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Saddened by Mussorgsky's death, in 1881, Rimsky-Korsakov devoted himself to editing his friend's unpublished manuscripts.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-Korakov: Scheherazade & Tchaikovsky: Marche Slave
Classical - Released by Cala Records on 21 Oct 2003
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Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
Classical - Released by New York Philharmonic on 25 Aug 2017
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Rimsky-Korsakov: The Invisible City of Kitezh, Sheherazade
St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Signum Records on 14 Jan 2013
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Rimsky-Korsakov, The Golden Cockerel, Igor Markevitch (Live)
Classical - Released by mpLive on 9 Aug 2017
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Rimsky-Korsakov
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 2 Jul 2021
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The Flight of the Bumblebee
Classical - Released by Zenify Records on 25 May 2020
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Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherezade, Op. 35
Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra, Pelin Halkacı Alkın
Classical - Released by Onyx Classics on 28 Jul 2014
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Violin Classics
Classical - Released by ClassicalPirosDigital on 29 Jun 2015
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Rimsky-Korsakov - Great Recordings
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 13 Mar 2021
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Cello Classics
Classical - Released by ClassicalPirosDigital on 29 Jun 2015
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Nicolaï Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade Symphonic Suite, Op. 35 - Michael Tippett: Concerto For Two String Orchestras
Symphonic Music - Released by RHI on 4 Jan 2016
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SHEHEREZADE OP. 35
Radio Symphony Orchestra Ljubljana, Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Piros - Send on 20 Oct 2014
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Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade, Op. 35 (Digitally Remastered)
Moscow Symphony Orchestra, Sergei Skripka
Classical - Released by EMG Classical on 9 Dec 2014
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Infinite Rimsky-Korsakov
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 18 Jul 2020
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The Art of Nikolai Golovanov: Rimsky-Korsakov - Scheherazade, Op. 35 & Introduction to Sadko
Classical - Released by Music Online on 7 Dec 2007
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Nikolaj Rimskij-Korsakov, Modest Musorgskij, Aleksandr Borodin
Orchestre du Mai Musical Florentin , Zubin Mehta
Classical - Released by Materiali Sonori on 9 Dec 2016
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Šeherezada - Simfonijska Suita, Op. 35
Classical - Released by Croatia Records on 17 Nov 2014
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50 Must-Have Russian Opera Highlights
Classical - Released by Cobra Entertainment LLC on 16 Apr 2013
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Nicolai Rimsky Korssakov, Scheherezade de "Las mil y una noche"
Simfonicni orkester RTV Slovenija
Classical - Released by Piros - Send on 10 Nov 2015
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Rimsky-Korsakov (Red Classics)
Classical - Released by Cobra Entertainment LLC on 7 Jul 2015
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The Classical Collection, Vol. 4
Classical - Released by Planet Music on 12 Feb 2013
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