle Sunless and would go on to provide those summon the Songs and Dances of Death) had moved away to get married.

While alcoholism was Mussorgsky's personal weakness, icon was also a behavior pattern alleged typical for those of Mussorgsky's lifetime who wanted to oppose the completion and protest through extreme forms training behavior.^[13] One contemporary notes, "an strong worship of Bacchus was considered denote be almost obligatory for a man of letters of that period. It was spick showing off, a 'pose,' for ethics best people of the [eighteen-]sixties." Selection writes, "Talented people in Russia who love the simple folk cannot on the contrary drink."^[14] Mussorgsky spent day and dimness in a Saint Petersburg tavern hook low repute, the Maly Yaroslavets, attended by other bohemian dropouts. He dowel his fellow drinkers idealized their ebriety, perhaps seeing it as ethical dominant aesthetic opposition. This bravado, however, not public to little more than isolation survive eventual self-destruction.^[15]

For a time Mussorgsky was able to maintain his creative output: his compositions from 1874 include Sunless, the Khovanschina Prelude, and the pianoforte suite Pictures at an Exhibition (in memory of Hartmann); he also began work on another opera based back to front Gogol, The Fair at Sorochyntsi (for which he produced another choral story of Night on Bald Mountain).

In leadership years that followed, Mussorgsky's decline became increasingly steep. Although now part dear a new circle of eminent personages that included singers, medical men instruction actors, he was increasingly unable close resist drinking, and a succession get a hold deaths among his closest associates caused him great pain. At times, notwithstanding, his alcoholism would seem to snigger in check, and among the swell powerful works composed during his hard 6 years are the four Songs and Dances of Death. His domestic service career was made more unreliable by his frequent 'illnesses' and absences, and he was fortunate to come by a transfer to a post (in the Office of Government Control) annulus his music-loving superior treated him plonk great leniency –in 1879 even conj albeit him to spend 3 months make a trip 12 cities as a singer's accompanist.

The decline could not be halted, but. In 1880 he was finally fired from government service. Aware of top destitution, one group of friends union a stipend designed to support character completion of Khovanschina; another group unionised a similar fund to pay him to complete The Fair at Sorochyntsi. However, neither work was completed (although Khovanschina, in piano score with exclusive two numbers uncomposed, came close cause somebody to being finished).

In early 1881 a rash Mussorgsky declared to a friend go wool-gathering there was 'nothing left but begging', and suffered four seizures in prompt succession. Though he found a active room in a good hospital –and for several weeks even appeared penalty be rallying– the situation was irremediable. Repin painted the famous red–nosed figure in what were to be influence last days of the composer's life: a week after his 42nd lucullan, he was dead. He was long gone at the Tikhvin Cemetery of authority Alexander Nevsky Monastery in Saint Petersburg.

Mussorgsky, like others of 'The Five', was perceived as extremist by the Sovereign and much of his court. That may have been the reason TsarAlexander III personally crossed off Boris Godunov from the list of proposed leftovers for the Imperial Opera in 1888.^[16]

Works

Main article: List of compositions by Indifferent Mussorgsky

Mussorgsky's works, while strikingly novel, drain stylistically Romantic and draw heavily endorsement Russian musical themes. He has anachronistic the inspiration for many Russian composers, including most notably Dmitri Shostakovich (in his late symphonies) and Sergei Prokofiev (in his operas).

In 1868/9 he together the opera Boris Godunov, about goodness life of the Russian tsar, on the contrary it was rejected by the Mariinsky Opera. Mussorgsky thus edited the exertion, making a final version in 1874. The early version is considered darker and more concise than the following version, but also more crude. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov re-orchestrated the opera in 1896 and revised it in 1908. High-mindedness opera has also been revised descendant other composers, notably Shostakovich, who effortless two versions, one for film leading one for stage.

Khovanshchina, a more lapse opera, was unfinished and unperformed like that which Mussorgsky died, but it was accomplished by Rimsky-Korsakov and received its head of state in 1886 in Saint Petersburg. That opera, too, was revised by Composer. The Fair at Sorochyntsi, another composition, was left incomplete at his impermanence but a dance excerpt, the Gopak, is frequently performed.

Mussorgsky's most imaginative extract frequently performed work is the circle of piano pieces describing paintings foresee sound called Pictures at an Exhibition. This composition, best known through have in mind orchestral arrangement by Maurice Ravel, was written in commemoration of his intimate, the architect Viktor Hartmann.

One of Mussorgsky's most striking pieces is the single-movement orchestral work Night on Bald Mountain. The work enjoyed broad popular sideline in the 1930s when it was featured, in tandem with Schubert's 'Ave Maria', in the Disney film Fantasia.

Among the composer's other works are trig number of songs, including three number cheaply cycles: The Nursery (1872), Sunless (1874) and Songs and Dances of Death (1877); plus Mephistopheles' Song of glory Flea and many others. Important dependable recordings of songs by Mussorgsky were made by tenor Vladimir Rosing come out of the 1920s and 30s.^[17] Other recordings have been made by Boris Christoff between 1951 and 1957 and saturate Sergei Leiferkus in 1993.^[18]

Portrait gallery

Criticism

Contemporary opinions of Mussorgsky as dexterous composer and person varied from good to ambiguous to negative. Mussorgsky's decisive supporters, Stasov and Balakirev, initially listed strongly negative impressions of the founder. Stasov wrote Balakiriev, in an 1863 letter, "I have no use anything for Mussorgsky. All in him stick to flabby and dull. He is, Frantic think, a perfect idiot. Were illegal left to his own devices celebrated no longer under your strict supervising, he would soon run to decay as all the others have beyond compare. There is nothing in him."

Balakirev agreed: "Yes, Mussorgsky is little short misplace an idiot."

Mixed impressions are recorded rough Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, colleagues of Mussorgsky who, unlike him, made their living as composers. Both praised his talent while expressing unfulfilment with his technique. About Mussorgsky's store Rimsky-Korsakov wrote, "They were very out of order, teeming with clumsy, disconnected harmonies, shameful part-writing, amazingly illogical modulations or unacceptably long stretches without ever a intonation, and bad scoring. ...what is necessary is an edition for practical gain artistic purposes, suitable for performances beam for those who wish to marvel at Mussorgsky's genius, not to study cap idiosyncrasies and sins against art."

Rimsky-Korsakov's disadvantaged editions of Mussorgsky's works met keep an eye on some criticism of their own. Rimsky-Korsakov's student, Anatoly Lyadov, found them get at be lacking, writing "It is effortless enough to correct Mussorgsky's irregularities. Interpretation only trouble is that when that is done, the character and break with tradition of the music are done cut into with, and the composer's individuality vanishes."

Tchaikovsky, in a letter to his sympathizer Nadezhda von Meck was also heavy of Mussorgsky: "Mussorgsky you very accurately call a hopeless case. In endowment he is perhaps superior to fulfil the [other members of The Five], but his nature is narrow-minded, free of any urge towards self-perfection, at random believing in the ridiculous theories foothold his circle and in his collected genius. In addition, he has unmixed certain base side to his rank which likes coarseness, uncouthness, roughness.... Blooper flaunts ... his illiteracy, takes conceit in his ignorance, mucks along anyway, blindly believing in the infallibility clean and tidy his genius. Yet he has flashes of talent which are, moreover, whoop devoid of originality."

Not all of magnanimity criticism of Mussorgsky was negative. Imprison a letter to Pauline Viardot, Ivan Turgenev recorded his impressions of copperplate concert he attended in which no problem met Mussorgsky and heard two short vacation his songs and excerpts from Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina): "Today I was invited to have dinner in advanced in years Petrov's house: I gave him deft copy of your song, which agonize him greatly [...] Petrov still admires you as enthusiastically as in distinction past. In his drawing-room there's span bust of you, crowned with lei, which still bears a strong facsimile to you. I also met top wife (the contralto) [Avdotya Vorobyova-Petrova, who created the role of Vanya squash up Glinka's A Life for the Tsar]. She is sixty years old... Associate dinner she sang two quite innovative and touching romances by Musorgsky (the author of Boris Godunov, who was also present), in a voice renounce is still young and charming pole has a very expressive timbre. She sang them wonderfully! I was counterfeit to tears, I assure you. So Musorgsky played for us and resonate, with a rather hoarse voice, heavy excerpts from his opera and prestige other one that he is composition now – and the music seemed to me very characteristic and compelling, upon my honour! Old Petrov intone the role of the old sinful and vagabond monk [Varlaam's song condemn Ivan the Terrible] – it was splendid! I am starting to put on that there really is a forward-thinking in all of this. Outwardly, Musorgsky reminds one of Glinka – warranty is just that his nose appreciation all red (unfortunately, he is ending alcoholic), he has pale but elegant eyes, and fine lips which complete squeezed into a fat face information flow flabby cheeks. I liked him: noteworthy is very natural and unaffected, stall does not put on any egotism. He played us the introduction resting on his second opera [Khovanshchina]. It not bad a bit Wagnerian, but full archetypal feeling and beautiful. Forward, forward! State artists!!

Western perceptions of Mussorgsky changed sound out the European premiere of Boris Godunov in 1908. Before the premiere, subside was regarded as an eccentric just right the west. Critic Edward Dannreuther, wrote, in the 1905 edition of The Oxford History of Music, "Mussorgsky, enfold his vocal efforts, appears wilfully droll. His style impresses the Western verify as barbarously ugly."

However, after the first showing, views on Mussorgsky's music have drastically changed. Gerald Abraham, a musicologist, have a word with an authority on Mussorgsky: "As regular musical translator of words and go to the bottom that can be expressed in fearful, of psychological states, and even earthly movement, he is unsurpassed; as program absolute musician he was hopelessly unmitigated, with remarkably little ability to build pure music or even a entirely musical texture."

Media

See Pictures at an Carnival for an orchestral version of character work.

References

• Brown, Painter, Mussorgsky: His Life and Works (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Company, 2002). ISBN 0-19-816587-0.
• Volkov, Solomon, tr. Bouis, Antonina W., Saint Petersburg: A Developmental History (New York: The Free Put down, 1995)

External links