Modest Mussorgsky and Mussorgsky Works

Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky, one of the Russian Five, was a composer. Here's an introduction to Mussorgsky's life and compositions.

Modest Mussorgsky: Early Life

Modest Mussorgsky was born into a wealthy, noble family in March 1839 in Karevo, Russia. Mussorgsky did not receive formal training in music. He was supposed to follow a career in the military. However, his mother started giving him piano lessons when he was 6, and when Mussorgsky moved to St. Petersburg when he was 10 to start to prepare for military school, he studied piano with Anton Herke, reported to be the best piano teacher in the area.

When Mussorgsky was 13, he enrolled at the Cadet School of the Guards. However, he did not forget music. In fact, his first published composition, "Porte-enseigne Polka," was printed at his father's expense in 1852. This was a composition for the piano.

After graduating from the Cadet School of the Guards, Mussorgsky was commissioned to the Preobrazhensky Regiment of the Guards in 1856. This was an honor, as the Preobrazhensky Regiment, established by Peter the Great in the late 1600s, was one of the most important regiments in the Russian Army. In 1858, Mussorgsky resigned from the Regiment, due to a "nervous" and perhaps spiritual crisis.

Modest Mussorgsky: The Russian Five

The Russian Five, also called the Mighty Handful or the Five, was a group of young composers who associated with each other in St. Petersburg from about 1856 to about 1870. They were:
  • Alexander Borodin
  • Cesar Cui
  • Mily Balakirev
  • Modest Mussorgsky
  • Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.
None of the Five had formal education in music or composition. The Five focused their music on "traditional" Russian peasant music and dances and tried to ignore influences from traditional European composers.

Modest Mussorgsky: Later Life

In 1861, the serfs of Russia were emancipated. This led to the dissolution of the Mussorgsky family estate over a two-year period, a financial disaster for Mussorgsky. He became a governmental clerk, a job that he despised, only to be fired.

Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky: Alcoholism and Mental Health

Alcohol had a huge impact on Mussorgsky's life. While many Russian artists indulged in alcohol during this period of time, Mussorgsky became a full-blown alcoholic. His alcoholism may have led to his dismissal from his clerking position and probably led to a second dismissal from government service in 1880.

Not only was he an alcoholic, but Mussorgsky also had seizures or alcoholic epilepsy. He also suffered from bouts of depression and anxiety.

Modest Mussorgsky died at the age of 42 in St. Petersburg on March 16, 1881, as the result of an alcohol-related stroke.

Modest Mussorgsky Works

Many of Mussorgsky's compositions were unfinished at the time of his death. Some of these works were later edited or revised by Rimsky-Korsakov, Cui and other composers.

The operas of Modest Mussorgsky include:

  • "Boris Godunov" (1868 to 1869). "Boris Godunov" is the only complete opera written by Mussorgsky. The Marinsky Opera rejected the first version of "Boris Bodunov," so the opera was not produced. Mussorgsky reworked the opera between 1871 and 1872. The second version, while popular with the public, was slammed by critics.

  • "Khovanshchina" (1870 to 1872), unfinished

  • "Mlada" (1872). Mussorgsky worked with the other Five members, except Balakirev, in collaboration on this ballet and opera.

  • "Oedipus in Athens" (1858 to 1860), unfinished

  • "Salambo," also called "The Libyan," (1863 to 1866), unfinished

  • "Sorochinsti Fair" (1874 to 1880), unfinished

  • "Zhenitba" or "The Marriage" (1868), unfinished.

Resources

Book Rags. (n.d.) Encyclopedia of World Biography on Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky. Retrieved January 13, 2008, from the Book Rags Web site: http://www.bookrags.com/biography/modest-petrovich-mussorgsky/.

Classic Cat. (2006) Modest Mussorgsky. Retrieved January 13, 2008, from the ClassicCat.net Web site: http://www.classiccat.net/mussorgsky_m/biography.htm.

Classical Music Pages (1996). Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881). Retrieved January 13, 2008, from the Classical Music Pages Web site: http://w3.rz-berlin.mpg.de/cmp/mussorgsky.html.

Kennedy Center (n.d.) Biography of Modeste Mussorgsky. Retrieved January 13, 2008, from the Kennedy Center Web site: http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/?fuseaction=showIndividual&entity_id=3504&source_type=C.

Kuchka, Moguchaya (n.d.) The Mighty Handful. Retrieved January 13, 2008, from the St. Laurence University Web site: http://it.stlawu.edu/~rkreuzer/pbearse/The_Mighty_Five.htm.

MNSU.edu (n.d.) Russian Music. Retrieved January 13, 2008,.from the MNSU.edu Web site: http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/music/russia.shtml.