Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov is one of the most famous Russian composers, a member of The Mighty Handful, the author of 15 operas, three symphonies and a large number of symphonic works, concerts, etc. His name is known to many from school, and his biography amazes even our contemporaries.
Childhood and youth
ON THE. Rimsky-Korsakov was born on March 18, 1844 in Tikhvin (Novgorod province), into a noble family far from artistic circles. His father served as vice-governor in Novgorod, then received the post of Volyn civil governor. Mother was the daughter of a peasant serf and wealthy landowner V. F. Skaryatin. At the age of six, the boy began to learn to read and play the piano. Very soon, the child showed a talent, already at 11 he began to compose the first musical works.
In 1856 he was sent to the Naval Cadet Corps.
The year 1862 can be called a turning point in the fate of the future composer: within a year his father dies, the family moves to St. Petersburg, and the young man himself graduates from the St. Petersburg Naval School and sets off on a voyage around the world on the Almaz clipper. He also manages to get to know the composer Mily Balakirev and enter his circle, which in a few years will become the legendary "Mighty Handful".
The trip around the world took three years, during which time he rose to the rank of officer.
Mighty bunch
M. Balakirev had a huge impact on the personality and aesthetic views of Rimsky-Korsakov. In the same 1862, the composer began work on his first major work, the First Symphony. The Balakirev circle, which, along with Rimsky-Korsakov, included Modest Mussorgsky, Alexander Borodin and Caesar Cui, was first named "The Mighty Handful" in 1857 in a critical article by Vladimir Stasov. “How much poetry, feeling, talent and skill a small but mighty handful of Russian musicians have,” the text said. The expression became winged, although the community members, of course, insisted on their own name - "New Russian Music School". In it lies the claim for the embodiment of the Russian national idea in music. Members of the "Mighty Handful" researched and arranged Russian folklore and church singing.
Further career
In 1971, despite the lack of specialized education, Rimsky-Korsakov was invited to the post of professor of instrumentation and free composition at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. It is noteworthy that until 1873 the composer continued to serve in the navy. However, from 1873 to 1884 he inspected military bands.
In 1872, Rimsky-Korsakov married Nadezhda Nikolaevna Purgold. It is noteworthy that his wife was also a composer, pianist and musicologist. In the same year, Rimsky-Korsakov's first opera, The Woman of Pskov, was released. Later, opera became the main genre in his work. "May Night", "Snow Maiden", "Scheherazade", "Sadko", "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" - each of his subsequent operas gained wide popularity and recognition, becoming classics. The orchestral interlude "Flight of the Bumblebee" from "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" is the most popular and recognizable work of the Russian composer in the whole world. Today Rimsky-Korsakov is considered the founder of the fairy tale opera genre.
In the 80s, when the "Mighty Handful", in fact, fell apart, Rimsky-Korsakov headed the Belyaevsky circle, formed around the musician and philanthropist MP Belyaev. Concert and social activities have made the circle one of the main cultural events in the Northern capital.
In 1905, Rimsky-Korsakov was dismissed from the Conservatory for supporting the striking students. The event caused a huge resonance, many prominent teachers left after him out of solidarity. Nikolai Andreevich was reinstated in December.
On June 21, 1908, Rimsky-Korsakov died at the Lyudensk estate near Luga.
In 2015, Rimsky-Korsakov's autobiographical composition "Chronicle of My Musical Life" was published for the first time.
