- Russian composer,
considered one of the most original and influential of 19th-century
Russian nationalist composers.
Mussorgsky was born in Karevo. When he was 18 years old he met Russian
nationalist composer Aleksandr Dargomyzhsky, through whom Mussorgsky
joined the circle of Russian nationalist composers now known as The
Five.
Mussorgsky was largely self-taught in composition. His bold, unorthodox
harmonies, based on the scales of Russian folk music, influenced later
non-Russian composers. His songs, among the finest of the 19th century,
reflect his desire to reproduce the rhythms and contours of Russian
speech. So also does his masterpiece, the opera Boris Godunov,
based on a drama by Russian author
Aleksandr Pushkin (completed
in 1868). Mussorgsky's other works include the piano suite Pictures
at an Exhibition (1874, orchestrated in 1922 by French composer
Maurice
Ravel).
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