The life and work of Rimsky-Korsakov

Early life

Rimsky-Korsakov was born on May 18, 1844 in Tikhvin and died on June 21, 1908. He grew up in a rural and affluent environment. Although he began piano lessons at a fairly young age, the idea for a musical career came to him in 1861, after his acquaintance with Balakirev, who began to train him amicably. His first exercise was the composition of a symphony! He mentioned that "I was just an amateur student who played the piano out of fashion and wrote rough things, until I joined the circle. And then, after amateur technical essays, but musically and honest in style and taste, I was persuaded to compose a symphony (Romanou).

When he met Balakirev, the composer had already graduated from the naval school. In 1865, he returned to St. Petersburg. As an office officer he had very few obligations and so prioritized composition. He completed his second symphony, also known as Adar, which we will hear now (Romanou).

Music

Through his training and contacts in the navy, Rimsky-Korsakov became increasingly familiar with the Russian and international liberal and critical literature of the time. It can be assumed that he was a politically motivated composer whose opera themes were chosen, not only to challenge the tsarist bureaucracy, but also to show that the decree of "Official Nationality" no longer represented a Russian society that had changed significantly and needed a new interpretation (The Political in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Operas - Cambridge Scholars Publishing).

Rimsky-Korsakov's themes for his operas and other musical works, as well as those of the other members of the Group of Five, were influenced by the romanticism of Berlioz, a much-loved composer in Russia, as well as by Glinka's Russian folk music, sometimes interspersed with elements of orientalism. He drew his inspiration from classic 19th-century Russian literature, folk tales and traditional Russian fairy tales, and the history of Russia. He is considered one of the founders of national Russian music ("Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov"). The oriental and fantastic style of the composer is present in many operas, which were based on Russian folk epics. Some of his operas, which were based on fairy tales, are consciously set to music in such a way that the heroes do not turn into believable characters. The composer Grechaninov wrote to Rimsky-Korsakov that: "No one has hitherto been able to maintain a sense of fairy tale throughout an opera, where everything, desires, feelings, actions, is expressed as if by allusion, where there is nothing real." (Romanou).

His orchestral music was particularly influenced by Balakirev, in terms of the Russian and Oriental color of his early works, and Liszt, who taught him how to musically express the imagination of alien creatures and how to experiment with harmony, while remaining harmoniously rational (Romanou). Purely orchestral works fall into two categories. The best known in the West, and perhaps the best in overall quality, are mainly programmatic in nature. In other words, the musical content and how it is handled in the piece is determined by the plot or characters of a story, the action on a board, or events reported through another non-musical source (Wikipedia Contributors). The composition of programmatic works was natural for Rimsky-Korsakov. For him, "even a popular theme has a kind of program." (Wikipedia Contributors). The second category of works is more academic. In them, the composer still used folk themes, but subjected them to abstract rules of musical composition (Wikipedia Contributors). The composer's non-programmatic music, although well crafted, did not reach the same level of inspiration as his programmatic works (Wikipedia Contributors). Some of the characteristics of his technique in terms of orchestration are: 1) the very embossed projection of the main melody with doublings and avoidance of much action in the middle and low range, 2) the tendency for discreet bass support, 3) the colored accents of the accompanying parts of the orchestra which rarely perform a contrapuntal role and 4) the very simple accompaniment with retained notes,  which does not interfere at all with the monitoring of the timbre change of the melody. Both in theory and in practice, his orchestration was composed with a specific view of musical texture: an intense melody supported by solid sounds or surfaces rather than other melodies. The organic timbres of these elements are fundamental. In the preface to his thesis he wrote: "It is very wrong to say: this composer orchestrates well, or this composition is well orchestrated, because orchestration is part of the very soul of the work." His handling of the orchestra had a great influence in the new century, particularly on the music of Glazunov, Prokofiev, Stravinsky and even Debussy and Ravel (Romanou).

In 1871, the 27-year-old Rimsky-Korsakov became Professor of Practical Composition and Orchestration at the St. Petersburg Conservatory (Wikipedia Contributors). The acceptance of this position played a decisive role in his career (Romanou). At the same time, he maintained his position in active naval service and taught his classes wearing the naval uniform, as military officers in Russia had to wear their uniforms every day. In late 1871, the composer moved in with Mussorgsky. They agreed that Mussorggi would use the piano in the morning. Rimsky-Korsakov used the piano when the former left for work at noon. Time in the evenings was allocated by mutual agreement. The composer wrote that: "That autumn and winter the two of us achieved a lot, with a constant exchange of ideas and plans. During that time he orchestrated and completed the work Maid of Pskov, which we will hear now (Wikipedia Contributors).

1872-1878

In 1872, the composer married Nadezhda Purgold, a very good pianist. Despite their six children, she helped him with arrangements for piano and other work, as well as severe criticism (Romanou).

In early 1873, the navy created the political post of Inspector of Naval Zones and appointed Rimsky-Korsakov. This kept him on the Navy's payroll and he was included on the list of the Chancellery of the Ministry of the Navy, but allowed him to resign from his committee. The composer commented: "I happily parted with both my military status and my officer's uniform. Henceforth I was a musician officially and unquestionably." As an inspector, Rimsky-Korsakov 1) visited naval bands throughout Russia, supervised band leaders and their appointments, 2) examined the bands' repertoire, and 3) inspected the quality of their instruments. He also indulged in a long-standing desire to become familiar with the construction and playing technique of orchestral instruments. These studies prompted him to write a book on orchestration. He used class privileges to practice and expand his knowledge. He discussed covers of musical works for military bands with band leaders, encouraged and reviewed their efforts, held concerts in which he could hear these pieces, and arranged original works and works by other composers for military bands (Wikipedia Contributors).

In 1874-1876, he tried to perfect his compositional technique, so he stopped composing and followed a strict study plan consisting of exercises of 1) counterpoint, 2) fugue and coral, 3) a chorus hat and 4) cantatas. At the same time, he began recording and harmonizing collections of Russian music. In 1877-1878, together with Balakirev, he undertook the critical edition of Glinka's operas, which was done for the first time in Russia. Compared to Balakirev, the composer was much more restrained in his corrections. According to Liszt, Rimsky-Korsakov collected and restored most of it fantastic Russian Museum of Musical Works (Romanou).

In mid-1877, the composer began to think more and more intensely about the short story May Night by Nikolai Gogol. This story was the favorite of his wife who had encouraged him to write an opera based on this story on the day of their engagement. In February 1878, he began writing the work and completed it in early November. He wrote that the short story was of great importance, despite the fact that the opera contained a lot of contrapuntal music.  (Wikipedia Contributors).

1882-1887

Rimsky-Korsakov wrote that he met the budding musical patron Mitrovan Belyayev in Moscow in 1882. By 1883, the composer had become a regular visitor to his weekly Friday visits to Belyayev's home in St. Petersburg (Wikipedia Contributors). At the same time, he became Balakirev's assistant at the court temple. Then, he became interested in the church member. The Five, from the very beginning, did not see church music as a source of "national" music, on the one hand because Stasov, who influenced them ideologically, was an atheist and on the other hand, because they were not attracted to composing a male choir for a capella. The composer wrote a significant number of church music in a strictly diatonic style. He composed music that lacked the usual four-voice texture, foreshadowing developments later adopted by Rachmaninov. At the same time, he wrote a new harmony manual, as he felt that Tchaikovsky's was inadequate. The new egir became a staple in teaching harmony in Russia (Romanou). In March 1884, his position in the navy was abolished, and the composer was relieved of his duties (Wikipedia Contributors).

In 1887, Tchaikovsky heard several of the Russian Symphony Concerts. Among other things, he heard the premiere of Rimsky-Korsakov's Third Symphony in its revised form. Tchaikovsky often visited the composer's home and at one point offered him a position as director of the Moscow Conservatory, but during this time the two began to have closer relations.  At one point, Rimsky-Korsakov noticed not without annoyance that Tchaikovsky was becoming increasingly popular with his followers. This personal jealousy was exacerbated by professional jealousy as Tchaikovsky's music became increasingly popular in Belyaev's circle and remained more famous than his own. Even so, when Tchaikovsky attended Rimsky-Korsakov's name day party in May 1893, the composer asked Tchaikovsky to conduct four concerts of the Russian Music Society in St. Petersburg. Tchaikovsky reluctantly agreed, but sudden death prevented him from fulfilling that promise (Wikipedia Contributors).

1888-1889

In 1888-1889, the Czech company presented Wagner's tetralogy for the first time in Russia. Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov went to all the tests. The composer was initially impressed with the orchestration and then with the other elements of the work (Romanou).

1889-1895

In March 1889, Angelo Neumann's traveling Richard Wagner Theatre visited St. Petersburg, giving four cycles of Wagner under the direction of Karl Mouck. The Five had ignored Wagner's music, but The Ring impressed Rimsky-Korsakov: he was amazed at Wagner's orchestration. He attended rehearsals with Glazunov. After hearing these performances, the composer devoted himself almost exclusively to composing operas for the rest of his creative life (Wikipedia Contributors).

In 1890-1892, his mother and two of his children died. His wife fell ill and he began to be in poor health. Working with Balakirev became increasingly difficult. In 1894, he resigned from the court church, which brought a permanent break with his teacher. It was then that the composer's most prolific and successful period began. He wrote thirteen operas, without dogmatically following a particular mode of expression. He collaborated with Mamontov, a wealthy patron of the arts, who had his own opera company in Moscow (Romanou). In 1892, the composer suffered a creative drought caused by depression and various alarming physical symptoms such as bloodshed in the head, confusion, memory loss and unpleasant obsessions. After a medical visit, he was diagnosed with neurasthenia (Wikipedia Contributors).

1897

Rimsky-Korsakov wrote in his autobiography that "In the summer of 1897 I composed long and incessantly (Romanou).

Later life

In 1902, the composer wrote that each of his works attempted to do something new, on the one hand because his music would be fresh and interesting and on the other hand because his pride made him want to feel competent with all techniques, all atmospheres and styles. So he wrote an essay on genuine Italian opera, opera Crockery, that we will hear now. The work is the best example of the negation of the ideas of Stasov and others. For the Five, "Italianism" was the cheapest and most anti-Russian thing (Romanou).

Death

In 1905, demonstrations were held at the St. Petersburg Conservatory as part of the 1905 Revolution. These, according to Rimsky-Korsakov, were caused by similar unrest at St. Petersburg State University, in which students demanded political reforms and the establishment of a constitutional monarchy in Russia. "I was elected a member of the committee for adjusting differences with troubled students," he recalls. almost immediately after the formation of the committee, "measures were proposed for the dismissal of the chiefs, for the concentration of the police in the Conservatory, for the complete closure of the Conservatory" (Wikipedia Contributors).

Ilya Repin wrote on October 17, 1905: A lifelong political liberal, Rimsky-Korsakov wrote that he felt that someone had to protect the rights of students to demonstrate, especially as disputes and disputes between students and authorities became increasingly violent. In an open letter, he sided with the students against what he saw as unjustified interference by the Conservatory's leadership and the Russian Music Society. A second letter, this time signed by a number of professors, including Rimsky-Korsakov, demanded the resignation of the head of the Conservatory. Partly as a result of these two letters he wrote, about 100 students of the Conservatory were expelled and he was removed from the position of professor. Shortly before the enactment of the dismissal, Rimsky-Korsakov received a letter from one of the members of the school management, proposing to take over the management in the interest of the calm of the students. "Most likely the member of the Directorate had a minority view, but he signed the petition nonetheless," he wrote. "I sent a negative response." Partly defying his dismissal, Rimsky-Korsakov continued to teach his students from home (Wikipedia Contributors).

In 1907, the composer left Russia to conduct Diaghilev's Russian concerts. These concerts inaugurated the astonishing success of Russian music in the West. Towards the end of his life, when his reaction to Balakirev and the Five had calmed down, he declared himself a conscious follower of the Five (Romanou).

As early as 1890, Rimsky-Korsakov suffered from angina. While this disease initially calmed down, the pressures at the same time as the 1905 Revolution and its aftermath greatly accelerated its progress. After December 1907, his illness became serious and he could not work. In 1908, he died on his estate in Lubensk near Luga and was buried in the Tikhvin cemetery at the Alexander Nevsky monastery in St. Petersburg, next to Borodin, Glinka, Mussorgsky Stasov and Tchaikovsky (Wikipedia Contributors; “Νικολάι Ρίμσκι-Κόρσακοφ”).

Bequest

The critic Vladimir Stasov, who together with Balakirev had founded the Five, wrote in 1882: "Starting from Glinka, all the best Russian musicians were very skeptical of the learning of books and never approached it with the eloquence and superstition with which it is approached to this day in many parts of Europe." [145] This statement was not true of Glinka, who studied Western music theory diligently with Siegfried Dehn in Berlin before composing his opera A Life for the Tsar. [146] It was true of Balakirev, who "opposed academicism with enormous vigour",[46] and it was true initially of Rimsky-Korsakov, who had been imbued with the same attitude by Balakirev and Stasov (Wikipedia Contributors).

One point that Stasov deliberately omitted, which would completely contradict his statement, was that at the time he wrote it, Rimsky-Korsakov had been pouring his "book learning" on students at the St. Petersburg Conservatory for over a decade. [148] Beginning with three years of his self-imposed study, Rimsky-Korsakov had moved closer to Tchaikovsky and farther away from the other Five, while the remaining Five had withdrawn from him and Stasov had called him an "apostate." [148] Richard Tarushkin wrote: "The older he became, the greater the irony with which Rimsky-Korsakov looked back on the days of the lameness." [149] When the young Semyon Kruglikov was thinking about a future in composition, Rimsky-Korsakov wrote the future critic (Wikipedia Contributors).

Tarushkin points to this statement, written by Rimsky-Korsakov while Borodin and Mussorgsky were still alive, as proof of his estrangement from the other Five and an indication of the kind of teacher he eventually became. [151] By the time he taught Lyandov and Glazunov, "their education was little different from that of Tchaikovsky. An ideal of the strictest professionalism was instilled in them from the beginning." By the time Borodin died in 1887, the era of self-profanity for Russian composers was virtually over. Every Russian who aspired to write classical music studied at a conservatory and received the same formal education. "There was no more 'Moscow,' no 'St. Petersburg.'" Tarushkin writes; "At last all Russia was one. Moreover, by the end of the century, the schools of theory and composition of the Rubinstein Conservatory were entirely in the hands of representatives of the New Russian School. In the context of Stasov's predictions, there could be no greater irony." (Wikipedia Contributors).

Rimsky-Korsakov's curation of the works of Group of Five is of great importance. It was an extension of the collaborative atmosphere that existed in the team and an attempt to save works that would otherwise either have been lost unheard of or would have been lost altogether (Wikipedia Contributors).

Musicologist Francis Mays wrote that while Rimsky-Korsakov's efforts are commendable, they are also controversial. It was generally assumed that with Prince Igor, Rimsky-Korsakov edited and orchestrated the existing opera excerpts, while Glazunov composed and added missing parts, including most of the third act and the introduction. This is exactly what Rimsky-Korsakov stated in his memoirs. Both Mays and Richard Tarushkin reported an analysis of Borodin's manuscripts, which showed that Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov rejected nearly twenty percent of Borodin's score. According to Mays, the result is more of a collective effort by all three composers than a real representation of Borodin's intention (Wikipedia Contributors).

More debatable, according to Mays, is Rimsky-Korsakov's curation of Mussorgsky's works. After Mussorgsky's death in 1881, Rimsky-Korsakov revised and completed several of Mussorgsky's works, contributing to the dissemination of his works throughout Russia and the West. Mays, examining Mussorgsky's scores, wrote that Rimsky-Korsakov allowed his "musical consciousness" to dictate his editing and changed or removed what he considered musical over-experimental or poor form. Because of this, Rimsky-Korsakov has been accused of pedagogy in "correcting" harmony issues. Mays stated that time proved that Rimsky-Korsakov was right in reassessing Mussorgsky's work by posterity. Mussorgsky's musical style, once considered intact, is now admired for its originality. While Rimsky-Korsakov's adaptation of Night on Falakro Mountain it is still the version generally executed, the other revisions of Rimsky-Korsakov, as well as his own version Boris Godunov, have been replaced by Mussorgsky's originals (Wikipedia Contributors).

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