The years of the life of the composer Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky. Mussorgsky short biography and interesting facts. Modest Mussorgsky short biography


Mussorgsky's biography will be of interest to everyone who is not indifferent to his original music. The composer changed the course of development of musical culture, but he was achieved ...

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25.06.2018 20:00

Mussorgsky's biography will be of interest to everyone who is not indifferent to his original music. The composer changed the course of development of musical culture, but his achievements were not recognized during his lifetime, as is often the case with geniuses ahead of their time. Mussorgsky's operas Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina are recognized masterpieces today, and his compositions for vocals and piano are proudly performed by the world's best musicians.

Brief biography of Modest Mussorgsky

The composer was born on March 21, 1839 in the village. Karevo, which is located in the Pskov province. The biography of Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky might not be so successful, but his father was a representative of an old noble family, so the path to high society immediately opened for the boy. Until the age of ten, the future celebrity was taught at home, and in 1849 he was sent to the Petrishule school - one of the oldest and best educational institutions in St. Petersburg. Without completing it, in 1852 Modest transferred to the School of Guards Ensigns - a privileged military school, within the walls of which many outstanding figures of Russia were educated.

One of the School's teachers, Father Krupsky, recognized his talent and taught Mussorgsky to understand the deep essence of church music. In 1856, the young man's training came to an end. After graduating from the School, Modest served for some time in the Life Guards, then in the engineering department, and after that in the Ministry of State Property, in charge of state lands, as well as in state control.

"The Mighty Bunch"

In the 60s, Modest Petrovich became a member of the "Mighty Handful" - the community of outstanding composers of St. Petersburg. By this time, the young man had become a well-educated and erudite Russian officer, fluently spoke French and German, understood Greek and Latin.

Miliy Alekseevich Balakirev, who was only two years older than Modest and was the founder of The Mighty Handful, made the young composer devote more time to music. He played an important role in the biography of Mussorgsky. Mily Alekseevich personally supervised the reading of orchestral scores, taught to analyze the harmony and form of works of the world's greatest composers, tried to develop critical thinking skills. Until 1871, the master did not create a single major piece of music. This period of the biography of Modest Mussorgsky was not marked by any significant achievement. The composer wrote short songs and romances, but was unable to complete a single opera, although he made several attempts.

First major success

The first major work was the opera "Boris Godunov", based on the work of Alexander Pushkin. In 1870, the composer submitted the materials of the opera to the Directorate of the Imperial Theaters, but was refused without explanation. However, one of Mussorgsky's friends was a member of the directorate committee and told the author that the opera had been rejected due to the absence of the so-called "feminine element." Modest Petrovich finalized the work, and in 1874 its first grandiose premiere took place on the stage of the St. Petersburg Mariinsky Theater.


Biography of Mussorgsky: the last years of his life

In the 1870s, the collapse of the famous "Mighty Handful" was outlined. The difference in views on music and its development led to the fact that society almost disintegrated and transformed. Modest Petrovich painfully experienced this event, considered the other members to be musical conformists, cowardly and hopeless, who had betrayed the great Russian idea. Mussorgsky believed that other composers were short-sighted, that they did not create anything of value, nothing new, but only rewrote what had long been created and voiced.

A dark streak came in the biography of Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky. His work has invariably met with misunderstanding of critics, spectators and officials. The composer's works were rejected everywhere. However, the most painful for the author was the rejection of his bold ideas by close friends - members of the "Mighty Handful" Rimsky-Korsakov, Cui, Balakirev. The stubborn author could not believe that he was wrong everywhere. It was painful for him to be on opposite sides of the barricade with friends.


Experiences, constant refusals and rejection led to a nervous breakdown and alcoholism, but the composer continued to create even in this state. He never took notes, did not write drafts, carefully thought over all ideas, and then wrote down a completely finished work. This method of work, combined with an unstable mental state and constant drunkenness, led to a slower pace of work.

In a short biography of Mussorgsky, it should be mentioned that he quit the "forest department" and lost a stable income. After that, the composer lived on occasional one-time earnings and the help of wealthier friends. His girlfriend, singer Dmitry Leonova, took Modest Petrovich with her on a tour of the southern regions. Mussorgsky acted as an accompanist and also performed his own works. His bold, harmonious improvisation appealed to the audience, and the concerts were a success. The composer realized that his innovative take on music was finally gaining recognition.

Last performance

The last public concert in the biography of M. Musorgsky took place on February 4, 1881. An evening in memory of Dostoevsky was held in St. Petersburg, where Modest Petrovich performed on an equal basis with other musicians. A portrait of the writer was installed on the stage, the composer took his place at the piano and performed an impromptu funeral chime of bells. Those present were amazed at the depth of his grief.


On February 13, Modest Petrovich had an attack of delirium tremens, and he was urgently hospitalized. Already in the hospital, Ilya Repin visited the master and painted the only lifetime portrait of the brilliant composer. A month later, Mussorgsky's heart stopped forever. He was buried on the territory of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

Creation

Mussorgsky's biography consists of ups and downs. His original, peculiar understanding of music was not understood by his contemporaries, but his descendants considered him a genius. Modest Petrovich rejected routine, did not recognize authorities, ignored the rules, considering them only a collection of archaisms. Throughout his life, the author strove for novelty. The main specialization of the composer is vocal music. With the help of sound, the author was able to give the words weight, the necessary emotion and touch the listener to the depths.


However, Modest Petrovich achieved his most significant success in the field of opera. He created a special kind of this genre, which he called "musical drama". During this period, romantic operatic aesthetics was popular, but Mussorgsky completely rejected the existing canons. With the help of specific musical methods, he created a tragic collision, which he embodied in the work "Boris Godunov". Critics reacted unkindly to the author's innovative ideas, calling the libretto unsuccessful, and the music rough. Even close friends, members of The Mighty Handful, considered Mussorgsky inexperienced, noted the lack of a storyline and insufficient character development. The music of Modest Petrovich received recognition only after the death of the author.

The most famous works:

  • opera "Boris Godunov";
  • opera "Khovanshchina";
  • opera "Sorochinskaya Fair";
  • song "Where are you, starlet?";
  • the romance "I have a lot of mansions and gardens";
  • romance "What are the words of love for you";
  • lullaby "Sleep, sleep, peasant son."

When describing a brief biography of Mussorgsky, one cannot fail to note an interesting fact from the life of an outstanding composer. Although the author did not create literary works, his outstanding literary skill manifested itself in letters, which were subsequently published as a separate book.

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The ideas and thoughts of M.P. Mussorgsky (1839-1881), a brilliant self-taught composer, were in many ways ahead of their time and paved the way for the musical art of the 20th century. In this article we will try to describe as fully as possible the list of Musorgsky's works. Everything written by the composer, who considered himself a follower of A.S. Dargomyzhsky, but went further, is distinguished by a deep penetration into the psychology of not only an individual person, but also the masses of the people. Like all members of the Mighty Handful, Modest Petrovich was inspired by the national direction in his activities.

Vocal music

The list of Mussorgsky's works of this genre covers three types of moods:

  • Lyric in early compositions and passing into later in lyric-tragic ones. The cycle "Without the Sun", created in 1874, becomes the pinnacle.
  • "People's Pictures". These are scenes and sketches from the life of peasants ("Lullaby to Eremushka", "Svetik Savishna", "Kalistrat", "Orphan"). Their culmination will be "Trepak" and "Forgotten" (cycle "Dance of Death").
  • Social satire. These include the romances "Goat", "Seminarist", "Classic", created during the 1860s of the next decade. The pinnacle is the "Paradise" suite, which is the embodiment of the satyr gallery.

The list separately includes the vocal cycle "Children's" and "Songs and Dances of Death", created in his own words in 1872, in which everything is filled with tragic moods.

In the ballad "Forgotten", inspired by the painting by V.V. Vereshchagin, later destroyed by the artist, the composer and the author of the text contrasted the image of a soldier lying on the battlefield and an affectionate melody of a lullaby that a peasant woman sings to her son, promising to meet her father. But her child will never see him.

"Flea" from Goethe was brilliantly and always performed as an encore by Fyodor Chaliapin.

Means of Musical Expression

M. Mussorgsky renewed the entire musical language, taking recitative and peasant songs as a basis. His harmonies are completely unusual. They correspond to new feelings. They are dictated by the development of feelings and mood.

Opera

It is impossible not to include his opera work in the list of Musorgsky's works. For 42 years of his life, he managed to write only three operas, but what! Boris Godunov, Khovanshchina and Sorochinskaya Fair. In them, he boldly combines tragic and comic features, which is reminiscent of the works of Shakespeare. The image of the people is the fundamental principle. At the same time, each character is given personal traits. Most of all, the composer is worried about his native country during the turmoil and upheavals.

In Boris Godunov, the country is on the verge of Troubles. It reflects the relationship between the king and the people as a single person, which is animated by one idea. The composer wrote the folk drama "Khovanshchina" according to his own libretto. In it, the composer was interested in the streltsy revolt and church schism. But he did not have time to orchestrate it and died. Completed orchestration N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov. F. Chaliapin played the role of Dositheus at the Mariinsky Theater. There are no usual main characters in it. Society is not opposed to personality. Power is in the hands of one or the other character. It recreates episodes of the struggle of the old reactionary world against Peter's reforms.

Pictures at an Exhibition

Creativity for piano is presented by the composer in one cycle, created in 1874. Pictures at an Exhibition is a unique piece. This is a suite of ten pieces of different character. As a virtuoso pianist, M. Musorgsky used all the expressive possibilities of the instrument. These musical works by Mussorgsky are so bright and virtuoso that they amaze with their "orchestral" sound. Six pieces under the general title "The Walk" are written in the key of B flat major. The rest are in B minor. By the way, they were often rearranged for the orchestra. M. Ravel did it the best. Vocal motives of the composer with their recitativeness, songwriting and declamation organically entered this work of M. Musorgsky.

Symphonic creativity

Modest Mussorgsky creates a number of musical works in this area. The most important is "Midsummer's Night on Bald Mountain". Continuing the theme of G. Berlioz, the composer depicted the witches' sabbath.

He was the first to show Russia evil fantastic pictures. The main thing for him was maximum expressiveness with a minimum of used means. Contemporaries did not understand the novelty, but took it for the author's ineptitude.

In conclusion, it is necessary to name the most famous works of Mussorgsky. In principle, we have listed almost all of them. These are two large operas on a historical theme: Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina are staged on the world's best stages. These also include the vocal cycles "Without the Sun" and "Songs and Dances of Death", as well as "Pictures at an Exhibition".

The ingenious author was buried in St. Petersburg during the Soviet era, making a redevelopment, destroyed his grave, flooded this place with asphalt and made it a bus stop. This is how we relate to recognized world geniuses.

Mussorgsky's biography is very interesting, his life was filled not only with creativity: he was familiar with many outstanding people of his time.

Mussorgsky came from an old noble family. He was born on March 9 (21), 1839 in the village of Karevo, Pskov province.

The first 10 years of his life he spent at home, receiving home education and learning to play the piano.

Then he was sent to study in St. Petersburg at a German school, from where he was transferred to the School of Guards Ensigns. It was in this school that he became interested in church music.

Since 1852, Mussorgsky took up musical writing, his compositions were performed on the stages of St. Petersburg and Moscow.

In 1856 he was sent to serve in the Preobrazhensky Guards Regiment (during the service he met A.S. Dargomyzhsky). In 1858 he transferred to the service in the Ministry of State Property.

Musical career

In a short biography of Modest Petrovich Musorgsky, written for children, it is mentioned that in 1859 Modest Petrovich met Balakirev, who insisted on the need to deepen his musical knowledge.

In 1861 he began work on such operas as Oedipus (based on the work of Sophocles), Salammbo (based on the work of Flaubert), and The Marriage (based on the play by N. Gogol).

All these operas were never completed by the composer.

In 1870, the composer began work on her most important and famous work - the opera Boris Godunov (based on the tragedy of the same name by Alexander Pushkin). In 1871 he presented his creation to the judgment of music critics, who invited the composer to work more and introduce a kind of "feminine principle" into the opera. It was staged only in 1874 at the Mariinsky Theater.

In 1872, work began on two works at once: the dramatic opera "Khovanshchina" and "Sorochenskaya Fair" (based on the story of N. Gogol). Both of these works were never completed by the maestro.

Mussorgsky wrote many short musical works based on the plots of poems and plays by N. Nekrasov, N. Ostrovsky, poems by T. Shevchenko. Some of them were created under the influence of Russian artists (for example, V. Vereshchagin).

last years of life

In the last years of his life, Mussorgsky had a hard time with the collapse of the "Mighty Handful", misunderstanding and criticism from music officials and colleagues (Cui, Balakirev, Rimsky-Korsakov). Against this background, he developed severe depression, he became addicted to alcohol. He began to write music more slowly, quit his job, having lost a small but constant income. In the last years of his life, only his friends supported him.

The last time he spoke publicly at an evening in memory of F.M.Dostoevsky on February 4, 1881. On February 13, he died in the Nikolaev hospital in St. Petersburg from an attack of delirium tremens.

Mussorgsky was buried at the Tikhvin cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. But today only the tombstone has survived, since after a large-scale reconstruction of the old necropolis (in the 30s), his grave was lost (rolled into asphalt). Now at the burial place of the composer there is a bus stop.

Chronological table

Other biography options

  • The only lifetime portrait of the composer by Ilya Repin was painted a few days before the composer's death.
  • Mussorgsky was an incredibly educated person: he spoke fluent French, German, English, Latin and Greek, and was an excellent engineer.

Biography score

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Moussorgsky, Modeste Petrovich // 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica- 11 - New York City: 1911.
  • E. // Music Dictionary: Translated from the 5th German edition/ ed. Yu. D. Engel - M.: PI Yurgenson Music Publishing House, 1901. - T. 2. - P. 886–888.
  • Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich // Great Soviet Encyclopedia: [in 30 volumes] / ed. A.M. Prokhorov - 3rd ed. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969.
  • In a number of secondary sources, there are statements about the stress on the second syllable of the surname. This hypothesis is refuted by the fact that in lifetime documents there is a discrepancy in the spellings of the composer's surname, affecting the second vowel and not affecting the first (Mus a rskiy, Mus e rskiy, Mus at Russian, etc.). See, for example: N. S. Novikov. Mussorgsky's Prayer. Searches and finds. / Second edition, supplemented. - Velikie Luki, 2009 .-- S. 107-114.
  • According to A. N. Rimsky-Korsakov, "... he pronounced her [his surname] always in a real Russian way, with an emphasis on u - Musorgsky, and by no means polonizing it, as many now do - Musorgsky." Cm. Unbegaun B. Russian surnames / Per. from English; Common ed. B. A. Uspensky. - M.: Progress, 1989. - S. 345. - ISBN 5-01-001045-3.
  • The composer signed business papers and letters with the surname "Musorsky" in the 1850s and early 1860s; with the letter "g" began to write his last name from about 1863 (Letter to MA Balakirev, no. 44). The spelling through the "g" was recorded, among other things, by the composer's short "Autobiography" (her autograph has been preserved).
  • Autobiographical Note (1880). See: M.P. Mussorgsky. Letters and documents. M., 1932, p. 422.
  • It is precisely this stress (on the second syllable) in Mussorgsky's chanted text.
  • Seven people took part in the voting on this issue: Ludwig Wilhelm Maurer - composer and conductor of the French Theater in St. Petersburg; Eduard Frantsevich Napravnik - composer and (since 1869) chief conductor of the Mariinsky Theater; Ignatiy Kasperovich Voyachek - bassoonist, composer and conductor of the Mikhailovsky Theater; Sylvain Manjean - conductor of the orchestra of the St. Petersburg French Drama Theater; Alexey Dmitrievich Popkov - violinist and ballet conductor; Eduard Betz - conductor of the German Drama in St. Petersburg; Giovanni Ferrero is the double bassist of the Italian Opera Orchestra. As a result of the secret ballot, as follows from the report, “six black balls and one white one fell out”.
  • Orlova A. Works and days of M.P. Mussorgsky<…>, p. 213.
  • Musorgsky's own expression. The diagnostic definition of this disease is unknown.
  • “Mussorgsky, carried away by the accompaniment he performed, was often distracted and created his own, showing us such modulations and chords that came into his head that we - the students were amazed and admired them, and Leonova surprisingly subtly performed the melodies that poured out of his hands” (from memoirs A A. Demidova). Cit. on: Orlova A.A. Works and days<…>, p.592.
  • From the words of Professor V.G.Druzhinin wrote down I.I. Lapshin. Cit. on: Orlova A.A. Works and days<…>, p. 599.
  • For more details, see.
  • Novikov N.S. Mussorgsky's Prayer. Velikie Luki, 2009, p. 211.
  • TV program "Moment of Truth", broadcast from 05.01.2009 (repeat 06.04.2009, repeat 07.09.2009).
  • His best lyrical romances are "Night" (to the words of A. Pushkin) and "Jewish Melody" (to the words of L. A. Mei).
  • A.P. Borodin wrote his famous song to the same poems by A. K. Tolstoy.
  • The nursery aroused the delight of F. Liszt, about which his student A. von Schorn reported on May 19, 1873: “The magic fingers of the great performer betrayed how excited he was, transferred by this music to the dawn of his own childhood<…>Liszt exclaimed: “Curious! ... and how new! What a find! ... Nobody else would say it like that “And a thousand other expressions of surprise and pleasure”.
  • Although in Russian musicology "Children's" is traditionally called a "cycle", in reality it is a suite (collection) of children's songs. For this reason, the performers sometimes change the order of the pieces in the Children's Room, which would have been impossible in the “cycle” (the concept of which is based on united and end-to-end dramatic idea).
  • In our time, opera houses of the world strive to stage the opera "Boris Godunov" in the author's editions - the first or the second, without combining them.
  • Later Rimsky-Korsakov made excuses: “With my adaptation and orchestration of Boris Godunov ... I was incredibly pleased. Furious admirers of Mussorgsky frowned a little, regretting something ... But after giving a new treatment of Boris, I did not destroy the original appearance, I did not paint over the old frescoes. If one day they come to the conclusion that the original is better, more valuable than my processing, then my processing will be abandoned and Boris will be given according to the original score "(Chronicle of my musical life. St. Petersburg, 1909, p. 351).
  • Among the currently existing versions of the opera, performed by other composers, the one closest to the original is the version by D.D.Shostakovich, who orchestrated the clavier pages not orchestrated by the author and added his own music to the Fifth (unfinished by Mussorgsky) act of the opera.
  • Some of the music is taken from The March of Princes, written by the composer for the (unrealized joint project) of the opera Mlada.
  • Cit. on: Mussorgsky M.P. Marriage. Clavier. [M.-L., 1931], p. without number ("From the publisher").
  • Biography

    Following this, Mussorgsky wrote several romances and set to work on the music for Sophocles' tragedy "Oedipus"; the last work was not finished, and only one chorus from the music to "Oedipus", performed in the concert of K. N. Lyadov in 1861, was published among the posthumous works of the composer. For opera adaptation, Mussorgsky first chose Flaubert's novel Salammbô, but soon left this work unfinished, as well as an attempt to write music for the plot of Gogol's The Marriage.

    The opera Boris Godunov brought fame to Mussorgsky, staged at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg in St. Petersburg and immediately recognized as an outstanding work in some music circles. This was already the second version of the opera, significantly changed dramatically after the repertoire committee of the theater rejected its first version for "non-stage". Over the next 10 years, "Boris Godunov" was given 15 times and then removed from the repertoire. It was only at the end of November that Boris Godunov saw the light again - but this time in the edition, altered by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, who “corrected” and re-instrumented the entire “Boris Godunov” at his discretion. In this form, the opera was staged on the stage of the Great Hall of the Musical Society (the new building of the Conservatory) with the participation of members of the Society of Musical Collections. Firm Bessel and Co. in St. Petersburg. released by this time a new clavier "Boris Godunov", in the preface to which Rimsky-Korsakov explains that the reasons that prompted him to take on this alteration were allegedly "bad texture" and "bad orchestration" of the author's version of Mussorgsky himself. In Moscow, Boris Godunov was staged for the first time on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater in the city. In our time, interest in the author's editions of Boris Godunov is reviving.

    Repin's portrait

    In 1875 Mussorgsky began the dramatic opera ("folk musical drama") "Khovanshchina" (according to V. V. Stasov's plan), while working on a comic opera based on the plot of Gogol's "Sorochinskaya Fair". Musorgsky almost finished the music and the text of Khovanshchina - but, with the exception of two fragments, the opera was not instrumented; the latter was done by N. Rimsky-Korsakov, who at the same time finished Khovanshchina (again, with his own alterations) and adapted it for the stage. The firm Bessel and Co. published the score for the opera and the clavier (g.). "Khovanshchina" was performed on the stage of the St. Petersburg Music and Drama Circle in the city, under the direction of S. Yu. Goldstein; on the stage of the Kononov Hall - in the city, by a private opera company; at Setov's, in Kiev, in city. In 1960, the Soviet composer Dmitry Dmitrievich Shostakovich made his own version of the opera Khovanshchina, in which Musorgsky's opera is now staged all over the world.

    For the Sorochinskaya Fair, Mussorgsky managed to compose the first two acts, as well as for the third act: Parubok's Dream (where he used an adaptation of his symphonic fantasy Night on Bald Mountain, made for an unrealized collective work - the opera-ballet Mlada), Dumku Parasi and Hopak. The opera is being staged by the outstanding musician Vissarion Yakovlevich Shebalin.

    Mussorgsky was an unusually impressionable man, carried away, kind-hearted and vulnerable. For all his outward compliance and pliability, he was extremely firm in everything that concerned his creative convictions. The addiction to alcohol, which has progressed greatly in the last decade of his life, has become destructive for Mussorgsky's health, his life and the intensity of his work. As a result, after a series of failures in service and the final dismissal from the ministry, Mussorgsky was forced to live on odd jobs and thanks to the support of friends.

    The artist belongs to a group of musical figures who strived - on the one hand - for formalized realism, on the other hand - for a colorful and poetic disclosure of words, text and moods through music, flexibly following them. Mussorgsky's national thinking as a composer shows through in his ability to handle folk songs, in the very store of his music, in its melodic, harmonic and rhythmic features, and finally in the choice of subjects, mainly from Russian life. Mussorgsky is a hater of routine, for him there are no authorities in music; he paid little attention to the rules of musical grammar, seeing in them not the provisions of science, but only a collection of composing techniques of previous eras. Mussorgsky everywhere gave himself up to his ardent imagination, everywhere he strove for novelty. Mussorgsky generally succeeded in humorous music, and in this genre he is diverse, witty and resourceful; one has only to remember his fairy tale about the "Goat", the story of the Latin-hammering "Seminarist", in love with the priest's daughter, "Pick mushrooms" (May's text), "Revel".

    Mussorgsky rarely dwells on "pure" lyrical themes, and they are not always given to him (his best lyrical romances are "Night", to the words of Pushkin, and "Jewish melody", to the words of May); on the other hand, Mussorgsky's creativity is widely manifested in those cases when he turns to Russian peasant life. The following songs by Mussorgsky are richly colored: "Kalistrat", "Lullaby of Eremushki" (words by Nekrasov), "Sleep, sleep, peasant son" (from "Voevoda" Ostrovsky), "Gopak" (from "Gaidamaks" by Shevchenko), "Svetik Savishna "And" Mischievous "(both of the latter - in the words of Mussorgsky himself) and many others. others; Mussorgsky very successfully found here a truthful and deeply dramatic musical expression for that heavy, hopeless grief, which is hidden under the external humor of the lyrics.

    They make a strong impression with the expressive recitation of the songs "Orphan" and "Forgotten" (based on the plot of the famous painting by V.V. Vereshchagin).

    In such a seemingly narrow field of music as "romances and songs", Mussorgsky managed to find completely new, original tasks, and at the same time apply new peculiar techniques for their implementation, which was clearly expressed in his vocal paintings from childhood, under the general title "Children's" (the text of Mussorgsky himself), in 4 romances under the general title "Songs and Dances of Death" (-; words of Golenishchev-Kutuzov; "Trepak" - a picture of a peasant freezing in a forest, in a snowstorm; "Lullaby "Draws a mother at the bedside of a dying child; the other two:" Serenade "and" General "; all are very colorful and dramatic), in" Tsar Saul "(for a male voice with piano accompaniment; text by Mussorgsky himself), in" The Defeat of Sennacherib "( for choir and orchestra; words by Byron), in Joshua, successfully built on the origins. Jewish themes.

    Mussorgsky's specialty is vocal music. He is an exemplary reciter, grasping the smallest bends of a word; in his works, he often assigns a broad space to the monologue-recitative structure of presentation. Akin to Dargomyzhsky in the nature of his talent, Mussorgsky adjoins him in his views on musical drama, inspired by Dargomyzhsky's opera The Stone Guest. However, unlike Dargomyzhsky, in his mature compositions Mussorgsky overcomes the pure "illustrativeness" of the music passively following the text, which is characteristic of this opera.

    "Boris Godunov" by Mussorgsky, written based on the drama of the same name by Pushkin (and also under the great influence of Karamzin's interpretation of this plot), is one of the best works of the world musical theater, whose musical language and drama belong to a new genre that took shape in the 19th century in various countries - to the genre of musical stage drama, on the one hand, breaking with many of the routine conventions of the then traditional opera house, on the other hand, striving to reveal the dramatic action primarily by musical means. At the same time, both author's editions of Boris Godunov (1869 and 1874), significantly differing from each other in drama, are essentially two equivalent author's solutions of the same plot. Particularly innovative for its time was the first edition (which was not staged until the middle of the 20th century), which was very different from the then prevailing routine opera canons. That is why during the years of Mussorgsky's life the opinion dominated that his "Boris Godunov" was distinguished by "an unsuccessful libretto", "many roughnesses and mistakes."

    Such prejudices were largely characteristic of Rimsky-Korsakov, who argued that Musorgsky was inexperienced in instrumentation, although sometimes it was not devoid of flavor and a successful variety of orchestral colors. This opinion was typical of Soviet textbooks on musical literature. In reality, Mussorgsky's orchestral writing simply did not fit into the canvas that suited, in the main, Rimsky-Korsakov. Such a misunderstanding of the orchestral thinking and style of Mussorgsky (to which he really came almost self-taught) was due to the fact that the latter was strikingly different from the magnificently decorative aesthetics of orchestral presentation, characteristic of the second half of the 19th century - and, especially, of Rimsky-Korsakov himself. Unfortunately, the belief, cultivated by him (and his followers), about the alleged "shortcomings" of Musorgsky's musical style for a long time - almost a century ahead - began to dominate the academic tradition of Russian music.

    Even more skeptical attitude of colleagues and contemporaries concerned the next musical drama by Mussorgsky - the opera Khovanshchina on the theme of historical events in Russia at the end of the 17th century (the split and the Streltsy revolt), written by Mussorgsky on his own script and text. He wrote this work with long interruptions, and by the time of his death it remained unfinished (among the currently existing versions of the opera performed by other composers, the closest to the original can be considered the orchestration of Shostakovich and the completion of the last act of the opera by Stravinsky). The idea of ​​this work and its scale are also unusual. Compared to Boris Godunov, Khovanshchina is not just a drama of one historical person (through which the philosophical themes of power, crime, conscience and retribution are revealed), but already a kind of “impersonal” historiosophical drama, in which, in the absence of a pronounced “ the central "character (characteristic of the standard operatic drama of that time), whole layers of folk life are revealed and the theme of the spiritual tragedy of the entire people is raised, which occurs when its traditional historical and life style is broken. To emphasize this genre feature of the opera "Khovanshchina", Mussorgsky gave it the subtitle "folk musical drama".

    Both of Mussorgsky's musical dramas won relatively early world recognition after the death of the composer, and to this day all over the world they are among the most frequently performed works of Russian music (their international success was greatly facilitated by the admiring attitude of such composers as Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky - as well as the activities of Sergei Diaghilev, who staged them for the first time abroad at the beginning of the 20th century in his "Russian Seasons" in Paris). Nowadays, most of the world's opera houses strive to stage both of Mussorgsky's operas in urtext versions, as close as possible to the author's. At the same time in different theaters there are different author's editions of "Boris Godunov" (either the first or the second).

    Musorgsky had little inclination towards music in "complete" forms (symphonic, chamber, etc.). Of the orchestral works by Mussorgsky, apart from those already mentioned, Intermezzo (composed in the city, instrumented in the city), built on a theme reminiscent of the music of the 18th century, and published among the posthumous works of Mussorgsky, with instrumentation by Rimsky-Korsakov, deserves attention. The orchestral fantasy "Night on Bald Mountain" (the material of which was later included in the opera "Sorochinskaya Fair") was also completed and instrumented by N. Rimsky-Korsakov and performed with great success in St. Petersburg; this is a brightly colorful picture of the "Sabbath of the Spirits of Darkness" and "the magnificence of Chernobog."

    Another outstanding work by Mussorgsky is Pictures at an Exhibition, written for piano in 1874, as musical illustrations-episodes to watercolors by V. A. Hartman. The form of this work is a "through" suite-rondo with sections welded together, where the main theme-refrain ("Promenade") expresses the change of mood when walking from one picture to another, and the episodes between this theme are the images of the pictures under consideration. This work has more than once inspired other composers to create his orchestral versions, the most famous of which belongs to Maurice Ravel (one of the most convinced admirers of Mussorgsky).

    In the 19th century, Mussorgsky's works were published by the firm of V. Bessel and Co. in St. Petersburg; much was published in Leipzig by the firm of M. P. Belyaev. In the XX century, urtext editions of Mussorgsky's works began to appear in original versions, based on a thorough study of the primary sources. The pioneer of this activity was the Russian musicologist P. Ya. Lamm, who for the first time published the urtext claviers of Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina, as well as the author's editions of all vocal and piano works by Musorgsky.

    Musorgsky's works, in many ways anticipating a new era, had a tremendous impact on composers of the 20th century. The attitude to musical fabric as an expressive extension of human speech and the coloristic nature of its harmonious language played an important role in the formation of the "impressionistic" style of K. Debussy and M. Ravel (by their own admission), the style, drama and imagery of Mussorgsky greatly influenced his work L. Janacek, I. Stravinsky, D. Shostakovich (it is characteristic that they are all composers of Slavic culture), A. Berg (the dramaturgy of his opera Wozzeck according to the “scene-fragment” principle is very close to “Boris Godunov”), O Messiaen and many others.

    Major works

    • Boris Godunov (1869, 2nd edition 1872)
    • "Khovanshchina" (1872-80, completed by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, 1883)
    • "Kalistrat",
    • "Orphan"
    • "Sorochinskaya Fair" (1874-80, completed by C. A. Cui, 1916),
    • satirical romances "Seminarist" and "Classic" (1870)
    • vocal cycle "Children's" (1872),
    • piano cycle Pictures at an Exhibition (1874),
    • vocal cycle "Without the Sun" (1874),
    • vocal cycle "Songs and Dances of Death" (1877)
    • symphonic poem "Night on Bald Mountain"

    Memory

    Monument at the grave of Mussorgsky

    Streets named after Mussorgsky in cities

    Monuments to Mussorgsky in cities

    • the village of Karevo

    Other objects

    • Ural State Conservatory in Yekaterinburg.
    • Opera and Ballet Theater in St. Petersburg.
    • Music school in St. Petersburg.

    see also

    Bibliography

    Antonina Vasilieva. “Russian labyrinth. Biography of M. P. Mussorgsky ". Pskov regional printing house, 2008.

    • Roerich N.K. Mussorgsky // Artists of Life. - Moscow: International Center of the Roerichs, 1993 .-- 88 p.
    • VV Stasov, article in the "Bulletin of Europe" (May and June).
    • V. V. Stasov, "Perov and M." ("Russian Starina", 1883, v. XXXVIII, pp. 433-458);
    • V.V. Stasov, "M. P. Mussorgsky. In memory of him (" History. Vestn. ", 1886, March); his," In memory of M. " (SPb., 1885);
    • V. Baskin, “M. P. M. Biographical. sketch "(" Russ. Thought ", 1884, books 9 and 10; separately, M., 1887);
    • S. Kruglikov, "M. and His" Boris Godunov ("The Artist", 1890, No. 5);
    • P. Trifonov, "Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky" ("Bulletin of Europe", 1893, December).
    • N. Tumanina, M. P. Mussorgsky, M. - L., 1939;
    • Asafiev B.V., Fav. works, vol. 3, M., 1954;
    • Orlova A., Works and days of M. P. Mussorgsky. Chronicle of life and work, M., 1963
    • Khubov G., Musorgsky, M., 1969.
    • Shlifshtein S. Mussorgsky. Artist. Time. Fate. M., 1975
    • Rakhmanova M. Musorgsky and his time. - Soviet music, 1980, No. 9-10
    • MP Mussorgsky in the memoirs of his contemporaries. M., 1989

    Links

    • Mussorgsky Modest Site about Mussorgsky.
    • Mussorgsky Modest Site about the life and work of the Russian composer.
    • Mussorgsky Modest Creative portrait on the site Belcanto.Ru.
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