Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov (Russian: Николай Андреевич Римский-Корсаков, Nikolaj Andreevič Rimskij-Korsakov), also Nikolay, Nicolai, and Rimsky-Korsakoff, (18 March was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as "The Five." Noted particularly for a predilection for folk and fairy-tale subjects as well as his extraordinary skill in orchestration, his best known orchestral compositions—Capriccio espagnol, 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.

Rimsky-Korsakov initially held to the beliefs of fellow composer Mily Balakirev and critic Vladimir Stasov in developing a nationalistic style of composition that utilized Russian folk song and lore while eschewing traditionally Western compositional methods. While Rimsky-Korsakov embraced folk song and subjects for the musical and programmatic content of his compositions throughout his career, he came to appreciate Western musical techniques after becoming a professor of harmony and orchestration at the St. Petersburg Conservatory in 1871. Putting himself through a rigorous three-year program of self-education in his initial years at the institute, he became a master of Western methods, which he incorporated into his own works alongside the influences of Mikhail Glinka and his fellow members of The Five. His techniques of composition and orchestration would become further enriched by his exposure to the works of Richard Wagner.

Despite current controversy over his editing of the works of Modest Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov is now considered "the main architect" of what is now recognized by the public as the Russian style of composition. This is due not only to the considerable legacy of his own compositions, but also from his editing and preparing works by The Five for performance, which brought them into the active classical repertoire, as well as his shaping of younger composers and musicians during his decades as an educator. Gerald Abraham concludes that while Rimsky-Korsakov's style was based on Mikhail Glinka, Balakirev, Hector Berlioz and Franz Liszt, he "transmitted this style directly to two generations of Russian composers" and influenced non-Russian composers such as Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy, Paul Dukas and Ottorino Respighi.

Rimsky-Korsakov Latest Sheets Feed

Rimsky-Korsakov Latest Requests Feed