The Mighty Bunch of Russian Composers: Mussorgsky. Biography of Mussorgsky: date and place of birth, years of life, creativity, the most famous works and interesting facts What musical works did Mussorgsky write
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 musical art XX century. In this article, we will try to describe as fully as possible the list of Mussorgsky'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 works 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 "Paradise" suite, which embodied the satyr gallery, becomes the pinnacle.
The list separately includes the vocal cycle "Children's" and "Songs and Dances of Death", created on his own words in 1872, in which everything is filled with tragic moods.
In the ballad "Forgotten", created after the impression of a 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
One cannot but 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 Mussorgsky are so bright and virtuosic 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 great operas on 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 redevelopment, destroyed his grave, flooded this place with asphalt and made it a bus stop. This is how we treat recognized world geniuses.
He was the youngest, fourth son in the family. The two elders died one after the other in infancy. All the tenderness of the mother, Yulia Ivanovna, a kind and gentle woman, was given to the two who remained, and especially to him, the younger one, Modinka. It was she who first began to teach him to play the old piano, which stood in the hall of their wooden manor house.
But Mussorgsky's future was a foregone conclusion. At the age of ten, he, together with his older brother, came to St. Petersburg, here he was supposed to enter a privileged military school - the School of Guards Ensigns.
At the end of the School, Mussorgsky was assigned to the Preobrazhensky Guards Regiment. Modest was seventeen years old. His duties were not onerous. Yes, the future was smiling at him. But unexpectedly for everyone, Mussorgsky resigns and turns away from the path he had so successfully begun. True, this was unexpected only for those who knew only the outer side of the life of this extraordinary person.
Shortly before that, one of the Transfiguration comrades, who was familiar with Dargomyzhsky, brought Mussorgsky to him. The young man immediately conquered the venerable musician not only with his piano playing, but also with free improvisations. Dargomyzhsky highly appreciated his outstanding musical ability and introduced him to Balakirev and Cui. This is how it began for a young musician new life, in which the main place was taken by Balakirev and the "Mighty Handful" circle.
Even then, in adolescence, the future composer amazed everyone around him with the versatility of his interests, among which music and literature, philosophy and history took first place.
Distinguished Mussorgsky and democratic views, actions. This was especially evident after the peasant reform of 1861. To save his serfs from redemption payments, Modest Petrovich gave up his share of the inheritance in favor of his brother.
Soon, the period of accumulation of knowledge was replaced by a period of active creative activity... The composer decided to write an opera in which his passion for big folk scenes and for the depiction of a strong-willed personality would be embodied.
In search of a plot, Mussorgsky turned to Flaubert's novel Salammbô from the history of ancient Carthage. One after another, beautiful, expressive musical themes, especially for massive episodes. However, when the composer realized that the images he created were very far from the true, historical Carthage, he completely lost interest in his work.
Best of the day
The composer's addiction to humor and mockery corresponded as much as possible to the character of his other plan. On Dargomyzhsky's advice, Mussorgsky began writing the opera The Marriage. His task was new and unheard of before to write an opera based on the prose text of Gogol's comedy.
All comrades regarded "Marriage" as a bright new manifestation of Musorgsky's comedic talent and his ability to create interesting musical characteristics. But for all that, it was clear that The Marriage was nothing more than a fascinating experiment, that the development of real opera should not follow this path. We must pay tribute to Mussorgsky, he himself was the first to realize this and did not begin to continue the composition.
While visiting Lyudmila Ivanovna Shestakova, Glinka's sister, Mussorgsky met Vladimir Vasilyevich Nikolsky with her. He was a philologist, literary critic, specialist in the history of Russian literature. It was he who drew Mussorgsky's attention to the tragedy "Boris Godunov". Nikolsky suggested that this tragedy could become a wonderful material for an opera libretto. These words made Mussorgsky think deeply. He plunged into reading Boris Godunov. The composer felt the opera based on Boris Godunov could become a surprisingly multifaceted work.
By the end of 1869, the opera was completed. At the beginning of 1870, Mussorgsky received an envelope by mail with a stamp from the director of the imperial theaters Gedeonov. The composer was informed that a committee of seven had rejected his opera. A new, second edition was created within a year. Now, instead of the previous seven pictures, the opera consisted of a prologue and four acts.
"Boris Godunov" turned out to be the first work in the history of world opera, in which the fate of the people is shown with such depth, insight and truthfulness.
Mussorgsky dedicated his brainchild to his circle mates. In the dedication, he unusually vividly expressed the main idea of the opera “I understand the people as a great person, animated by a single idea. This is my task. I tried to solve it in the opera. "
Since the end of the new version of the opera, a new phase of the struggle for its stage production has begun. The score was again presented to the theater committee and ... again rejected. The actress Platonova, who used her position as prima donna at the Mariinsky Theater, helped.
It is not difficult to imagine Mussorgsky's excitement, which intensified as the premiere approached. And then the long-awaited day has come. It turned into a real triumph, a triumph for the composer. The news of the new opera spread with lightning speed throughout the city, and all subsequent performances were held in full halls. It would seem that Mussorgsky could be quite happy.
However, an unexpectedly heavy blow fell on Mussorgsky from the side from which he least expected him. When, in February 1874, a devastating review appeared in the St. Petersburg Gazette with the familiar signature “” (Cui had always signed it this way), it was like a knife in the back.
Everything passes, and gradually the excitement associated with the premiere of Boris, Cui's review and the noise raised around the opera by the press has subsided. Everyday life has come again. Again, every day, I went to the Forestry Department (he was now working on the investigative part), making "files" of several thousand sheets each. And for myself - new creative plans, new works. Life seemed to be back on track. Alas, instead, the last and darkest period of ere life began.
There were many reasons for this - internal and external. And, first of all, the disintegration of The Mighty Handful, which Mussorgsky perceived as a betrayal of old ideals.
The vicious attacks of the reactionary press also severely wounded Mussorgsky and darkened last years his life. In addition, the performances of Boris Godunov appeared less and less frequently, although the public's interest in them did not fall. And finally, the death of close friends. In the early 1870s, one of them died - the painter Hartmann. A woman dearly beloved by Mussorgsky, whose name he always hid, died. Only his numerous works dedicated to her, and the "Funeral Letter" addressed to her, found after the composer's death, give an idea of the depth of his feelings and help to understand the immensity of suffering caused by the death of a dear person. New friends also appeared. He met the young poet Count Arseny Arkadyevich Golenishchev-Kutuzov and became very attached to him. And how amazing, enthusiastic, and restless this friendship was! As if Mussorgsky wanted to reward himself with it for the losses and disappointments he had suffered. The best of Mussorgsky's vocal works of the 1870s were written to the words of Golenishchev-Kutuzov. But the relationship with Kutuzov brought bitter disappointments. A year and a half after the beginning of the friendship, Arseny announced that he was going to marry. For Mussorgsky, this was a blow.
Under the influence of difficult experiences, Musorgsky's craving for wine resumed, which manifested itself even during his years at the cadet school. He had changed outwardly flabby, was no longer as impeccably dressed as he once was. Let's get into trouble at work; more than once he was left without a place, felt a constant need for money, and once he was even expelled from his apartment for non-payment. His health was deteriorating.
However, it was during this period that recognition came to him abroad. The "Great Elder" Franz Liszt, having received from his publisher the sheet music of the works of Russian composers, was struck by the novelty and talent of these works. Mussorgsky's "Children's", a cycle of songs in which the composer reproduced the world of a child's soul, aroused especially stormy delight. This music shocked the great maestro.
Despite the appalling conditions, Mussorgsky experienced a true creative take-off during these years. Much of what was conceived by the composer remained unfinished or not entirely realized. But what was created during these years proves that Mussorgsky reached a new peak of creativity.
The first piece that appeared after Boris Godunov, in the year it was first staged, was the Pictures at an Exhibition suite. When, after the death of Hartmann, Stasov arranged an exhibition of his works in St. Petersburg, Mussorgsky, inspired by her, wrote a suite and dedicated it to the memory of his deceased friend.
This is the largest and most significant of all piano compositions composed by Mussorgsky. The composer transferred his amazing art of drawing real life scenes in sounds, to recreate the appearance of living people this time into the field of piano music, opening completely new colorful and expressive possibilities of the instrument.
Mussorgsky thought about the further development of the principles of Pushkin's multifaceted drama. In his imagination, an opera was drawn, the content of which would cover the life of an entire state, with many pictures and episodes depicting what is happening at the same time.
There was no literary work that could serve as the basis for the libretto of such a broadly conceived opera, and Mussorgsky decided to compose the plot himself.
Khovanshchina became a new, highest stage in the development of Musorgsky's musical language. As before, he considered speech to be the main means of expressing human feelings and characters. But in the concept of musical speech, he now put a broader and deeper meaning than both recitative and song melody, through which only the deepest, most significant feelings can be expressed.
In parallel with Khovanshchina, Mussorgsky composed another opera. It was the Sorochinskaya Fair after Gogol. This opera testifies to Mussorgsky's inexhaustible love for life, despite all suffering, and his attraction to simple human joy.
While working on "Khovanshchina", "Sorochinskaya Fair" and songs, Musorgsky was already dreaming about the future. He conceived a third folk musical drama - about the Pugachev uprising, which, together with "Boris Godunov" and "Khovanshchina", would constitute a kind of trilogy on themes from Russian history.
But this dream was not given to come true, just as Mussorgsky did not have to finish "Khovanshchina" and "Sorochinskaya Yarmarka".
The last years of his life were not rich in events. Mussorgsky no longer served. A group of people formed up and paid him something like a small pension. The composer had to receive it until the end of the operas. He performed a lot during this period as an accompanist pianist. In 1879 he went on a concert tour across Ukraine and Crimea. This journey was the last shake-up, the last bright event in the life of Mussorgsky.
In the winter of 1881, the first blow overtook him. Others followed. On March 28, 1881, Mussorgsky died. He was barely 42 years old.
World fame came to him posthumously. Soon after his death, Rimsky-Korsakov took upon himself the great work of completing Khovanshchina and putting in order all the remaining manuscripts of the deceased. In Rimsky-Korsakov's version, Khovanshchina was staged for the first time. In the same edition, other works of Mussorgsky went around the whole world.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Mussorgsky - brilliant composer, whose work was initially underestimated. An innovator, a seeker of new ways in music, he seemed to his contemporaries a dropout. Even his close friend Rimsky-Korsakov believed that Mussorgsky's works could only be performed by correcting the harmony, form and orchestration, and after Mussorgsky's untimely death he carried out this tremendous work. It was in the versions of Rimsky-Korsakov that many of Mussorgsky's works were known for a long time, including the operas "Boris Godunov" and "Khovanshchina". It was only much later that the true meaning of Mussorgsky's work was revealed, which was first correctly appreciated by Stasov, who said: "Mussorgsky belongs to the number of people to whom posterity erects monuments." His music had a strong influence on composers of the 20th century, in particular, French, not to mention Russians, among whom the largest are Prokofiev and Shostakovich. “To create a living person in live music”, “To create a life phenomenon or type in a form inherent in them, which has never been with any of the artists” - this is how the composer himself defined his goal. The nature of his work determined Mussorgsky's preferential treatment of vocal and stage genres. His highest achievements are the operas Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina, vocal cycles Children's, Without the Sun and Songs and Dances of Death.
Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky was born on March 9 (21), 1839 on the Karevo estate near the town of Toropets in the Pskov provinces in an old noble family, descended from the Rurikovichs, the descendants of the legendary Rurik, who was called to reign from the Varangians in Russia. From early childhood, he, like all noble children, studied French and German, as well as music, showing great success especially in improvisation. At the age of 9, he was already playing J. Field's concert, but, of course, there was no talk of professional music lessons. In 1849 he was sent to St. Petersburg, where, after three years of training, he entered the School of Guards ensigns. For music, these three years were not lost - the boy took piano lessons from one of the best teachers in the capital A. Gerke, a student of the famous Field. In 1856, Mussorgsky graduated from high school and was assigned to serve in the Life Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment. During one of the shifts in a military land hospital, he met Borodin, then a doctor of the same hospital. But this acquaintance has not yet led to friendship: the age, interests, and the environment surrounding each of them were too different.
Being keenly interested in music and striving to get to know better the works of Russian composers, Mussorgsky at the age of 18 ends up in the house of Dargomyzhsky. Under the influence of the atmosphere reigning there, he begins to compose. The first experiments - the romance "Where are you, starlet", the idea of the opera "Hahn the Icelander". At Dargomyzhsky he meets Cui and Balakirev. This last acquaintance has a decisive impact on his entire future life. It was with Balakirev, around whom a circle of musicians formed, which later became famous under the name of the Mighty Handful, that his studies in composition began. During the first year, several romances and sonatas for piano appeared. Creativity captures the young man so much that in 1858 he resigns and selflessly engages in self-education - psychology, philosophy, literature - tries himself in different musical genres. And although he still composes in small forms, he is most attracted to opera, in particular, to the plot of Oedipus. On the advice of Balakirev, in 1861-1862, he wrote a symphony, but left it unfinished. But next year he is captured by the plot of "Salammbô" based on the novel by Flaubert, which has just been published in Russian translation. He has been working on the opera "Salammbo" for about three years and creates many interesting fragments, but gradually realizes that it is not the East, but Russia that attracts him. And "Salammbo" also remains unfinished.
In the mid-60s, Mussorgsky's works appeared, clearly showing which path he decided to follow. These are the songs "Kalistrat" to the verses of Nekrasov about the hard peasant lot (the composer called "Kalistrat" an etude in the folk style), "Sleep, sleep, peasant son"In the spirit folk songs to the text from A. Ostrovsky's drama "Voevoda", everyday picture "Svetik Savvishna" to his own words. After listening to the last one, the famous composer and authoritative music critic A. Serov said: “A terrible scene. This is Shakespeare in music. " A little later the "Seminarist" appears, also on its own text. In 1863, the need to earn a living arises - the family estate is completely upset and no longer brings any income. Mussorgsky enters the service: in December he becomes an official of the Engineering Department.
In 1867, finally, the first major orchestral work was created - "Ivan's Night on Bald Mountain". At the same time, under the influence of Dargomyzhsky's "The Stone Guest", Mussorgsky began work on the opera "The Marriage" based on the prose text of Gogol's comedy. This bold idea very much fascinates him, but after a while it becomes clear that this is just an experiment: he does not consider it possible to create an opera on one recitative, without arias, choirs, ensembles.
The 60s were a time of fierce struggle between the Balakirev circle and the so-called conservative party, to which the professors of the recently opened first Russian conservatory, supported by the Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, belong. Balakirev, who was for some time the director of the Russian Musical Society (RMO), was dismissed from his post in 1869. In opposition to this institution, he organizes a cycle of concerts of the Free music school, but the fight is deliberately lost, since, unlike the RMO, the BMS is not subsidized by anyone. Mussorgsky is fired up with the idea of embodying the opponents of the Mighty Handful in music. This is how “Paradise” appears - a unique satirical vocal composition, according to Stasov, a masterpiece of “talent, causticity, comedy, ridicule, brilliance, plasticity ... ...
The composer devoted 1868-1869 to work on Boris Godunov, and in 1870 he presented the score to the Mariinsky Theater. But the opera is rejected: it is too unconventional. One of the reasons for the refusal is the absence of a large female role... In the following years, 1871 and 1872, the composer revised Boris: Polish scenes and the role of Marina Mniszek appeared, a scene near Kromy. But even this option does not satisfy the committee in charge of accepting operas for production. Only the persistence of the singer Y. Platonova, who chose Mussorgsky's opera for her benefit performance, helps Boris Godunov see the light of the stage. While working on the second version of the opera, Mussorgsky rented an apartment with Rimsky-Korsakov. They share their time at the piano in a friendly manner, both write operas based on a plot from Russian history (Rimsky-Korsakov creates "The Pskovite Woman") and, very different in character and creative principles, perfectly complement each other.
In 1873, "Children's" was published in the design of Repin and received wide recognition from both the public and musicians, including Liszt, who highly appreciated the novelty and uniqueness of this work. This is the only joy of a composer who is not spoiled by fate. He is oppressed by the endless troubles associated with the production of "Boris Godunov", tired of the need to serve, now in the Forestry Department. Loneliness is also oppressive: Rimsky-Korsakov got married and left their common apartment, and Mussorgsky, partly out of his own conviction, partly under the influence of Stasov, believes that marriage will interfere with creativity and sacrifice his personal life for him. Stasov goes abroad for a long time. Soon, the composer's friend, the artist Viktor Hartman, suddenly dies.
The next year brings both great creative success - the piano cycle Pictures at an Exhibition, created under the direct impression of Hartmann's posthumous exhibition, and a new great grief. An old friend of the composer, Nadezhda Petrovna Opochinina, with whom he, apparently, was deeply, but secretly, in love, dies. At this time, a gloomy, melancholy cycle "Without the Sun" was created on the verses of Golenishchev-Kutuzov. Work is underway on a new opera - Khovanshchina - again based on a plot from Russian history. In the summer of 1874, work on the opera was interrupted for the sake of the Sorochinskaya Fair after Gogol. Comic opera has a hard time moving forward: there are too few reasons for fun around. But the inspired vocal ballad "Forgotten" appears based on the painting by Vereshchagin, which he saw at the exhibition in the same 1874.
The composer's life is becoming more difficult and hopeless. The actual disintegration of the Mighty Handful, which he repeatedly complains about in letters to Stasov, has a heavy effect on him, who always strived for close friendly communication. In the service, they are unhappy with him: he often skimps on his duties, both for the sake of creativity, so, unfortunately, and because, under the influence of the sad circumstances of life, he increasingly often resorts to the generally accepted Russian consolation - a bottle. Sometimes his need becomes so strong that he does not have the money to pay the rent. In 1875 he was evicted for non-payment. For some time he finds refuge with A. Golenishchev-Kutuzov, then with an old friend, Naumov, a former naval officer, a great admirer of his work. On the verses of Golenishchev-Kutuzov, he creates a vocal cycle "Songs and Dances of Death".
In 1878, friends helped Mussorgsky find another position - a junior auditor of the State Audit Office. It is good because the immediate superior of the composer T. Filippov, a great lover of music and a collector of folk songs, turns a blind eye to Mussorgsky's absenteeism. But the paltry salary barely makes it possible to make ends meet. In 1879, in order to improve his financial situation, Mussorgsky, together with the singer D. Leonova, is going on a big tour that covers all the major cities of southern Russia. The program of performances includes arias from operas by Russian composers, romances by both Russian composers and Schubert, Schumann, Liszt. Mussorgsky accompanies the singer, and also performs with solo numbers - transcriptions from Ruslan and Lyudmila and his own operas. The trip has a beneficial effect on the musician. He is inspired by the beautiful southern nature, the rave reviews of newspapers, which highly appreciate his gift as a composer and pianist. This causes uplifting, new creative activity. The famous song "Bloch", piano pieces, and the idea of a large suite for orchestra appear. Work continues on Sorochinskaya Yarmarka and Khovanshchina.
In January of the next year, Mussorgsky finally leaves the civil service. Friends - V. Zhemchuzhnikov, T. Filippov, V. Stasov and M. Ostrovsky (the playwright's brother) - add up to a monthly stipend of 100 rubles so that he could finish Khovanshchina. Another group of friends pays 80 rubles a month under the obligation to finish the Sorochinskaya Yarmarka. Thanks to this help, in the summer of 1880, "Khovanshchina" was almost completed in the clavier. Since autumn, at the suggestion of Leonova, Mussorgsky becomes an accompanist at her private singing courses and, in addition to the accompaniment, composes choirs for students on Russian folk texts. But his health is completely undermined, and at one of the student's home concerts he loses consciousness. Arriving Stasov, Rimsky-Korsakov and Borodin find him delirious. Urgent hospitalization is required. Through an acquaintance of the doctor L. Bertenson, who worked at the Nikolaev military hospital, Mussorgsky manages to get there, writing down "Bertenson as a freelance orderly". On February 14, 1881, the composer was taken unconscious to the hospital. For a while, he gets better, he can even receive visitors, including Repin, who painted the famous portrait of Mussorgsky. But soon there comes a sharp deterioration.
Mussorgsky died on March 16, only 42 years old. The funeral took place on March 18 at the cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. In 1885, thanks to the efforts of loyal friends, a monument was erected at the grave.
L. Mikheeva
The main dates of life and work:
1839. - 9 III. In the village of Karevo, a son, Modest, was born into the Mussorgsky family - landowner Pyotr Alekseevich and his wife Yulia Ivanovna (nee Chirikova).
1846. - First successes in learning to play the piano under the guidance of his mother.
1848. - Mussorgsky's performance of J. Field's concert (at the parents' house for guests).
1849. - VIII. Admission to the Peter and Paul School in St. Petersburg. - Beginning of piano lessons, at Ant. A. Gerke.
1851. - Performance by Mussorgsky "Rondo" by A. Hertz at a home charity concert.
1852. - VIII. Admission to the school of guards ensigns. - Publication of the piano piece - the polka "Ensign" ("Porte-enseigne Polka").
1856. - 17 VI. Graduation from the school of guards ensigns. - 8 X. Enrollment in the Preobrazhensky Guards Regiment. - X. Meeting with A.P. Borodin on duty at the 2nd Land Hospital. - Winter 1856-1857. Acquaintance with A.S.Dargomyzhsky.
1857. - Acquaintance with Ts. A. Cui and M. A. Balakirev in the house of Dargomyzhsky, with V. V. and D. V. Stasov in the house of M. A. Balakirev. - Beginning of classes in composition under the guidance of Balakirev.
1858. - 11 VI. Retirement from military service.
1859. - 22 II. Execution by Mussorgsky starring in the comic opera "The Mandarin's Son" by Cui at the author's house. - Vi. A trip to Moscow, acquaintance with its sights.
1860. - 11 I. Performance of the B-dur scherzo in the RMO concert conducted by A. Rubinstein.
1861. - I. A trip to Moscow, new acquaintances in the circles of the progressive intelligentsia (youth). - 6 IV. Choir performance from the music to the tragedy "Oedipus the King" by Sophocles in a concert conducted by Konstantin N. Lyadov (Mariinsky Theater).
1863. - VI-VII. Stay in Toropets in connection with the troubles of the estate. - XII. The concept of the opera "Salammbô" based on the novel by G. Flaubert. - 15 XII. Joining the service (as an official) in the Engineering Department.
1863-65. - Life in a "commune" with a group of young friends (influenced by the novel "What is to be done?" By N. G. Chernyshevsky).
1864. - 22 V. Creation of the song "Kalistrat" to the words of N. A. Nekrasov - the first in a series of vocal scenes from the life of the people.
1866. - The beginning of friendship with N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov.
1867. - 6 III. Performance by the choir "Sennacherib's Defeat" at the concert of the Free Music School conducted by Balakirev. - 26 IV. Departure from service in the Engineering Department. - 24 IX. Complaints about the difficult financial situation in a letter to Balakirev.
1868. - Rapprochement with the Purgold family, participation in their home musical meetings. - 23 IX. Show of "Marriage" at Cui's house. - Acquaintance with the literary historian V. V. Nikolsky, the beginning of work on "Boris Godunov" on his advice. - 21 XII. Enrollment in the Forestry Department of the Ministry of State Property.
1870. - 7 V. Screening of "Boris Godunov" in the house of artist K. E. Makovsky. - Prohibition of the song "Seminarist" by censorship.
1871. - 10 II. The Opera Committee of the Mariinsky Theater rejected the opera Boris Godunov.
1871-72. - Mussorgsky lives in the same apartment with Rimsky-Korsakov, works on the 2nd edition of Boris Godunov.
1872. - 8 II. Demonstration of the opera "Boris Godunov" in a new version in the house of VF Purgold. - 5 II. Performance of the finale of the 1st act of "Boris Godunov" in the concert of the RMO under the baton of EF Napravnik. - II-IV. Collective work (together with Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov and Cui) on the opera-ballet "Mlada" commissioned by the Directorate of the Imperial Theaters. - 3 IV. Performance of the polonaise from "Boris Godunov" at the concert of the Free Music School conducted by Balakirev. - Vi. Start of work on "Khovanshchina".
1873. - 5 II. Performance of three pictures from Boris Godunov at the Mariinsky Theater. - V. Performance by F. Liszt in Weimar for a group of musicians from the cycle "Children's" M.
1874. - 27 I. Premiere of Boris Godunov at the Mariinsky Theater. - 7-19 V. Creation of the ballad for voice and piano "Forgotten" to words by Golenishchev-Kutuzov, dedicated to VV Vereshchagin. - Vii. The conception of the opera "Sorochinskaya Yarmarka" was born.
1875. - 13 II. Mussorgsky's participation as an accompanist in a concert for the benefit of the needy students of the Medical-Surgical Academy. - 9 III. Participation in the musical and literary evening of the St. Petersburg Society for the benefit of students of medical and pedagogical courses.
1876. - 11 III. Participation in the musical evening of the St. Petersburg Artists' Meeting in favor of the needy students of the Medical and Surgical Academy.
1877. - 17 II. Participation in the concert of YF Platonova. - Participation in a concert for the benefit of the Society of Cheap Apartments.
1878. - 2 IV. Speech with the singer D. M. Leonova at the concert of the Society of Benefits to female listeners of medical and pedagogical courses. - 10 XII. Renewal of Boris Godunov (with large bills) at the Mariinsky Theater.
1879. - 16 I. Performance of the cell scene from Boris Godunov at the Free Music School concert under the direction of Rimsky-Korsakov (released by the Mariinsky Theater). - 3 IV. Participation in the concert of the Society for the benefit of female students of medical and pedagogical courses. - VII-X. Concert trip with Leonova (Poltava, Elizavetgrad, Kherson, Odessa, Sevastopol, Yalta, Rostov-on-Don, Novocherkassk, Voronezh, Tambov, Tver). - 27 XI. Performance of excerpts from "Khovanshchina" in the concert of the Free Music School under the direction of Rimsky-Korsakov.
1880. - I. Departure from service. Deterioration of health. - 8 IV. Performing excerpts from "Khovanshchina" and "Song of the Flea" in Leonova's concert with the orchestra conducted by Rimsky-Korsakov. - 27 and 30 IV. Two concerts of Leonova and Mussorgsky in Tver. - 5 VIII. A message in a letter to Stasov about the end of "Khovanshchina" (with the exception of small excerpts in the last act).
1881. - II. A sharp deterioration in health. - 2-5 III. I. E. Repin paints a portrait of Mussorgsky - 16 III. Death of Mussorgsky in the Nikolaev military hospital from erysipelas of the leg. - 18 III. Funeral of Mussorgsky at the cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg.
Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky is a great Russian composer whose works were inspired by historical and folklore traditions. Deliberately ignoring the established canons of Western music, the innovative creator created works with a unique national flavor that glorified the power and distinctive character of the Russian people. The opera "Boris Godunov" became an example of vocal and symphonic fundamentalism and influenced the work of many composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Childhood and youth
Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky, a hereditary nobleman, was born on March 9, 1839 in the Karevo estate, located in the Pskov province, 400 km from St. Petersburg. Parents, wealthy landowners, descended from the famous princes of Smolensk, who were descendants of the great dynasty of Ruriks.
Pyotr Alekseevich Mussorgsky was the son of a guards officer, the owner of a vast estate in the Toropetsky district. Having inherited the estate, he left the service in the St. Petersburg Senate and married Yulia Ivanovna Chirikova, the daughter of a retired military man from the neighboring village of Naumovo.
Since the parents had no shortage of funds, Modest's childhood passed in an atmosphere of constant celebration. Surrounded by the cares of a nanny, from an early age, the boy felt a taste for Russian songs and fairy tales and was imbued with the spirit of folk traditions and customs, and his mother instilled in her son a taste for classical music and began to teach him the basics of playing the piano. At the age of 7, the future composer easily picked up complex piano pieces by ear and supplemented them with his own improvisations.
Modest Mussorgsky (right) and his brother Eugene
At the age of 10, Mussorgsky was sent to a German educational institution located in St. Petersburg, where the boy continued his music lessons under the supervision of pianist and teacher Anton Avgustovich Gerke and in 1852 presented the first independently composed piece for piano. Parents rejoiced at their son's creative successes, but did not seriously consider his creative career. The descendants of the military honored family traditions and soon they arranged Modest into the school of guards officers, where strictness and discipline reigned.
The young man accepted the strict regime of the institution, but did not stop playing music. Thanks to his innate talent and acquired skill, Mussorgsky became the soul of the company and regularly performed at parties and celebrations organized at the school. At the same time, Modest began his path to alcoholism, which was an integral part of the riotous student life of that time.
In 1856, the future composer graduated from the Guards School and was assigned to the St. Petersburg Preobrazhensky Regiment. After settling in the capital, he met with the military and creative Russian elite.
Soon, the young officer became a regular participant in parties at the composer's house and made friends with famous Russian cultural figures in the person of Vladimir Stasov, Caesar Cui, etc. The latter took up the "upbringing" and musical education of Mussorgsky, who decided to leave military service for a full-fledged musical career.
Music
Mussorgsky's creative biography began with instrumental transcriptions of symphonic works to hone the skills of composing and arranging musical parts. In the process of work, the aspiring composer realized that small genres did not correspond to the scope of his soul and the breadth of his imagination, therefore, having written a sonata for piano, 2 orchestral scherzos and a piece called Shamil's March, Modest Petrovich thought about opera.
For 3 years, Mussorgsky composed a work based on the tragedy "Oedipus the King", then switched to the plot of Flaubert's "Salammbo", and after a while began to adapt "The Night on the Eve of Ivan Kupala". Having written a number of fragments, the author lost interest in projects and did not finish any of them.
In the early 1860s, Modest Petrovich began experimenting with musical genres and wrote a number of songs based on the verses of great poets, among whom the most famous were "Song of the Elder", "Tsar Saul" and "Kalistrat". These works laid the foundation for a folk tradition in the work of the composer and were distinguished by acute social themes and extraordinary musical drama.
Yulian Baryshnikov performs Modest Mussorgsky's romance "Seminarist"This was followed by a series of genre romances "Svetik-Savishna", "Song of Yarema", "Seminarist" and others, which gained incredible popularity among contemporaries and caused mixed responses from the audience. And in 1867 the symphonic work "Ivan's Night on Bald Mountain", originally conceived as a choral one, saw the light of day.
Collaborating with fellow composers who united in the "Mighty Handful" circle, Mussorgsky absorbed national traditional ideas and new trends that arose in connection with the changed political situation. The consequence of this was an inevitable desire to convey complete picture dramatic events that took place in Russia in the past and took place in the present.
The musicians sought to bring creativity closer to reality and looked for non-traditional forms. One of the results of these searches was Mussorgsky's joke work "The Marriage", which the author called "a conversational opera", which became a training for the great Russian talent before creating the world-famous monumental masterpiece called "Boris Godunov".
Work on the Pushkin story began in 1868 and proceeded so quickly that over the next year the composer created the clavier and completed the main score. An interesting fact is that Modest Petrovich nurtured plans for future works for a long time and, while composing music, almost did not use drafts.
Ivan Kozlovsky performs an aria from the opera "Boris Godunov" by Modest MussorgskyFollowing the historical and poetic idea, Mussorgsky focused on 2 themes, the fate of a person and the fate of the people, and abandoned solo performances in favor of large-scale choral scenes. It is for this reason that the first edition of Boris Godunov did not satisfy the directors of the Mariinsky Theater, which refused to stage the opera in 1870.
Enlisting the support of his comrades-in-arms, Modest Petrovich as soon as possible reworked the work, changing storyline and adding some characters. In addition, the final, which was a mass folk scene, became the bullet point in the new version of the work. The abundance of folklore melodies and colorful naturalistic images made Boris Godunov the greatest example of operatic art and brought greatness and glory to its creator. The premiere of the work took place in St. Petersburg in February 1874.
Having enjoyed the success and received a portion of unjustified criticism, Mussorgsky embarked on the embodiment of a new creative idea, turning to the topic of bloody rifle riots. Work on Khovanshchina did not progress as quickly as the author would like. He was constantly distracted by other projects, wrote songs and romances, which he eventually combined into a vocal collection "Children's", as well as piano pieces known as "Pictures at an Exhibition".
In the mid-1870s, putting aside the sketchbook for Khovanshchina, Modest Petrovich composed the vocal cycle Songs and Dances of Death and presented to his colleagues several fragments of another opera called Sorochinskaya Fair.
Galina Vishnevskaya, a cycle of songs by Modest Mussorgsky "Songs and Dances of Death"Over the next years, Mussorgsky was torn between two new creations, but the difficult financial situation, close to poverty, interfered with full-fledged work and affected the physical and mental state of the composer. In 1879, friends organized a tour of the cities of Russia for Modest Petrovich and established a fund to support the talented writer. This helped Mussorgsky hold out for 2 years, but the operas Khovanshchina and Sorochinskaya Yarmarka remained unfinished.
Personal life
Mussorgsky spent most of his life in St. Petersburg, rotating in the society of the cultural and creative elite. Members of the "Mighty Handful" became the composer's second family, with which he shared success and hardships, victories and defeats.
Despite the fact that Modest Petrovich moved in society, he was not happy in his personal life and did not have either a wife or children. The only lady for whom the writer had tender feelings was Lyudmila Ivanovna Shestakova, a sister who responded to Musorgsky with a heartfelt maternal affection. This relationship is evidenced by the letters preserved in the composer's creative archive.
Death
In the early 1870s, Mussorgsky's health left much to be desired. Stormy youth with endless parties and revelry led to the fact that at the age of 40 the composer began to experience bouts of insanity caused by alcohol abuse.
Fearing for his own sanity, Modest Petrovich hired a personal doctor, George Carrick, the current president of the St. Petersburg Society of Physicians, and with his help tried to get rid of his addiction.
The crisis came when Mussorgsky was fired from service. The composer, driven to poverty, survived 4 attacks of delirium tremens and was hospitalized. Friends, including the artist who painted the composer's dying portrait, paid for the treatment, but this only temporarily delayed the inevitable.
On March 16, 1881, Modest Petrovich again fell into madness, and another attack of metal-alcoholic psychosis caused the death of the great Russian composer. A few days later, colleagues buried Mussorgsky in St. Petersburg on the territory of the Alexander Nevsky Monastery, and in 1972, in his mother's family mansion, they opened a museum dedicated to the life and work of the author of "Boris Godunov".
Musical works
- 1857-1866 - "Young years"
- 1859 - "March of Shamil"
- 1867 - "Night on Bald Mountain"
- 1868 - "The Marriage"
- 1869 - Boris Godunov
- 1870 - "Nursery"
- 1873 - "Khovanshchina"
- 1874 - "Sorochinskaya Fair"
- 1874 - "Without the sun"
- 1874 - Pictures at an Exhibition
- 1877 - "Songs and Dances of Death"
The main figure in this article will be Modest Mussorgsky. The composer's biography begins on March 16, 1839 in one of the small villages of the Pskov region. From an early age, his parents, who belonged to an old family of nobles, introduced the boy to music. His mother taught him to play the piano, and at the age of seven he was already performing plays. A few years later, the future genius was already mastering whole concerts.
Biography of Mussorgsky in the early years of his life
Few of Modest's ancestors could have imagined that he would become a great musician and composer. All the relatives of the Musorgsky were devoted to the state, and the men served in the Tsar's army. The first exception was his father, Pyotr Mussorgsky, who was distinguished by a great passion for music, and then his son, who inherited this gift. The first piano teacher was Modest's mother, Yulia Chirikova.
In 1849 Modest Mussorgsky went to Petersburg, and there he began his first professional music lessons with the teacher A.A. Gerke. Under his leadership, he performs at chamber concerts, family evenings and other events. And already in 1852 he wrote and published his own polka called "Ensign".
The period of the foundation of the "Mighty Handful"
Since 1856, Mussorgsky's biography has been unfolding in St. Petersburg, where he simultaneously meets the composer.They become very close friends who are united not only by a common cause, but also by creativity - music. Some time later, he also met A. Dargomyzhsky, M. Balakirev, Ts. Cui, as well as the Stasov brothers. All these composers are familiar to us thanks to the Mighty Handful group, which they founded.
The main figure in their "galaxy" was Balakirev - he became a teacher and spiritual mentor for every composer. Together with him, Mussorgsky taught new concerts and works of large forms such as Beethoven, Schubert, Strauss. Attending the Philharmonic, opera performances and other musical events contributed to the fact that for Modest the goal of life was to cognize the beautiful and create it.
Biography of Mussorgsky in the period of the new work of the "Mighty Handful"
In the next decade, the composers of The Mighty Handful adopted the rule that they must follow all the musical canons of M. Glinka. During this period, Mussorgsky wrote music for the story of Sophocles "Oedipus the King", and then took up the opera "Salammbo". Unfortunately, it remained unfinished, but many of the works written for it were included in the composer's masterpiece - the opera Boris Godunov.
The period of travel and the flowering of creativity
In the 60s, the biography of Mussorgsky unfolds on new lands. He sets off on a journey in which the city of Moscow becomes the main point. It was this place that inspired him to write his opera "Boris Godunov", since, in his opinion, he met there suitable "women and men" for the production.
In the future, the composer did not forget to give instrumental concerts, vocal performances. Among the pianists, he had no equal, and his own works were praised by many connoisseurs of beauty. It was in this world that the composer Mussorgsky spent his young years.
His biography changed dramatically in the 80s. Then his health was disturbed, his financial situation was shaken. He didn't have that much time to be creative anymore, so he started drinking. He died on his birthday, in 1881, in a military hospital.