Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844)

18Mar2010 In : On this day
Author : FJ

Rimsky-Korsakov, a Russian composer noted for his skill in orchestration, completed his first symphony at the age of 22, while serving as a midshipman with the Imperial Russian Navy. In 1871, he became a professor at St. Petersburg Conservatory, where he taught many famous future composers, including Igor Stravinsky. As a member of a group of nationalist composers known as “The Five,” Rimsky-Korsakov aimed to write music of distinctively Russian character. Who were the group’s other members? Discuss

Quotes :

March 18: Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844–1908) was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five. He was a master of orchestration. His best-known orchestral compositions—Capriccio Espagnol, the Russian Easter Festival Overture, and the symphonic suite Scheherazade—are considered staples of the classical music repertoire, along with suites and excerpts from some of his 15 operas. Scheherazade is ...

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840)

A towering figure in Russian music and one of the most popular composers in history, Tchaikovsky became interested in music as a child and turned to serious composition at 14. His works are noted for their expressive melodies, and he is said to have revolutionized ballet by transforming it from a grand decorative gesture into a staged musical drama. His ...

Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (1799)

Among the giants of Russian literature, Pushkin was a poet and writer whose masterpieces include the poem The Bronze Horseman, the drama The Stone Guest, and his verse novel Eugene Onegin. Pushkin is credited not only with developing literary Russian—the highly nuanced language found in almost all Russian literature that followed him—but with substantially augmenting the Russian lexicon. When Pushkin ...

Marius Ivanovich Petipa (1822)

The principal creator of the modern classical ballet, Petipa was a French-born Russian dancer and choreographer. He received early training from his ballet-master father and was a dancer in France, Belgium, and Spain before joining the Imperial Theatre in St. Petersburg, where he created several ballets and became chief choreographer in 1869. By his retirement in 1903, he had produced ...

The January Uprising Begins (1863)

The January Uprising began as a spontaneous rebellion of young Poles in Russian Poland against conscription into the Imperial Russian Army. They were soon joined by Lithuanians living in the territory, but they were severely outnumbered and isolated, and they failed to win any major victories or capture any major cities. The Russians crushed the uprising and began an intensive ...