Essential Mussorgsky
Modest Mussorgsky was the most misunderstood of the great Russian composers of the second half of the 19th century. Characterised by a raw energy and originality, his music left many of his contemporaries baffled but resonates powerfully with audiences and performers today.
Read more…Born in 1839, Mussorgsky first joined the army before taking up composition lessons with Mily Balakirev, one of the so-called 'Mighty Handful' of composers who set out to establish a firm Russian musical identity. His early works showed little sign of his later genius, which never fully reached its full potential: throughout his life Mussorgsky was plagued by misunderstanding – his operatic masterpiece 'Boris Godunov' was twice rejected by the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg – as well as constant domestic instability exacerbated by the alcoholism that eventually killed him 1881. After his death, there were many well-meaning attempts to complete and 'correct' his works, but recent decades have seen musicians and audiences rediscover their original raw, untamed brilliance.