Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai Andreyevich 1844-1908
Russian composer

Born in Tikhvin, Novgorod, he was introduced in 1861 to Mili Balakirev, who became his friend and mentor, and in 1865 to Mussorgsky, who encouraged him to write his 1st Symphony. In 1871 he became a professor at the St Petersburg Conservatory, where he worked hard on his technique. He arranged and reorchestrated much of Mussorgsky's output at this time. In 1887-88 he produced his three great orchestral works, Capriccio Espagnol, Easter Festival and Scheherazade. He then turned to opera, in which his best known works are The Snow Maiden (1882, Snequrochka), Legend of Tsar Saltan (1900), The Invisible City of Kitesh (1906, Skazaniye o neridimom grade Kitezhe) and The Golden Cockerel (1907, Zolotoy petushok), his last work, based on a satire against autocracy by Alexander Pushkin and banned at first from the Russian stage. His music is notable for its vitality and for its range of orchestral colour. Constantly aware of his earlier technical shortcomings, he rewrote almost all his early work. He also edited and arranged the works of other composers, notably Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov. Stravinsky was his pupil. His autobiography, My Musical Life, was translated into English by Joffe in 1942.