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Nikolaj Rimski-Korsakov

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Nikolaj Rimski-Korsakov · Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was born on 18 March 1844 in Tikhvin, east of Saint Petersburg, into a noble Russian family. He died on 21 June 1908. He belonged to The Five, the group of Russian composers who wanted to develop a national style. For a long time he combined composing and teaching with a career in the military: first as an officer in the Russian navy, later as a civilian inspector of the naval bands. There he learned a great deal about the sound of woodwind and brass. From 1871 he was professor of composition, harmony and orchestration at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. Through rigorous self-study he mastered Western methods in the space of three years.

Music and breakthrough

His best-known orchestral works are Capriccio Espagnol, the Russian Easter Festival Overture and the symphonic suite Scheherazade, which was recorded many times in School of Rock of the twentieth century. He also wrote fifteen operas. He liked to use fairy tales and folk motifs and added exotic harmonies, melodies and rhythms, an approach known as musical orientalism. His love of the sea may have contributed to Sadko and Scheherazade.

Influence

Rimsky-Korsakov prepared works by The Five for performance, which brought them into the standard repertoire, although his edition of Mussorgsky is controversial. As a teacher he trained an entire generation of younger composers. He is regarded as the most important builder of what classical audiences call the Russian style, and his colourful orchestration is often held up as an example, including for later film music.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Scheherazade and notice the violin solo, which represents the narrator of the fairy tales, and how the woodwinds and harp lay their own colours around it. Watch how he creates atmosphere with the instruments.

Discography

Studio albums

Categories: Artists