Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Mainly known for his symphonic works, especially the popular symphonic suite Sheherazade, as well as the Capriccio Espagnol and the Russian Easter Festival Overture, Rimsky-Korsakov left an oeuvre that also included operas, chamber works, and songs. Rimsky-Korsakov's music is accessible and engaging owing to his talent for tone-coloring and brilliant orchestration. Furthermore, his operas are masterful musical evocations of myths and legends.
Born in 1844, Rimsky-Korsakov studied the piano as a child but chose a naval career, entering the College of Naval Cadets in St. Petersburg in 1856. However, he continued with piano lessons; in fact, in 1859, Rimsky-Korsakov started working with the French pianist Theodore Canille, through whom he met Balakirev, an important mentor and friend.
In 1862, after graduating form the naval school, Rimsky-Korsakov was at sea for two and a half years, devoting his free time to composition. Upon Rimsky-Korsakov's return to St. Petersburg, in 1865, Balakirev conducted his friend's First Symphony, which was hailed as the first important symphonic work by a Russian composer.
Rimsky-Korsakov was appointed professor of composition and orchestration at the St. Petersburg Conservatory in 1871. The following year, he married Nadezhda Purgold, a pianist. In 1873, Rimsky-Korsakov left active duty, becoming inspector of navy orchestras, a job which he held until 1884.
During the 1870s, Rimsky-Korsakov composed, conducted, and collected Russian folk songs. In 1878, he started composing the opera May Night, after a story by Nikolai Gogol, his first stage work based on a story containing fantastic motifs. Following the production of May Night, in 1880, Rimsky-Korsakov began work on Snow Maiden, based on Nikolai Ostrovsky's poetic retelling of a Slavic myth, which was performed in 1882.
Saddened by Mussorgsky's death, in 1881, Rimsky-Korsakov devoted himself to editing his friend's unpublished manuscripts. A master orchestrator, Rimsky-Korsakov felt obliged to help colleagues whose manuscripts needed revision. Thus, in 1887, when Borodin died, Rimsky-Korsakov agreed to orchestrate and complete Borodin's opera Prince Igor.
Rimsky-Korsakov wrote the Spanish Capriccio in 1887, completing the Russian Easter Overture and Sheherazade the following year. Having composed these resplendent works, however, Rimsky-Korsakov went through a period of despondency; there were deaths in his family, and, in 1893, Tchaikovsky died.
In 1895, Rimsky-Korsakov's Christmas Eve, another opera after a Gogol story, was produced. The composer's subsequent works recreated the rich world of Russian myths and legends. Sadko, completed in 1896, conjured up a medieval Russian legend. In 1901, Rimsky-Korsakov blended the legend of Kitezh and the story of St. Fevroniya to create a complex Christian-pantheistic narrative. Completed in 1905, the year when the politically progressive composer was temporarily dismissed from this teaching post, The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden, was produced in 1907.
Rimsky-Korsakov's last opera, The Golden Cockerel, completed in 1907, was inspired by a politically subversive story by Alexander Pushkin. The production of this work was a struggle, because the subject matter aroused suspicions among government censors. The opera was finally produced, in 1909, the year following the composer's death, by a private opera company in Moscow.
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Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
Clásica - Editado por New York Philharmonic el 25/08/2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rimsky-Korsakov, The Golden Cockerel, Igor Markevitch (Live)
Clásica - Editado por mpLive el 9/08/2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rimsky-Korsakov
Clásica - Editado por UME - Global Clearing House el 2/07/2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Flight of the Bumblebee
Clásica - Editado por Zenify Records el 25/05/2020
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Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherezade, Op. 35
Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra, Pelin Halkacı Alkın
Clásica - Editado por Onyx Classics el 28/07/2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Violin Classics
Clásica - Editado por ClassicalPirosDigital el 29/06/2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rimsky-Korsakov - Great Recordings
Clásica - Editado por UME - Global Clearing House el 13/03/2021
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Cello Classics
Clásica - Editado por ClassicalPirosDigital el 29/06/2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
SHEHEREZADE OP. 35
Radio Symphony Orchestra Ljubljana, Symphony Orchestra
Clásica - Editado por Piros - Send el 20/10/2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Infinite Rimsky-Korsakov
Clásica - Editado por UME - Global Clearing House el 18/07/2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nikolaj Rimskij-Korsakov, Modest Musorgskij, Aleksandr Borodin
Orchestre du Mai Musical Florentin , Zubin Mehta
Clásica - Editado por Materiali Sonori el 9/12/2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Šeherezada - Simfonijska Suita, Op. 35
Clásica - Editado por Croatia Records el 17/11/2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
50 Must-Have Russian Opera Highlights
Clásica - Editado por Cobra Entertainment LLC el 16/04/2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nicolai Rimsky Korssakov, Scheherezade de "Las mil y una noche"
Simfonicni orkester RTV Slovenija
Clásica - Editado por Piros - Send el 10/11/2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rimsky Korsakov - Scheherezade
Clásica - Editado por Piros - Dienc el 1/06/2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Romantic Thanksgiving
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Sergei Prokofiev, Alexandre Borodine
Clásica - Editado por UME - Global Clearing House el 21/11/2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Relaxed Holidays
Modeste Moussorgski, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Dimitri Chostakovitch
Clásica - Editado por UME - Global Clearing House el 5/12/2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rimsky-Korsakov: Suite from The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh
American Symphony Orchestra, Leon Botstein
Clásica - Editado por American Symphony Orchestra el 11/09/2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
Sir Eugene Goossens, London Symphony Orchestra, Hugh Maguire
Clásica - Editado por Everest Records el 28/07/1960
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade & Russian Easter
Clásica - Editado por Tuxedo Music el 18/04/2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Victor Fedotov. Rimsky-Korsakov: Borodin
Academic Symphony Orchestra Of The St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Victor Fedotov
Música sinfónica - Editado por Classical Records el 3/04/2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo