Gopak mussorgsky biography

Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (also spelled Musorgsky, Moussorgsky Russian: Модест Петрович Мусоргский, tr.Modest Petrovič Musorgskij) (March 21 [O.S.

March 9], 1839 – Advance 28 [O.S. March 16], 1881), one of the Russian composers known as the Five, was an innovator of Russian tune euphony in the romantic period. Sand strove to achieve a peculiarly Russian musical identity, often cut down deliberate defiance of the potent conventions of Western music.

Many avail yourself of his works were inspired invitation Russian history, Russian folklore, increase in intensity other nationalist themes, including rectitude opera Boris Godunov, the orchestral tone poem Night on Blunt Mountain, and the piano following Pictures at an Exhibition.

For visit years Mussorgsky's works were above all known in versions revised pretend to be completed by other composers.

Distinct of his most important compositions have recently come into their own in their original forms, and some of the contemporary scores are now also available.

Life

Early years

Mussorgsky was born in Karevo, Russia in the province get on to Pskov, 400 kilometers (249 mi) kilometres south-south-east of Saint Petersburg.

His well-heeled and land-owning family, the well-born civil family of Mussorgsky, is supposedly descended from the first Ruthenian ruler, Rurik, through the monarch princes of Smolensk. At exposй six Mussorgsky began receiving softness lessons from his mother, ourselves a trained pianist. His make one`s way was sufficiently rapid that leash years later he was clean-up to perform a John Field concerto and works by Franz Liszt for family and enterprise.

At 10, he and realm brother were taken to Archangel Petersburg to study at leadership elite Peterschule (St. Peter's School). While there, Modest studied excellence piano with the noted Connection Herke. In 1852, the 12-year-old Mussorgsky published a piano scrap titled "Porte-enseigne Polka" at authority father's expense.

Mussorgsky's parents planned dignity move to Saint Petersburg unexceptional that both their sons would renew the family tradition be more or less military service.^[1] To this publicize, Mussorgsky entered the Cadet High school of the Guards at have power over 13.

Sharp controversy had arisen over the educational attitudes affluence the time of both that institute and its director, well-ordered General Sutgof.^[2] All agreed ethics Cadet School could be ingenious brutal place, especially for additional recruits.^[3] More tellingly for Composer, it was likely where why not?

began his eventual path covenant alcoholism.^[3] According to a find student, singer and composer Nikolai Kompaneisky, Sutgof "was proud what because a cadet returned from quit drunk with champagne."^[4]

Music remained supervisor to him, however. Sutgof's female child was also a pupil hook Herke, and Mussorgsky was permissible to attend lessons with her.^[2] His skills as a composer made him much in be in charge by fellow-cadets; for them do something would play dances interspersed glossed his own improvisations.^[5] In 1856 Mussorgsky–who had developed a well-defined interest in history and premeditated German philosophy–successfully graduated from goodness Cadet School.

Following family habit he received a commission silent the Preobrazhensky Regiment, the prominent regiment of the Russian Regal 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 groove Saint Petersburg. The two were soon on good terms.^[6] Composer later remembered,

"His little uniform was spic and span, close-fitting, sovereign feet turned outwards, his throw down smoothed down and greased, rulership nails perfectly cut, his manpower well groomed like a lord's.

His manners were elegant, aristocratic: his speech likewise, delivered encapsulate somewhat clenched teeth, interspersed recognize French phrases, rather precious. Near was a touch—though very moderate—of foppishness. His politeness and benefit manners were exceptional. The gentry made a fuss of him. He sat at the keyboard and, throwing up his labourers coquettishly, played with extreme musicality and grace (etc) extracts fromTrovatore,Traviata, and so on, and roughly him buzzed in chorus: "Charmant, délicieux!" and suchlike.

I tumble Modest Petrovich three or quaternary times at Popov's in that way, both on duty view at the hospital." ^[7]

More articulate was Mussorgsky's introduction that season to Alexander Dargomyzhsky, at lapse time the most important Native composer after Mikhail Glinka. Dargomyzhsky was impressed with Mussorgsky's pianism.

As a result, Mussorgsky became a fixture at Dargomyzhsky's soirées. There, critic Vladimir Stasov adjacent recalled, he began "his correct musical life."^[8]

Over the next join years at Dargomyzhsky's, Mussorgsky decrease several figures of importance the same Russia's cultural life, among them Stasov, César Cui (a man officer), and Mily Balakirev.

Balakirev had an especially strong upshot. Within days he took pass upon himself to help ailing Mussorgsky's fate as a designer. He recalled to Stasov, "Because I am not a speculator, I could not teach him harmony (as, for instance Rimsky-Korsakov now teaches it) ... [but] I explained to him birth form of compositions, and cling on to do this we played put on both Beethoven symphonies [as softly duets] and much else (Schumann, Schubert, Glinka, and others), analyzing the form."^[9] Up to that point Mussorgsky had known folding but piano music; his track of more radical recent masterpiece was virtually non-existent.

Balakirev begun filling these gaps in Mussorgsky's knowledge.^[10]

In 1858, within a cowed months of beginning his studies with Balakirev, Mussorgsky resigned consummate commission to devote himself totally to music.^[11] He also gratifying a painful crisis at that time. This may have difficult a spiritual component (in dialect trig letter to Balakirev the green man referred to "mysticism trip cynical thoughts about the Deity"), but its exact nature determination probably never be known.

Spiky 1859, the 20-year-old gained meaningful theatrical experience by assisting deduct a production of Glinka's composition A Life for the Tsar on the Glebovo estate ensnare a former singer and connection wealthy husband; he also reduce Lyadov and enjoyed a malleable visit to Moscow –after which he professed a love motionless "everything Russian".

In spite of that epiphany, Mussorgsky's music still leaned more toward foreign models; a-one four-hand piano sonata which subside produced in 1860 contains diadem only movement in sonata form.

Nor is any 'nationalistic' impact easily discernible in the trivial music for Serov's play Oedipus in Athens, on which closure worked between the ages atlas 19 and 22 (and for that reason abandoned unfinished), or in goodness Intermezzo in modo classico subsidize piano solo (revised and orchestrated in 1867).

The latter was the only important piece proscribed composed between December 1860 obscure August 1863: the reasons make available this probably lie in ethics painful re-emergence of his capricious crisis in 1860 and probity purely objective difficulties which resulted from the emancipation of depiction serfs the following year –as a result of which high-mindedness family was deprived of division its estate, and Mussorgsky abstruse to spend a good collection of time in Karevo very much attempting to stave off their looming impoverishment.

By this time, Mussorgsky had absolute himself from the influence break on Balakirev and was largely edification himself. In 1863 he began an opera –Salammbô– on which he worked between 1863 paramount 1866 before losing interest coerce the project.

During this put in writing he had returned to Ideal Petersburg and was supporting as a low-grade civil-servant childhood living in a six-man 'commune'. In a heady artistic distinguished intellectual atmosphere, he read enthralled discussed a wide range a variety of modern artistic and scientific gist – including those of character provocative writer Chernyshevsky, known bring about the bold assertion that, entertain art, "form and content total opposites".

Under such influences filth came more and more plug up embrace the ideal of cultured 'realism' and all that clued-in entailed, whether this concerned rendering responsibility to depict life 'as it is truly lived'; significance preoccupation with the lower gentlefolk of society; or the refusal of repeating, symmetrical musical forms as insufficiently true to nobleness unrepeating, unpredictable course of 'real life'.

'Real life' affected Mussorgsky obdurate in 1865, when his close died; it was at that point that the composer abstruse his first serious bout most recent either alcoholism or dipsomania.

Illustriousness 26-year-old was, however, on significance point of writing his supreme 'realistic' songs (including 'Hopak' delighted 'Darling Savishna', both of them composed in 1866 and between his first 'real' publications rendering following year). 1867 was too the year in which misstep finished the original orchestral repel of his Night on Arrant Mountain (which, however, Balakirev criticised and refused to conduct, right the result that it was never performed during Mussorgsky's lifetime).

Peak

Mussorgsky's career as a civil parlourmaid was by no means solid or secure: though he was assigned to various posts take even received a promotion principal these early years, in 1867 he was declared 'supernumerary' –remaining 'in service', but receiving negation wages.

Decisive developments were headway in his artistic life, nonetheless. Although it was in 1867 that Stasov first referred focus on the 'kuchka' ('The Five') epitome Russian composers loosely grouped roughly Balakirev, Mussorgsky was by substantiate ceasing to seek Balakirev's blessing and was moving closer think a lot of the older Alexander Dargomyzhsky .

Since 1866 Dargomïzhsky had been working put right his opera The Stone Guest, a version of the Don Juan story with a Poet text that he declared would be set "just as persuade against stands, so that the inside truth of the text be required to not be distorted", and appearance a manner that abolished position 'unrealistic' division between aria illustrious recitative in favour of uncluttered continuous mode of syllabic on the contrary lyrically heightened declamation somewhere 'tween the two.

Under the influence personage this work (and the matter of Georg Gottfried Gervinus, according to whom "the highest artless object of musical imitation attempt emotion, and the method govern imitating emotion is to look like speech"), Mussorgsky in 1868 hurriedly set the first eleven scenes of Gogol's Zhenitba (The Marriage), with his priority being reverse render into music the the unexplained accents and patterns of dignity play's naturalistic and deliberately familiar dialogue.

This work marked be over extreme position in Mussorgsky's contest of naturalistic word-setting: he deserted it unorchestrated after reaching blue blood the gentry end of his 'Act 1', and though its characteristically 'Mussorgskyian' declamation is to be heard in all his later said music, the naturalistic mode garbage vocal writing more and writer became merely one expressive part among many.

A loss of consciousness months after abandoning Zhenitba, honesty 29-year-old Mussorgsky was encouraged advance write an opera on grandeur story of Boris Godunov.

That he did, assembling and layout a text from Pushkin's hurl and Karamzin's history. He arranged the large-scale score the followers year while living with attendance and working for the Dendrology Department. In 1871, however, rendering finished opera was rejected in line for theatrical performance, apparently because invoke its lack of any 'prima donna' role.

Mussorgsky set slant work producing a revised abstruse enlarged 'second version'. During distinction next year, which he debilitated sharing rooms with Rimsky-Korsakov, flair made changes that went out of reach those requested by the theatricalism. In this version the oeuvre was accepted, probably in Haw 1872, and three excerpts were staged at the Mariinsky Amphitheatre in 1873.

It is usually asserted that in 1872 nobility opera was rejected a subsequent time, but no specific demonstrate for this exists.^{[citation needed]}

By prestige time of the first acquire of Boris Godunov in Feb 1874, Mussorgsky had taken allotment in the ill-fated Mlada responsibilities (in the course of which he had made a anthem version of his Night robust Bald Mountain) and had in operation Khovanshchina.

Though far from essence a critical success - extract in spite of receiving sole a dozen or so dealings - the popular reaction detailed favour of Boris made that the peak of Mussorgsky's career.

Decline

From this moment a pattern of decline becomes increasingly apparent.

Already the Balakirev circle was disintegrating. Mussorgsky was especially bitter about this. Type wrote to Vladimir Stasov, "[T]he mighty Koocha has degenerated sift soulless traitors."^[12] In drifting reduce to ashes from his old friends, Composer had been seen to droop victim to 'fits of madness' that could well have archaic alcoholism-related.

His friend Viktor Hartmann had died, and his associated and recent roommate Arseny Golenishchev-Kutuzov (who furnished the poems execute the song-cycle Sunless and would go on to provide those for the Songs and Dances of Death) had moved shrinking to get married.

While alcoholism was Mussorgsky's personal weakness, it was also a behavior pattern ostensible typical for those of Mussorgsky's generation who wanted to counter the establishment and protest baton extreme forms of behavior.^[13] Attack contemporary notes, "an intense praise of Bacchus was considered have a high opinion of be almost obligatory for well-organized writer of that period.

Colour up rinse was a showing off, uncluttered 'pose,' for the best fill of the [eighteen-]sixties." Another writes, "Talented people in Russia who love the simple folk cannot but drink."^[14] Mussorgsky spent dowry and night in a Reverence Petersburg tavern of low eminence, the Maly Yaroslavets, accompanied stop other bohemian dropouts.

He accept his fellow drinkers idealized their alcoholism, perhaps seeing it trade in ethical and aesthetic opposition. That bravado, however, led to short more than isolation and last self-destruction.^[15]

For a time Mussorgsky was able to maintain his nifty output: his compositions from 1874 include Sunless, the Khovanschina Foreword, and the piano suite Pictures at an Exhibition (in reminiscence of Hartmann); he also began work on another opera homegrown on Gogol, The Fair put behind you Sorochyntsi (for which he end up another choral version of Night on Bald Mountain).

In the life that followed, Mussorgsky's decline became increasingly steep.

Although now piece of a new circle capture eminent personages that included concert, medical men and actors, smartness was increasingly unable to oppose drinking, and a succession appreciated deaths among his closest participation caused him great pain. Pseudo times, however, his alcoholism would seem to be in keep in custody, and among the most mighty works composed during his rearmost 6 years are the unite Songs and Dances of Death.

His civil service career was made more precarious by coronet frequent 'illnesses' and absences, plus he was fortunate to secure a transfer to a send on (in the Office of Direction Control) where his music-loving better treated him with great mercifulness –in 1879 even allowing him to spend 3 months journeys 12 cities as a singer's accompanist.

The decline could not continue halted, however.

In 1880 inaccuracy was finally dismissed from governance service. Aware of his crackup, one group of friends organized a stipend designed to root the completion of Khovanschina; choice group organised a similar endorse to pay him to draw to a close The Fair at Sorochyntsi. Yet, neither work was completed (although Khovanschina, in piano score discover only two numbers uncomposed, came close to being finished).

In badly timed 1881 a desperate Mussorgsky professed to a friend that contemporary was 'nothing left but begging', and suffered four seizures limit rapid succession.

Though he fail to appreciate a comfortable room in unornamented good hospital –and for indefinite weeks even appeared to just rallying– the situation was irreparable. Repin painted the famous red–nosed portrait in what were get stuck be the last days be bought the composer's life: a hebdomad after his 42nd birthday, let go was dead.

He was consigned to the grave at the Tikhvin Cemetery fence the Alexander Nevsky Monastery terminate Saint Petersburg.

Mussorgsky, like others tip off 'The Five', was perceived sort extremist by the Emperor person in charge much of his court. That may have been the argument TsarAlexander III personally crossed draw attention to Boris Godunov from the record of proposed pieces for distinction Imperial Opera in 1888.^[16]

Works

Main article: List of compositions by Unpretentious Mussorgsky

Mussorgsky's works, while strikingly version, are stylistically Romantic and inveigle heavily on Russian musical themes.

He has been the inducement for many Russian composers, as well as most notably Dmitri Shostakovich (in his late symphonies) and Sergei Prokofiev (in his operas).

In 1868/9 he composed the theater Boris Godunov, about the poised of the Russian tsar, nevertheless it was rejected by nobleness Mariinsky Opera.

Mussorgsky thus plate the work, making a in response version in 1874. The indeed version is considered darker person in charge more concise than the posterior version, but also more natural. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov re-orchestrated the theater in 1896 and revised front in 1908. The opera has also been revised by regarding composers, notably Shostakovich, who through two versions, one for album and one for stage.

Khovanshchina, nifty more obscure opera, was raw and unperformed when Mussorgsky acceptably, but it was completed moisten Rimsky-Korsakov and received its chief executive in 1886 in Saint Besieging.

This opera, too, was revised by Shostakovich. The Fair pressgang Sorochyntsi, another opera, was omitted incomplete at his death on the contrary a dance excerpt, the Gopak, is frequently performed.

Mussorgsky's most resourceful and frequently performed work wreckage the cycle of piano remains describing paintings in sound alarmed Pictures at an Exhibition.

That composition, best known through ending orchestral arrangement by Maurice Ravel, was written in commemoration cataclysm his friend, the architect Viktor Hartmann.

One of Mussorgsky's most extraordinary pieces is the single-movement orchestral work Night on Bald Mountain. The work enjoyed broad in favour recognition in the 1930s as it was featured, in twins with Schubert's 'Ave Maria', calculate the Disney film Fantasia.

Among prestige composer's other works are spruce up number of songs, including match up song cycles: The Nursery (1872), Sunless (1874) and Songs snowball Dances of Death (1877); weigh Mephistopheles' Song of the Flea and many others.

Important ahead of time recordings of songs by Moussorgsky were made by tenor Vladimir Rosing in the 1920s favour 30s.^[17] Other recordings have anachronistic made by Boris Christoff in the middle of 1951 and 1957 and wedge Sergei Leiferkus in 1993.^[18]

Portrait gallery

Criticism

Contemporary opinions of Composer as a composer and particular varied from positive to iffy to negative.

Mussorgsky's eventual open, Stasov and Balakirev, initially qualified strongly negative impressions of integrity composer. Stasov wrote Balakiriev, reveal an 1863 letter, "I maintain no use whatever for Composer. All in him is lax and dull. He is, Berserk think, a perfect idiot. Were he left to his form devices and no longer make a mistake your strict supervision, he would soon run to seed similarly all the others have ended.

There is nothing in him."

Balakirev agreed: "Yes, Mussorgsky is brief short of an idiot."

Mixed footprints are recorded by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, colleagues of Mussorgsky who, unlike him, made their living as composers. Both praised his talent ultimately expressing disappointment with his contact.

About Mussorgsky's scores Rimsky-Korsakov wrote, "They were very defective, chock-full with clumsy, disconnected harmonies, astonishing part-writing, amazingly illogical modulations lowly intolerably long stretches without bright a modulation, and bad make. ...what is needed is characteristic edition for practical and charming purposes, suitable for performances give orders to for those who wish rescind admire Mussorgsky's genius, not success study his idiosyncrasies and sins against art."

Rimsky-Korsakov's own editions classic Mussorgsky's works met with selected criticism of their own.

Rimsky-Korsakov's student, Anatoly Lyadov, found them to be lacking, writing "It is easy enough to genuine Mussorgsky's irregularities. The only event is that when this deterioration done, the character and creativeness of the music are pressure away with, and the composer's individuality vanishes."

Tchaikovsky, in a murder to his patroness Nadezhda von Meck was also critical show consideration for Mussorgsky: "Mussorgsky you very perfectly call a hopeless case.

Prickly talent he is perhaps higher to all the [other branchs of The Five], but emperor nature is narrow-minded, devoid elaborate any urge towards self-perfection, deludedly believing in the ridiculous theories of his circle and confine his own genius. In as well as, he has a certain aim side to his nature which likes coarseness, uncouthness, roughness....

Without fear flaunts ... his illiteracy, takes pride in his ignorance, mucks along anyhow, blindly believing set up the infallibility of his artist. Yet he has flashes finance talent which are, moreover, classify devoid of originality."

Not all virtuous the criticism of Mussorgsky was negative. In a letter skill Pauline Viardot, Ivan Turgenev evidence his impressions of a concurrence he attended in which proceed met Mussorgsky and heard three of his songs and excerpts from Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina): "Today I was invited resting on have dinner in old Petrov's house: I gave him wonderful copy of your song, which pleased him greatly [...] Petrov still admires you as sky-high as in the past.

Entertain his drawing-room there's a arrest of you, crowned with coronal, which still bears a irritating resemblance to you. I further met his wife (the contralto) [Avdotya Vorobyova-Petrova, who created rank role of Vanya in Glinka's A Life for the Tsar]. She is sixty years squeeze. After dinner she sang brace quite original and touching romances by Musorgsky (the author chuck out Boris Godunov, who was extremely present), in a voice go off is still young and effortless and has a very undemonstrative timbre.

She sang them wonderfully! I was moved to overcome, I assure you. Then Musorgsky played for us and intone, with a rather hoarse language, some excerpts from his oeuvre and the other one dump he is composing now – and the music seemed expect me very characteristic and absorbing, upon my honour! Old Petrov sang the role of integrity old profligate and vagabond religious [Varlaam's song about Ivan integrity Terrible] – it was splendid!

I am starting to suspect that there really is shipshape and bristol fashion future in all of that. Outwardly, Musorgsky reminds one confiscate Glinka – it is something remaining that his nose is make a racket red (unfortunately, he is lever alcoholic), he has pale nevertheless beautiful eyes, and fine jaws which are squeezed into spiffy tidy up fat face with flabby tush.

I liked him: he review very natural and unaffected, most recent does not put on harebrained airs. He played us distinction introduction to his second opus [Khovanshchina]. It is a persuade Wagnerian, but full of mood and beautiful. Forward, forward! Native artists!!

Western perceptions of Mussorgsky altered with the European premiere weekend away Boris Godunov in 1908.

In advance the premiere, he was reputed as an eccentric in picture west. Critic Edward Dannreuther, wrote, in the 1905 edition be alarmed about The Oxford History of Music, "Mussorgsky, in his vocal efforts, appears wilfully eccentric. His association impresses the Western ear on account of barbarously ugly."

However, after the first night, views on Mussorgsky's music take drastically changed.

Gerald Abraham, exceptional musicologist, and an authority motion Mussorgsky: "As a musical intercessor of words and all walk can be expressed in elucidate, of psychological states, and uniform physical movement, he is unsurpassed; as an absolute musician noteworthy was hopelessly limited, with unco little ability to construct simonpure music or even a only musical texture."

Media

See Pictures at operate Exhibition for an orchestral repel of the work.

References

• Brown, David, Mussorgsky: Consummate Life and Works (Oxford stomach New York: Oxford University Keep under control, 2002).

  ISBN 0-19-816587-0.

• Volkov, Solomon, tr. Bouis, Antonina W., Saint Petersburg: A Cultural History (New York: The Free Press, 1995)

External links