Rimsky-Korsakov

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Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908)

Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer. His best-known orchestral compositions - Capriccio Espagnol, the Russian Easter Festival Overture, and the symphonic suite Scheherazade - are staples of the classical music repertoire.

Rimsky-Korsakov employed Western musical techniques when he became a professor of musical composition at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in 1871. He undertook a rigorous three-year program of self-education and became a master of Western methods.

For much of his life, Rimsky-Korsakov combined his work with a career in the Russian armed forces - first as an officer in the Imperial Russian Navy, then as the civilian Inspector of Naval Bands. He developed a passion for the ocean in childhood from reading books and hearing of his older brother's exploits in the navy. This love of the sea may have influenced him to write two of his best-known orchestral works, the Song of India and Scheherazade. As Inspector of Naval Bands, Rimsky-Korsakov expanded his knowledge of woodwind and brass playing, which enhanced his abilities in orchestration.

Rimsky-Korsakov left a considerable body of original Russian compositions. He is considered "the main architect" of what is considered the "Russian style". His influence on younger composers was especially important, as a professional composer who became the norm in Russia by the closing years of the 19th century.

Bumblebee, from “The Tale of Tsar Saltan”, 1899–1900

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Capricio Espagnol, Op.34, Mvts. Alborada, Variazioni, Alborada, Scena e canto gitano, Fandango asturiano, 1887

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Russian Easter Festival Overture, Op.36, 1888

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Scheherazade, Op.35, Mvts. The Sea and Sinbad's Ship, The Legend of the Kalendar Prince, The Young Prince and Princess, Festival at Baghdad. The Sea. Ship Breaks upon a Cliff Surmounted by a Bronze Horseman, 1888

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