Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky

Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky

Mussorgsky is considered to be one of the Russian Five, that group of Slavic composers seen to be the quintessence of native Russian music. The Russian Five also includes Balakirev, Borodin, Cui, and Rimsky-Korsakov. These composers drew their inspiration from the rich musical well of Russian folk art. Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky was born in Karevo in 1839. At the age of ten, he was sent St. Petersburg to prepare for military school. In 1856, after four years in the military school, he joined a regiment, and did not think of a musical career until he met composers Alexander Dargomizhsky and Mily Balakirev in 1857. In 1858 he resigned his commission to take up music, which he pursued unsystematically. Following the liberation of the Russian serfs in 1861, Mussorgsky gained an interest in their character and speech. He began several works, but none of them gained much success. Many of them remained unfinished after his death in 1881 from spinal disease.