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Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov is a world-famous Russian composer and conductor. Date of birth: March eighteenth, 1844; date of death: June twenty-first, 1908.

During his entire life, this great man wrote 15 operas that amaze with their magnificence. The most famous of them are “The Snow Maiden” and, of course, “May Night”.

Rimsky-Korsakov completed his training in the famous naval cadet corps. Later, the composer went on a three-year voyage, where he felt a craving for beauty. Rimsky-Korsakov's first own symphony was performed at an ordinary free music school, where it received great success.

In addition to the fact that this great man achieved incredible success in the musical field, he was also a public figure.

During the period of his great life, Rimsky-Korsakov changed several fields. For example, he was a teacher at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, worked as a director at an ordinary free music school, and also conducted in Moscow and Paris.

During his entire teaching period, Korsakov trained more than two hundred famous composers, as well as other musical figures. This, of course, influenced the further development of Russian classical music.

Biography by dates and interesting facts. The most important.

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Brief biography of Rimsky-Korsakov

Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreevich - famous Russian composer and conductor, music critic; public figure of the second half of the 19th century; member of the Balakirevsky circle “Mighty Handful”. Born on March 18, 1844 in Tikhvin (Leningrad Region), into an old noble family. Rimsky-Korsakov's great-great-grandfather served as rear admiral of the fleet under Elizabeth I.

Nikolai showed his talent for music very early. At the age of 6-7 he learned to play the piano, and at the age of 9 he already made his first attempts to compose something of his own. He liked church music and Russian folk tunes. In 1862, having completed his studies at the St. Petersburg Maritime School, he set off on a three-year voyage around the world. Both while traveling and during his studies, he continued to study music. In 1873 he was appointed inspector of military bands. He held this post for more than 10 years.

Upon returning from a long voyage, he presented M. A. Balakirev with his first symphony, which was a great success. He began to take music even more seriously after he joined the Mighty Handful group. He wrote new symphonies, entire operas, works for orchestra, etc. Among the outstanding works of Rimsky-Korsakov are the operas “Sadko”, “The Pskov Woman”, “The Snow Maiden”, and the orchestral work “Serbian Fantasy”. From 1871 he was a teacher of instrumentation classes, and three years later he was appointed director of a music school.

This outstanding composer performed as a conductor in Moscow, Paris, Brussels, and Odessa. One could only envy his energy and enthusiasm. His operas have appeared on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater and the Moscow Private Opera. Many of his students became famous. Among them are Lyadov, Sacchetti, Bernhardt, A.K. Glazunov. In 1905, Nikolai Andreevich was removed from his duties at the conservatory due to his support for students' rights. However, in December of the same year he was invited back. The great composer died in June 1908 at the Lyubensk estate.

A year later, his autobiography “Chronicle of My Musical Life” was published. Rimsky-Korsakov was married to pianist N. Purgold, with whom they had seven children (two died in infancy). Two of his sons followed in their father's footsteps and chose music as their calling. One was a famous musicologist, and the other was a violinist and violist.

1844 - June 21, 1908) - Russian composer, member of the "Mighty Handful". He was a true master of orchestration. Rimsky-Korsakov's best-known symphonic works - Capriccio Espagnol, an overture on themes of three Russian songs, and the symphonic suite Scheherazade - are examples of the classical musical repertoire, along with suites and excerpts from some of his 15 operas. In Scheherazade, the composer addresses the theme of fairy tales and folk beliefs. Rimsky-Korsakov often used these techniques in his work. He believed, like his predecessor Balakirev, in the development of a national style of classical music. Rimsky-Korsakov's music combined Russian folklore with elements of exotic harmonic, melodic and rhythmic patterns (known as Orientalism) while moving away from traditional Western compositional techniques. For most of his life, Nikolai Andreevich combined composing music and teaching with a career in the Russian army - first as an officer, then as a civilian inspector in the navy. Rimsky-Korsakov (whose biography is well covered in the Chronicle of My Musical Life) wrote that even as a child, reading books and listening to his older brother’s stories about exploits in the navy, he developed a love for the sea. It must have been she who pushed the composer to create two famous symphonic works. These are "Sadko" (Rimsky-Korsakov also wrote an opera of the same name, they should not be confused) and "Scheherazade". Thanks to his naval service, his knowledge of performing on brass and wooden instruments expanded - this opened up new opportunities for him in orchestration. He later passed this knowledge on to his students. Also after his death, a textbook on orchestration was published, which was completed by the composer's adopted son Maximilian Steinbreg.

Rimsky-Korsakov - biography of the composer

Nikolai Andreevich was born in the city of Tikhvin (200 km east of St. Petersburg) into an intelligent family. His brother Warrior, who was 22 years older than the composer, became a famous naval officer and rear admiral. Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreevich recalled that his mother played the piano a little, and his father could perform several pieces by ear. At the age of 6, the future composer began taking piano lessons. According to his teachers, he demonstrated a good ear for music, but lacked interest. As Nikolai Andreevich himself would later write, he played “carelessly, carelessly... poorly maintaining the rhythm.” Although Rimsky-Korsakov began composing his first works at the age of 10, he preferred literature to music. Later, the composer wrote that it was thanks to his brother’s books and stories that a great love for the sea arose in him, despite the fact that the composer “had never even seen it.” Nikolai Andreevich graduated from the Naval Corps of St. Petersburg at the age of 18. In parallel with his studies, Rimsky-Korsakov took piano lessons. The composer recalled that, being indifferent to his studies, he developed a love of music, which was facilitated by attending operas and symphony concerts. In the fall of 1859, Nikolai Andreevich began taking lessons from Fyodor Andreevich Kanille, who, according to him, inspired him to study music and encouraged him to devote his whole life to it. In addition to Canille, Mikhail Glinka, Robert Schumann and many others had a huge influence on the future composer. In November 1861, 18-year-old Rimsky-Korsakov was introduced to Balakirev. Balakirev, in turn, introduces him to Cesar Cui and Modest Mussorgsky - all three were already famous composers, despite their young age.

Balakirev's mentorship. "The Mighty Bunch"

Upon arrival in St. Petersburg, in May 1865, Rimsky-Korsakov took on the duties of daily service for several hours a day. His first performance took place in December of the same year at the suggestion of Balakirev. The second appearance on stage took place in March 1866 under the direction of Konstantin Lyadov (father of composer Anatoly Lyadov). Rimsky-Korsakov recalled that it was easy for him to collaborate with Balakirev. On his advice, the composer rewrote and corrected some passages and brought them to perfection. Under his patronage, the composer completed an Overture on the themes of three Russian songs, which were based on Balakirev’s folk overtures. Nikolai Andreevich also created the initial versions of the symphonic works “Sadko” and “Antar”, which brought the composer fame as a master of symphonic creativity. Rimsky-Korsakov also held discussions with other members of the "Mighty Handful", they criticized each other's works and collaborated during the creation of new works. Nikolai Andreevich became friends with Alexander Borodin, whose music “amazed” him, and spent a lot of time with Mussorgsky. Balakirev and Mussorgsky played four-hand piano, sang, discussed the works of other composers, sharing an interest in the works of Glinka, Schumann and the late compositions of Beethoven.

Professorial activity

In 1871, at the age of 27, Rimsky-Korsakov became a professor at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, where he taught practical composition, instrumentation, and orchestral classes. Nikolai Andreevich will write in his memoirs that teaching at the conservatory made him “perhaps her best student, judging by the quality and quantity of information that she gave me.” To improve his knowledge and always stay one step ahead of his students, he took a three-year break from composing music and studied diligently at home while lecturing at the conservatory. The professorship provided the composer with financial stability and encouraged him to start a family.

Marriage

In December 1871, Rimsky-Korsakov proposed to Nadezhda Nikolaevna Purgold, whom he met during the weekly meetings of the “Mighty Handful” at the bride’s house. In July 1872, a wedding took place, at which Mussorgsky was present as best man. One of Nikolai Andreevich’s sons, Andrei, became a musicologist, married composer Yulia Lazarevna Weisberg and wrote a multi-volume work about the life and work of his father.

Revolution of 1905

In 1905, demonstrations took place at the St. Petersburg Conservatory - revolutionary-minded students demanded political changes and the creation of a constitutional system in Russia. Rimsky-Korsakov felt the need to protect the students' right to demonstrate, especially when the authorities began to show cruelty to its participants. In an open letter, the composer takes the side of students demanding the resignation of the director of the conservatory. Partly because of this letter, 100 students were expelled from the institution, and Rimsky-Korsakov lost his professorship. However, Nikolai Andreevich continued to give lessons at home.

Trip to Paris

In April 1907, the composer gave several concerts in Paris, organized by impresario Sergei Diaghilev. Nikolai Andreevich presented the music of the Russian national school. These performances were a great success. The following year there was a show of operas composed by Rimsky-Korsakov: “The Snow Maiden” and “Sadko”. The trip gave the composer the opportunity to get acquainted with modern European music.

Works of Rimsky-Korsakov

Rimsky-Korsakov developed the ideals and traditions of the “Mighty Handful”. In his work, he used Orthodox liturgical themes, folk songs (for example, in the "Spanish Capriccio") and orientalism (in "Scheherazade"). Nikolai Andreevich proved himself to be a very productive and self-critical composer. He revised and edited almost every one of his works, and Rimsky-Korsakov corrected some of them, such as the Third Symphony, Antar and Sadko, several times. The composer remained dissatisfied with many of his compositions.

Rimsky-Korsakov - operas

Despite the fact that Nikolai Andreevich is better known as a master of symphonic creativity, his operas are even more complex and rich in special orchestral techniques than instrumental and vocal works. Excerpts from them are sometimes as popular as the whole work. For example, “Flight of the Bumblebee” from “The Tale of Tsar Saltan” - author Rimsky-Korsakov. The composer's operas can be divided into 3 categories:

1. Historical drama. These include: “The Pskov Woman”, “Mozart and Salieri”, “Pan Voivode”, “The Tsar’s Bride”.
2. Folk operas: "May Night", "The Night Before Christmas".
3. Fairy tales and legends. These include works written by Rimsky-Korsakov: “The Snow Maiden”, “Mlada”, “Sadko”, “Koschei the Immortal”, “The Tale of Tsar Saltan”, “The Tale of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia”, “The Golden Cockerel” ".

Symphonic creativity

Rimsky-Korsakov's symphonic work can be divided into 2 types. The most famous in the West, and perhaps its best, is software. This type of symphonic creativity by Nikolai Andreevich presupposes the presence of a plot, characters, and actions borrowed from other, non-musical sources. The second category is academic works, such as the First and Third Symphonies (by Rimsky-Korsakov). Ballets based on his music can be seen not only in our country, but also abroad, as well as many operas and other musical works by the composer.

Photo 1897

Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov known as a composer, teacher and public figure of Russian origin. He was born on March 18, 1844 in Tikhvin. The settlement received this name because it lay on the Tikhvinki River. The family had their own estate located right on the river bank. Dad - Andrei Petrovich, former vice-governor. Mom is Sofya Vasilievna, the daughter of an ordinary peasant woman and a wealthy landowner. According to many sources, his brother Voin Andreevich, a sailor with an officer rank, had a great influence on Nikolai’s life.
When Nikolai was six years old, his parents began teaching him various skills. The boy liked reading more than playing musical instruments, however, he released his first musical work when he was only eleven years old. After the death of the pope in 1862, the entire Rimsky-Korsakov family moved to St. Petersburg. At the same time, the guy met the then famous writer M. Balakirev, accepting membership in his literary circle. A little later, this mug received the name “Mighty Handful”.
Thanks to the help and mentoring of Balakirev, Nikolai began to work on writing the First Symphony. As Rimsky-Korsakov himself said, the beginning was made when he was studying at Canilla, but he began to work more diligently only in 1861. After graduating from the Naval Corps, he successfully entered service on the Almaz clipper. There he stayed for three years. At this time, he managed to go to North America and visit many European countries.
Due to the heavy workload, there was no time to work on music, which is why only the 2nd part of the First Symphony was released during this period. After such a long journey, the man again visits his circle, where he makes acquaintance with its new member Borodin and Tchaikovsky.
Balakirev again exerts his influence on the guy and recommends that he continue working on the symphony. The very first of the program works is the music painting "Sadko". Here for the first time he combined the real world and a fairy tale.
Thanks to the works of O. Senkovsky, Nikolai wrote the symphonic suite "Antar", which all people could hear in 1869.
In 1871, Nikolai became a professor at the St. Petersburg Conservatory.
The summer of 1872 was marked by the first marriage; Nadezhda Purgold became the chosen one.
In 1875, Rimsky-Korsakov sought to improve his technique, during this period he came across his problems in education and began to teach himself. After this, the Third Symphony was published.
In 1880, such a suite as “Scheherazade” and the overture “Bright Holiday” appeared. Two years later he became the leader of the Belyaevsky circle.
During the revolution, Rimsky-Korsakov energetically supported the rebel students and condemned the leadership of the conservatory, after which he announced his resignation, and returned only after a change in administration.
Death overtook the Russian composer on June 21, 1908, in the small town of Lyubensk, Petrograd province. After his death, he was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery in St. Petersburg, but many years later his burial was moved.

Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov is a Russian composer, teacher, theorist, conductor, member of the musical creative community “The Mighty Handful”. Author of fifteen operas, three symphonies, a number of symphonic works, collections “100 Russian folk songs” and “40 folk songs”, as well as 80 romances.

Childhood and youth

Nikolai Andreevich was born in the city of Tikhvin, Novgorod province, into a family of hereditary nobles. The great-great-grandfather of the future composer served as rear admiral of the fleet at. Father Andrei Petrovich Rimsky-Korsakov bore the title of actual state councilor, served as the Novgorod vice-governor, and held the post of Volyn governor for four years. Mother Sofya Vasilievna belonged to the family of landowners Skaryatin, but was born from a serf peasant woman.

The family raised two sons - Warrior and Nikolai. The eldest son, Voin Andreevich, later became a naval rear admiral. The age difference between the brothers was 22 years, so the younger brother was strongly influenced by the authority of the older one.

From an early age, Nikolai was prepared for service in the navy, but his father, who himself played the piano, instilled in his youngest son a love of music from the age of six. Initially, Nikolai was only interested in church singing and Russian folklore. At the age of 9, the boy composed his first vocal work.

In 1856, the teenager was assigned to the Naval Cadet Corps. Having moved to the northern capital, Rimsky-Korsakov immersed himself in the cultural life of the city and began visiting the opera house. Nikolai became acquainted with the musical works of Giacomo Meyerbeer, and.

The young man began taking cello lessons from teacher Ulikh, then studied with pianist Fyodor Kanille. In 1862, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov graduated from the naval school. In the same year, the young man suffered a heavy loss - the father of the future composer died. Mother and older brother moved to St. Petersburg.

Music

In 1861, Rimsky-Korsakov and the founder of the “Mighty Handful” community met. Friendship with a talented musician influenced the development of Nikolai Andreevich’s creative biography. Ts. A. Cui and M. P. Mussorgsky also became members of the circle. Later he joined the community. The ideologist of the “Mighty Handful” was the music critic V.V. Stasov.

Mily Alekseevich inspired the young composer to create a major work - the First Symphony op. 1, sketches for which have already been created. By the end of his studies at the maritime school, Nikolai completed three parts of the work and set off on a circumnavigation of the world on the Almaz clipper. The slow part of the symphonic cycle was written six months after sailing.

Returning three years later to St. Petersburg, Nikolai Andreevich immersed himself in creativity. In the very first months, the premiere of the author’s First Russian Symphony took place, performed by an orchestra conducted by Miliy Balakirev at a concert of the Free Music School.

Under the influence of his mentor, Rimsky-Korsakov delved into the study of folklore and created the symphonic film “Sadko”, the musical material of which was later used in the opera of the same name. The composer's innovation was manifested in the use of programming, as well as in the invention of a symmetrical scale, which gave the music a fantastic sound.

Rimsky-Korsakov enjoyed experimenting with mode systems, since the composer himself was naturally endowed with color hearing. The composer perceived the key of C major in white, and D major in yellow. E major became for Nikolai Andreevich a symbol of the sea element, associated with shades of blue.

Later, the suite “Antar” (Second Symphony op. 9) appeared from the musician’s pen. The composer begins to master the operatic genre by creating orchestrations of works by Cesar Cui. Rimsky-Korsakov’s first opera appeared only in 1872 and was called “The Pskov Woman.” The libretto is based on the drama of the same name by Lev May. The opera premiered a year later at the Mariinsky Theater.

In the early 70s, Nikolai Andreevich received an invitation from the rector's office of the St. Petersburg Conservatory and became a professor at the educational institution, without having a completed musical education. During his 35-year teaching career, the composer trained a galaxy of world-famous musicians, including Anton Arensky, Mikhail Gnessin, Alexander Grechaninov, Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, Nikolai Myaskovsky, .

Together with the students to whom Nikolai Andreevich teaches composition, instrumentation and orchestration, the composer himself improves his professional skills. The musician devotes the first years of teaching to writing polyphonic and vocal works, creating concerts for piano, clarinet, trombone, quintet and sextet for instrumental ensemble. In 1873, the author's Third Symphony (op. 32) was published.

In 1874, Rimsky-Korsakov took up the conductor's stand. Six years later, the talented musician already performed with the orchestra in Moscow, at the World Exhibition in Paris, and at the Concerts populaires in Brussels. In the mid-70s, the composer was preparing to release scores of operas by Mikhail Glinka.

In the 80s, symphonic works by Rimsky-Korsakov appeared, which earned the composer world fame: the orchestral suite “Scheherazade”, “Capriccio Espagnol”, the overture “Bright Holiday”, as well as the operas “May Night”, “The Snow Maiden”, “Mlada” .

During these years, Nikolai Andreevich collaborated with the Court Singing Chapel, led the Belyaev Circle, and managed the Russian Symphony Concerts in St. Petersburg.

The beginning of the 90s was marked by a decline in the composer's creative activity. At this time, the master’s philosophical and theoretical works appeared, Nikolai Andreevich created new editions of a number of previous works. In the mid-90s, a new stage in Rimsky-Korsakov’s operatic creativity began: the operas “The Night Before Christmas” (1895), “Sadko” (1896), “Mozart and Salieri” (1897), and “The Tsar’s Bride” (1898) appeared.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Rimsky-Korsakov composed his last fairy-tale operas: “Kashchei the Immortal” (1902), “The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh...” (1904), “The Golden Cockerel” (1907). The interlude theme for the opera “The Tale of Tsar Saltan” (1900), which was called “Flight of the Bumblebee,” gained popularity.

The number has been repeatedly rearranged for solo performance with stringed folk instruments, and editions for piano and guitar have also been created. In the 20th century, arrangements of the work appeared in the style of jazz, rock, and heavy metal.

With the beginning of the revolutionary movement in Russia in 1905, Rimsky-Korsakov came out in support of striking university students, as a result of which he was fired from the conservatory, where he returned after a while.

Personal life

The personal life of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov turned out well. While entering the house of his senior colleague A. S. Dargomyzhsky, at one of the creative evenings Nikolai drew attention to the pianist Nadezhda Nikolaevna Purgold. At that moment, the young musician was just beginning work on the opera “The Pskov Woman.” Nikolai Andreevich needed an assistant to orchestrate several opera numbers, and he turned to Nadezhda Nikolaevna.

Joint creativity influenced the relationship of young people, and in 1872 a wedding took place. A year later, the family’s first child, Mikhail, was born, who later became a zoologist and forest scientist. In 1875, his wife gave Nikolai Andreevich a daughter, Sofia, a future opera singer.

Three years later, a son, Andrei, was born, who later mastered the profession of musicologist and became a Doctor of Philosophy. Vladimir, the youngest son of Rimsky-Korsakov, born in 1882, worked as a violist in the Mariinsky Theater orchestra. In 1884, the youngest daughter Nadezhda was born. The Rimsky-Korsakov couple had two more children - Svyatoslav and Maria, who died in infancy.

The wife outlived Nikolai Andreevich by 11 years and died of smallpox. The apartment on Zagorodny Avenue in St. Petersburg, where the Rimsky-Korsakovs lived in recent years, was occupied by visitors after the revolution. It was only in 1971 that the composer’s museum was located there, where the furnishings from Nikolai Andreevich’s life were restored. The apartment contains manuscripts of famous operas and photographs from the musician’s family archive.

Death

The composer died on June 8, 1908, according to Art. from a heart attack, which he received after the news that the opera “The Golden Cockerel” was prohibited from being staged. At this time, Nikolai Andreevich was in a country estate in Lyubensk.

The musician’s grave was initially located in St. Petersburg at the Novodevichy Cemetery, then the remains were reburied in the Necropolis of Masters of Arts of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

Works

• 1865 – First Symphony
• 1872 – “Pskovite”
• 1878 – “May Night”
• 1881 – “The Snow Maiden”
• 1883 – Concerto for piano and orchestra
• 1887 – “Spanish Capriccio”
• 1888 – Suite “Scheherazade”
• 1895 – “The Night Before Christmas”
• 1896 – “Sadko”
• 1897 – “Mozart and Salieri”
• 1898 – “The Tsar’s Bride”
• 1900 – “The Tale of Tsar Saltan”
• 1907 – “The Golden Cockerel”