M Musorgsky biography. The Mighty Bunch of Russian Composers: Mussorgsky

He was the youngest, the fourth son in the family. The two elders died one after the other in infancy. All the tenderness of the mother, Yulia Ivanovna, a kind and gentle woman, was given to the two remaining, and especially to him, the younger favorite, Modinka. It was she who first began to teach him to play the old piano that stood in the hall of their wooden manor house.

But Mussorgsky's future was sealed. At the age of ten, he, along with his older brother, came to Petersburg, where he was supposed to enter a privileged military school- School of guard ensigns.

After graduating from the School, Mussorgsky was assigned to the Preobrazhensky Guards Regiment. Modest was seventeen years old. His duties were not burdensome. Yes, the future smiled at him. But unexpectedly for everyone, Mussorgsky resigns and turns off the path that was so successfully begun. True, this was unexpected only for those who knew only the outer side of the life of this outstanding person.

Shortly before that, one of the fellow Transfigurators, who knew Dargomyzhsky, brought Mussorgsky to him. The young man immediately captivated the venerable musician not only with his piano playing, but also with free improvisations. Dargomyzhsky highly appreciated his outstanding musical abilities and introduced him to Balakirev and Cui. So began for young musician new life, in which the main place was occupied by Balakirev and the circle " mighty bunch».

Even then, in his youth, the future composer amazed everyone around him with the versatility of his interests, among which music and literature, philosophy and history occupied the first place.

Distinguished Mussorgsky and democratic views and actions. This was especially evident after the peasant reform of 1861. In order to save his serfs from redemption payments, Modest Petrovich renounced his share of the inheritance in favor of his brother.

Soon, the period of accumulation of knowledge was replaced by a period of active creative activity. The composer decided to write an opera in which his passion for large folk scenes and for depicting a strong-willed personality would be embodied.

In search of a plot, Mussorgsky turned to Flaubert's novel "Salambo" from the history of ancient Carthage. One after another, beautiful, expressive musical themes were born in the composer's head, especially for mass episodes. However, when the composer realized that the images he created were very far from the true, historical Carthage, he completely lost interest in his work.

The composer's predilection for humor and mockery corresponded perfectly to the nature of his other idea. On the advice of Dargomyzhsky, Mussorgsky began writing the opera The Marriage. His task was new and unheard of before to write an opera in prose text Gogol comedy.

All comrades regarded "Marriage" as a new bright manifestation of Mussorgsky's comedic talent and his ability to create interesting musical characteristics. But for all that, it was clear that The Marriage was nothing more than a fascinating experiment, that the development of a real opera should not go along this path. We must pay tribute to Mussorgsky, he himself was the first to realize this and did not continue the composition.

While visiting Lyudmila Ivanovna Shestakova, Glinka's sister, Mussorgsky met Vladimir Vasilyevich Nikolsky from her. He was a philologist, literary critic, specialist in the history of Russian literature. It was he who drew Mussorgsky's attention to the tragedy Boris Godunov. Nikolsky suggested that this tragedy could be a wonderful material for opera libretto. These words made Mussorgsky think deeply. He immersed himself in reading Boris Godunov. The composer felt that the opera based on "Boris Godunov" could become a surprisingly multifaceted work.

By the end of 1869 the opera was completed. At the beginning of 1870, Mussorgsky received by mail an envelope stamped by the director of the imperial theaters, Gedeonov. The composer was informed that a seven-member committee had rejected his opera. A new, second edition was created within a year. Now, instead of the previous seven scenes, the opera consisted of a prologue and four acts.

"Boris Godunov" turned out to be the first work in the history of the world opera, in which the fate of the people is shown with such depth, insight and truthfulness.

Mussorgsky dedicated his brainchild to his circle comrades. In the dedication, he expressed the main idea of ​​the opera in an unusually vivid way: “I understand the people as a great personality, animated by a single idea. This is my task. I tried to resolve it in the opera."

Since the end of the opera in the new edition, a new phase of the struggle for its stage production has begun. The score was again submitted to the theatrical committee and ... again rejected. The actress Platonova helped, using her position as a prima donna at the Mariinsky Theatre.

It is not difficult to imagine Mussorgsky's excitement, which intensified as the premiere approached. And then came the long-awaited day. It turned into a real celebration, a triumph for the composer. The news of the new opera quickly spread throughout the city, and all subsequent performances were held in full halls. It would seem that Mussorgsky could be quite happy.

However, an unexpectedly heavy blow fell on Mussorgsky from the side from which he least of all expected it. When in February 1874 a devastating review appeared in the Saint Petersburg Vedomosti with the familiar signature "" (as Cui always signed), it was like a knife in the back.

Everything passes, and the excitement associated with the premiere of "Boris", the review of Cui and the noise raised around the opera by the press gradually subsided. Weekdays have come again. Again, day after day, going to the Forest Department (he was now working in the investigative department), preparing "files" of several thousand sheets each. And for myself - new creative plans, new works. Life seemed to be back on track. Alas, instead, the last and darkest period of ere's life began.

There were many reasons for this - internal and external. And, above all, the collapse of the "Mighty Handful", which Mussorgsky perceived as a betrayal of old ideals.

The vicious attacks of the reactionary press also severely wounded Mussorgsky and overshadowed the last years of his life. In addition, the performances of "Boris Godunov" were less and less, although the public's interest in them did not fall. And finally, the death of close friends. In the early 1870s, one of them, the artist Hartmann, died. A woman dearly loved by Mussorgsky, whose name he always concealed, has died. Only his numerous works dedicated to her, and the “Tomb Letter”, addressed to her, found after the death of the composer, give an idea of ​​the depth of his feelings and help to understand the immensity of the suffering caused by death. dear person. There were also new friends. He met the young poet Count Arseny Arkadyevich Golenishchev-Kutuzov and became very attached to him. And what an amazing, enthusiastic and restless friendship this was! As if with it, Mussorgsky wanted to reward himself for the losses and disappointments he had suffered. Best of vocal works Mussorgsky in the 1870s were written to the words of Golenishchev-Kutuzov. But relations with Kutuzov brought bitter disappointment. A year and a half after the start of friendship, Arseny announced that he was going to get married. For Mussorgsky, this was a blow.

Under the influence of difficult experiences, Mussorgsky's craving for wine resumed, which manifested itself even during the years of his stay at the cadet school. He changed outwardly flabby, was no longer as impeccably dressed as he once was. There were troubles at work; more than once he was left without a place, experienced a constant need for money, and once was even expelled from his apartment for non-payment. His health was deteriorating.

However, it was during this period that recognition abroad came to him. The "great old man" Franz Liszt, having received from his publisher the notes of works by Russian composers, was amazed at the novelty and talent of these works. Mussorgsky's "Children's Room", a cycle of songs in which the composer reproduced the world of a child's soul, aroused especially stormy delight. This music shocked the great maestro.

Despite the horrendous conditions, Mussorgsky experienced during these years a genuine creative takeoff. Much of what was conceived by the composer remained unfinished or not quite implemented. But what was created during these years proves that Mussorgsky reached a new peak of creativity.

The first work to appear after "Boris Godunov", in the year of its first production, was the suite "Pictures at an Exhibition". When, after the death of Hartmann, Stasov arranged an exhibition of his works in St. Petersburg, Mussorgsky, inspired by it, wrote a suite and dedicated it to the memory of his deceased friend.

This is the largest and most significant of all works for the piano composed by Mussorgsky. This time, the composer transferred his amazing art of painting real life scenes in sounds, recreating the appearance of living people to the region piano music, opening up completely new colorful and expressive possibilities of the instrument.

Mussorgsky thought about further development principles of Pushkin's multifaceted dramaturgy. In his imagination, an opera was drawn, the content of which would cover the life of an entire state, with many pictures and episodes depicting what is happening at the same time.

There was no literary work that could serve as the basis for the libretto of such a broadly conceived opera, and Mussorgsky decided to compose the plot himself.

"Khovanshchina" became a new, higher step in the development of Mussorgsky's musical language. As before, he considered speech to be the main means of expressing human feelings and characters. But he now invested in the concept of musical speech a broader and deeper meaning than it once included both recitative and song melody, through which alone one can express the deepest, most significant feelings.

In parallel with Khovanshchina, Mussorgsky was composing another opera. It was the "Sorochinsky Fair" according to Gogol. This opera testifies to Mussorgsky's inexhaustible love for life, despite any suffering, about his attraction to simple human joy.

While working on "Khovanshchina", "Sorochinsky Fair" and songs, Mussorgsky at the same time already dreamed of the future. He planned a third folk musical drama - about the Pugachev uprising, which, together with Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina, would form a kind of trilogy on themes from Russian history.

But this dream was not given to come true, just as Mussorgsky did not have to finish "Khovanshchina" and " Sorochinskaya Fair».

The last years of his life were not rich in events. Mussorgsky no longer served. A group of people, formed, paid him something like a small pension. The composer had to receive it until the end of the operas. He performed extensively during this period as a pianist-accompanist. In 1879 he went on a concert tour of Ukraine and the Crimea. This journey was the last shake-up, the last bright event in the life of Mussorgsky.

In the winter of 1881, he was overtaken by the first blow. Others followed. March 28, 1881 Mussorgsky died. He was barely 42 years old.

World fame came to him posthumously. Shortly after his death, Rimsky-Korsakov undertook the great task of completing the Khovanshchina and putting in order all the remaining manuscripts of the deceased. As edited by Rimsky-Korsakov, Khovanshchina was staged for the first time. In the same edition, other works of Mussorgsky went around the world.

Mussorgsky's biography is very interesting, his life was filled not only with creativity: he was familiar with many prominent people of his time.

Mussorgsky came from an old noble family. He was born on March 9 (21), 1839 in the village of Karevo, Pskov province.

He spent the first 10 years of his life at home, receiving home education and learning to play the piano.

Then he was sent to study in St. Petersburg at a German school, from where he was transferred to the School of Guards Ensigns. It was at this school that he became interested in church music.

Since 1852, Mussorgsky took up musical composition, his compositions were performed on the stages of St. Petersburg and Moscow.

In 1856 he was sent to serve in the Preobrazhensky Guards Regiment (during his service he met A. S. Dargomyzhsky). In 1858 he transferred to the service of the Ministry of State Property.

Musical career

IN short biography Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich, written for children, it is mentioned that in 1859 Modest Petrovich met Balakirev, who insisted on the need to deepen musical knowledge.

In 1861, he began work on such operas as Oedipus (based on a work by Sophocles), Salammbault (based on a work by Flaubert), and The Marriage (based on a play by N. Gogol).

All these operas were never completed by the composer.

In 1870, the composer began work on his most important and famous work- the opera "Boris Godunov" (based on the tragedy of the same name by A. S. Pushkin). In 1871, he presented his creation to the court of music critics, who suggested that the composer work more and introduce some kind of “feminine principle” into the opera. It was staged only in 1874 at the Mariinsky Theatre.

In 1872, work began on two works at once: the dramatic opera "Khovanshchina" and "Sorochenskaya Fair" (according to the story of N. Gogol). Both of these works were never completed by the maestro.

Mussorgsky wrote many short musical works based on the plots of poems and plays by N. Nekrasov, N. Ostrovsky, poems by T. Shevchenko. Some of them were created under the influence of Russian artists (for example, V. Vereshchagin).

last years of life

In the last years of his life, Mussorgsky had a hard time with the collapse of the Mighty Handful, misunderstanding and criticism from music officials and colleagues (Cui, Balakirev, Rimsky-Korsakov). Against this background, he developed a severe depression, he became addicted to alcohol. He began to write music more slowly, quit his job, having lost a small but steady income. In the last years of his life, only friends supported him.

The last time he publicly spoke at the evening in memory of F. M. Dostoevsky on February 4, 1881. On February 13, he died in the Nikolaevsky hospital in St. Petersburg from an attack of delirium tremens.

Mussorgsky was buried at the Tikhvin cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. But to date, only the tombstone has survived, since after large-scale reconstruction of the old necropolis (in the 30s), his grave was lost (rolled up in asphalt). Now there is a bus stop at the composer's burial place.

Chronological table

Other biography options

• The only lifetime portrait of the composer by Ilya Repin was painted a few days before the composer's death.
• Mussorgsky was an incredibly educated person: he was fluent in French, German, English, Latin and Greek, was an excellent engineer.

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Biography

Following that, Mussorgsky wrote several romances and set to work on the music for Sophocles' tragedy Oedipus; latest work was not completed, and only one choir from the music to Oedipus, performed in a concert by K. N. Lyadov in 1861, was published among the composer's posthumous works. Mussorgsky first chose Flaubert's novel Salammbo for opera adaptation, but soon left this work unfinished, as well as an attempt to write music for the plot of Gogol's The Marriage.

Fame Mussorgsky brought the opera "Boris Godunov", staged on stage Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg in the city and immediately recognized as an outstanding work in some musical circles. This was already the second version of the opera, significantly changed dramaturgically after the repertory committee of the theater rejected its first version for being "unscenic". Over the next 10 years, "Boris Godunov" was given 15 times and then removed from the repertoire. Only at the end of November, "Boris Godunov" saw the light again - but already in the edition, redone by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, who "corrected" and re-instrumented the entire "Boris Godunov" at his discretion. This is how the opera was staged. Great Hall Musical Society (new building of the Conservatory) with the participation of members of the "Society of Musical Meetings". Firm Bessel and Co. in St. Petersburg. by this time had released a new clavier of Boris Godunov, in the preface to which Rimsky-Korsakov explains that the reasons that prompted him to undertake this alteration were the supposedly “bad texture” and “poor orchestration” of the author’s version of Mussorgsky himself. Boris Godunov was staged for the first time in Moscow Bolshoi Theater In our time, interest in the author's editions of "Boris Godunov" is being revived.

Portrait by Repin

In 1875, Mussorgsky began the dramatic opera (“folk musical drama”) “Khovanshchina” (according to the plan of V.V. Stasov), while simultaneously working on a comic opera based on the plot of Gogol’s “Sorochinsky Fair”. Mussorgsky almost managed to finish the music and text of Khovanshchina - but, with the exception of two fragments, the opera was not instrumented; the latter was done by N. Rimsky-Korsakov, who at the same time finished Khovanshchina (again, with his own adaptations) and adapted it for the stage. The firm Bessel & Co. published the score of the opera and the clavier (g.). "Khovanshchina" was performed on the stage of the St. Petersburg Music and Drama Circle in the city, under the direction of S. Yu. Goldstein; on the stage of the Kononovsky Hall - in the city, by a private opera partnership; at Setov, in Kyiv, in the city. In 1960, the Soviet composer Dmitry Dmitrievich Shostakovich made his own version of the opera Khovanshchina, in which Mussorgsky's opera is now being staged all over the world.

For the Sorochinsky Fair, Mussorgsky managed to compose the first two acts, as well as for the third act: The Dream of Parubka (where he used a reworking of his symphonic fantasy Night on Bald Mountain, made for an unrealized collective work - the opera-ballet Mlada), Dumku Parasi and Gopak. The opera is staged in the editorial outstanding musician Vissarion Yakovlevich Shebalin.

Mussorgsky was an unusually impressionable, enthusiastic, soft-hearted and vulnerable person. For all his external compliance and pliability, he was extremely firm in everything that concerned his creative convictions. Addiction to alcohol, strongly progressing in last decade life, acquired a destructive character for Mussorgsky's health, his way of life and the intensity of his work. As a result, after a series of failures in the service and the final dismissal from the ministry, Mussorgsky was forced to live on odd jobs and thanks to the support of friends.

Creativity belongs to a group of musical figures who strove - on the one hand - for formalized realism, on the other hand - for a colorful and poetic disclosure of words, texts and moods through music, flexibly following them. Mussorgsky's national thinking, as a composer, comes through both in the ability to handle folk songs, and in the very warehouse of his music, in its melodic, harmonic and rhythmic features, and finally - in the choice of subjects, mainly from Russian life. Mussorgsky is a hater of routine, for him there are no authorities in music; he paid little attention to the rules of musical grammar, seeing in them not the provisions of science, but only a collection of composing techniques of previous eras. Mussorgsky everywhere gave himself up to his ardent fantasy, everywhere he strove for novelty. Humorous music generally succeeded Mussorgsky, and in this genre he is diverse, witty and resourceful; one has only to recall his fairy tale about the "Goat", the story of the "Seminarian" pounding Latin, in love with the priest's daughter, "Picking Mushrooms" (May's text), "Feast".

Mussorgsky rarely dwells on "pure" lyrical themes, and they are not always given to him (his best lyrical romances are "Night", to the words of Pushkin, and "Jewish Melody", to the words of May); on the other hand, the work of Mussorgsky is widely manifested in those cases when he refers to the Russian peasant life. The following songs of Mussorgsky are noted for their rich coloring: "Kalistrat", "Lullaby of Eremushka" (words by Nekrasov), "Sleep, sleep, peasant son" (from Ostrovsky's "Voevoda"), "Gopak" (from Shevchenko's "Gaidamaks"), "Svetik Savishna "And" Mischievous "(both the latter - to the words of Mussorgsky himself) and many others. others; Mussorgsky very successfully found here a truthful and deeply dramatic musical expression for that heavy, hopeless grief that is hidden under the external humor of the lyrics.

A strong impression is made by the expressive recitation of the songs "Orphan" and "Forgotten" (on the plot famous painting V. V. Vereshchagin).

In such a seemingly narrow field of music as "romances and songs", Mussorgsky managed to find completely new, original tasks, and at the same time apply new peculiar techniques for their implementation, which was vividly expressed in his vocal paintings from childhood life, under under the general title "Children's" (text by Mussorgsky himself), in 4 romances under the general title "Songs and Dances of Death" ( -; words by Golenishchev-Kutuzov; "Trepak" - a picture of a tipsy peasant freezing in a forest, in a snowstorm; "Lullaby “draws a mother at the bedside of a dying child; the other two: “Serenade” and “Commander”; all are very colorful and dramatic), in “King Saul” (for male voice with piano accompaniment; text by Mussorgsky himself), in The Defeat of Sennacherib (for choir and orchestra; words by Byron), in Joshua, successfully built on the original. Jewish topics.

Mussorgsky's specialty is vocal music. He is an exemplary reciter, grasping the slightest bends of the word; in his works, he often gives a wide place to the monologue-recitative warehouse of presentation. Akin to Dargomyzhsky in terms of his talent, Mussorgsky shares his views on musical drama inspired by Dargomyzhsky's opera The Stone Guest. However, unlike Dargomyzhsky, in his mature compositions Mussorgsky overcomes the pure "illustrativeness" of the music passively following the text, which is characteristic of this opera.

"Boris Godunov" by Mussorgsky, written based on the drama of the same name by Pushkin (and also under the great influence of Karamzin's interpretation of this plot), is one of the best works world musical theater, whose musical language and dramaturgy already belong to a new genre that took shape in the 19th century in the most different countries- to the genre of musical stage drama, which, on the one hand, broke with many routine conventions of the then traditional opera house, on the other hand, sought to reveal the dramatic action in the first place musical means. At the same time, both author's editions of "Boris Godunov" (1869 and 1874), differing significantly from each other in terms of dramaturgy, are essentially two equivalent author's solutions to the same plot. Especially innovative for its time was the first edition (which was not put on stage until the middle of the 20th century), which was very different from the then-dominated routine opera canons. That is why, during the years of Mussorgsky's life, the opinion prevailed that his "Boris Godunov" was distinguished by an "unsuccessful libretto", "many rough edges and blunders."

Prejudices of this kind were in many ways characteristic primarily of Rimsky-Korsakov, who claimed that Mussorgsky was inexperienced in instrumentation, although it was sometimes not devoid of color and a successful variety of orchestral colors. This opinion was typical for Soviet textbooks. musical literature. In reality, Mussorgsky's orchestral writing simply did not fit into the canvas that suited Rimsky-Korsakov in the main. Such a lack of understanding of orchestral thinking and Mussorgsky's style (to which he, indeed, came almost self-taught) was due to the fact that the latter was strikingly different from the lushly decorative aesthetics of orchestral presentation, characteristic of the second half of XIX century - and, especially, Rimsky-Korsakov himself. Unfortunately, the belief cultivated by him (and his followers) about supposedly “shortcomings” musical style Mussorgsky on for a long time- almost a century ahead - began to dominate the academic tradition of Russian music.

To an even greater extent, the skeptical attitude of colleagues and contemporaries touched on Mussorgsky's next musical drama - the opera "Khovanshchina" on the theme historical events in Russia late XVII century (the split and the Streltsy rebellion), written by Mussorgsky on his own script and text. He wrote this work with long breaks, and by the time of his death it remained unfinished (among the currently existing editions of the opera, performed by other composers, the orchestration by Shostakovich and the completion of the last act of the opera, made by Stravinsky, can be considered the closest to the original). Unusual and the idea of ​​this work, and its scale. Compared to Boris Godunov, Khovanshchina is not just a drama of one historical person (through which the philosophical themes of power, crime, conscience and retribution are revealed), but already a kind of “impersonal” historiosophical drama in which, in the absence of a pronounced “ central "character (characteristic of the standard operatic dramaturgy of that time), whole layers are revealed folk life and the theme of the spiritual tragedy of the entire people, which takes place during the destruction of its traditional historical and way of life, is raised. To emphasize this genre feature opera "Khovanshchina", Mussorgsky gave it the subtitle "folk musical drama".

Both of Mussorgsky's musical dramas won a relatively quick worldwide recognition after the death of the composer, and to this day they are among the most frequently performed works of Russian music all over the world (their international success was greatly facilitated by the admiring attitude of such composers as Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky - as well as the entrepreneurial activities of Sergei Diaghilev, who staged them for the first time abroad at the beginning of the 20th century in his Russian Seasons in Paris). Nowadays most opera houses world tend to stage both Mussorgsky's operas in urtext editions as close as possible to the author's. At the same time, in different theaters there are different author's editions of "Boris Godunov" (either the first or the second).

Mussorgsky had little inclination towards music in "finished" forms (symphonic, chamber, etc.). Of Mussorgsky's orchestral works, besides those already mentioned, the Intermezzo (composed in, instrumented in) deserves attention, built on a theme reminiscent of music XVIII century, and published among Mussorgsky's posthumous works, with Rimsky-Korsakov's instrumentation. The orchestral fantasy Night on Bald Mountain (the material of which was subsequently included in the opera Sorochinskaya Fair) was also completed and instrumented by N. Rimsky-Korsakov and performed with great success in St. Petersburg; this is a brightly colorful picture of the "coven of the spirits of darkness" and "the magnificence of Chernobog."

Another outstanding work of Mussorgsky is Pictures at an Exhibition, written for piano in 1874, as musical illustrations-episodes for watercolors by V. A. Hartmann. The form of this work is a “through” suite-rondo with sections soldered together, where the main theme-refrain (“Promenade”) expresses the change of moods when walking from one painting to another, and the episodes between this theme are the very images of the paintings in question. This work has repeatedly inspired other composers to create its orchestral editions, the most famous of which belongs to Maurice Ravel (one of Mussorgsky's most staunch admirers).

In the 19th century, Mussorgsky's works were published by the firm V. Bessel and Co. in St. Petersburg; much was also published in Leipzig by the firm of MP Belyaev. In the 20th century, urtext editions of Mussorgsky's works in original versions began to appear, based on a thorough study of the original sources. The pioneer of such activity was the Russian musicologist P. Ya. Lamm, who for the first time published the urtext claviers "Boris Godunov", piano compositions Mussorgsky.

The works of Mussorgsky, in many respects anticipating new era, had a huge impact on composers of the 20th century. Attitude to the musical fabric as an expressive extension of human speech and its coloristic nature harmonic language played an important role in the formation of the "impressionistic" style of C. Debussy and M. Ravel (by their own admission), the style, dramaturgy and imagery of Mussorgsky greatly influenced the work of L. Janachek, I. Stravinsky, D. Shostakovich (it is characteristic that all they are composers Slavic culture), A. Berg (the dramaturgy of his opera "Wozzeck" on the principle of "scene-fragment" is very close to "Boris Godunov"), O. Messiaen and many others.

Major works

• "Boris Godunov" (1869, 2nd edition 1872)
• "Khovanshchina" (1872-80, completed by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, 1883)
• "Kalistrat",
• "Orphan"
• "Sorochinsky Fair" (1874-80, completed by Ts. A. Cui, 1916),
• satirical romances "Seminarian" and "Classic" (1870)
• vocal cycle "Children's" (1872),
• piano cycle"Pictures at an Exhibition" (1874),
• vocal cycle "Without the Sun" (1874),
• vocal cycle "Songs and Dances of Death" (1877)
• symphonic poem "Night on Bald Mountain"

Memory

Monument at the grave of Mussorgsky

Streets named after Mussorgsky in cities

Monuments to Mussorgsky in cities

• Karevo village

Other objects

• Ural State Conservatory in Yekaterinburg.
• Opera and ballet theater in St. Petersburg.
• Musical school in St. Petersburg.

see also

Bibliography

Antonina Vasilyeva. Russian labyrinth. Biography of M. P. Mussorgsky. Pskov regional printing house, 2008.

• Roerich N. K. Mussorgsky // Artists of Life. - Moscow: International Center of the Roerichs, 1993. - 88 p.
• V. V. Stasov, article in Vestnik Evropy (May and June).
• V. V. Stasov, "Perov and M." (“Russian Antiquity”, 1883, vol. XXXVIII, pp. 433-458);
• V. V. Stasov, "M. P. Mussorgsky. In memory of him ("Histor. Vestn.", 1886, March); his own, "In Memory of M." (St. Petersburg, 1885);
• V. Baskin, “M. P. M. Biographical. essay "(" Russ. Thought ", 1884, books 9 and 10; separately, M., 1887);
• S. Kruglikov, "M. and his" Boris Godunov ("Artist", 1890, No. 5);
• P. Trifonov, “Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky” (“Vestn. Evropy”, 1893, Dec.).
• Tumanina N., M. P. Mussorgsky, M. - L., 1939;
• Asafiev B.V., Izbr. works, vol. 3, M., 1954;
• Orlova A., Works and days of MP Mussorgsky. Chronicle of life and creativity, M., 1963
• Khubov G., Mussorgsky, M., 1969.
• Shlifshtein S. Mussorgsky. Artist. Time. Fate. M., 1975
• Rakhmanova M. Mussorgsky and his time. - Soviet music, 1980, № 9-10
• MP Mussorgsky in the memoirs of his contemporaries. M., 1989

Links

• Mussorgsky Modest A site about Mussorgsky.
• Mussorgsky Modest A site about the life and work of the Russian composer.
• Mussorgsky Modest creative portrait on the site Belcanto.Ru.

Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky

One of the special members of the "Mighty Handful" was Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky. The ideological embodiment of reflections, he became the brightest composer from the whole company. And, in general, justified.

His father came from an old noble family of the Mussorgskys, and until the age of ten, Modest and his older brother Filaret received a very worthy education. The Mussorgskys had their own history. They, in turn, came from the princes of Smolensk, the Monastyrev family. Just one of the Monastyrevs, Roman Vasilievich Monastyrev, bore the nickname Mussorg. It was he who became the ancestor of the Mussorgskys. In turn, the noble family of the Sapogovs is also an offshoot of the Mussorgskys.

But it was a long time ago. And Modest himself was born on the estate of a not-so-rich landowner. It happened on March 21, 1839, in the Pskov region.

So, back to his biography. Starting at the age of six, his mom took over the leadership music education son. And then, in 1849, he entered the Peter and Paul School, which is located in St. Petersburg. Three years later, he moved to the School of Guards Ensigns. At that time, Modest combined his studies at the School with his studies with the pianist Gercke. Around the same time, Mussorgsky's first work was published. It was a piano polka called "Ensign".

Approximately in the years of his studies, that is, 1856-57. he met Stasov and with all the ensuing consequences for the Russian classical music including. It was under the guidance of Balakirev that Mussorgsky began serious studies in composition. Then he decided to devote himself to music.

For this reason, in 1858, he left military service. At that time, Mussorgsky wrote many romances, as well as instrumental works in which already then his individualism began to manifest itself. For example, his unfinished opera Salammbô, inspired by Flaubert's novel of the same name, abounded in the drama of popular scenes.

For the time being described, he was a brilliantly educated young officer. He had a beautiful baritone voice and played the piano beautifully.

Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky - composer from "The Mighty Handful"

True, in the mid-sixties he became more of a realist artist. In addition, some of his works became especially close to the spirit of the revolutionaries of those times. And in such works of his as “Calistrat”, “Eryomushka's Lullaby”, “Sleep, sleep, peasant son”, “Orphan”, “Seminarian”, he began to show himself especially clearly as a talented writer of everyday life. And what is it worth, set based on folk tales, "Night on Bald Mountain"?!

Mussorgsky did not shy away from experimental genres. For example, in 1868, he completed work on an opera based on Gogol's The Marriage. There he diligently translated live conversational intonation into music.

During these years, Modest Petrovich seemed to develop. The point is that one of his greatest works was the opera "Boris Godunov". He wrote this opera based on the works of Pushkin, and after some revision it was presented at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg. What changes have been made? It was simply reduced, and quite significantly.

Then the composer also worked on an impressive "folk musical drama", in which he spoke about the archery riots of the late seventeenth century. His inspirations remain the same. For example, the idea of ​​"Khovanshchina" was suggested to him by Stasov.

At the same time, he writes the cycles “Without the Sun”, “Songs and Dances of Death” and other works, according to which it becomes clear: the composer is not in the mood for jokes now. Indeed, in the last years of his life, Mussorgsky suffered greatly from depression. However, this depression had its own, very real reasons: his work remained unrecognized, in everyday life and in material terms, he did not cease to experience difficulties. And besides, he was lonely. In the end, he died a poor man in the Nikolaev soldier's hospital, and his unfinished work other composers from "" completed for him, such as, for example.

How did it happen that he wrote so slowly, unproductively, and in general, what the hell broke his life?!

The answer is simple: alcohol. He treated his nervous tension with them, as a result, he slipped into alcoholism, and somehow recognition did not come. He thought too much, composed, and then erased everything and recorded the finished music with clean slate. He did not like all kinds of sketches, sketches and drafts. That's why it worked so slowly.

When he retired from the forestry department, he could only rely on the financial assistance of his friends, and on his own some, very random, earnings. And he drank. Yes, and he ended up in the hospital after an attack of delirium tremens.

And time heals all wounds. Now a bus stop towers over the grave of one of the greatest Russian composers. And what we know as the place of his burial is in fact only a transferred monument. Lived alone and died alone. This is the lot of true talent in our country.

Famous Works:

• Opera "Boris Godunov" (1869, 2nd edition 1874)
• Opera "Khovanshchina" (1872-1880, not completed; editions: N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, 1883; D. D. Shostakovich, 1958)
• Opera "Marriage" (1868, not completed; editions: M. M. Ippolitova-Ivanova, 1931; G. N. Rozhdestvensky, 1985)
• Opera "Sorochinsky Fair" (1874-1880, not completed; editions: Ts. A. Cui, 1917; V. Ya. Shebalina, 1931)
• Opera "Salambo" (not finished; edited by Zoltan Peshko, 1979)
• "Pictures at an Exhibition", a cycle of pieces for piano (1874); orchestrated by various composers, including Maurice Ravel, Sergei Gorchakov (1955), Lawrence Leonard, Keith Emerson, etc.
• Songs and Dances of Death, vocal cycle (1877); orchestrations: E. V. Denisova, N. S. Korndorf
• "Night on Bald Mountain" (1867), symphonic picture
• "Nursery", vocal cycle (1872)
• "Without the Sun", vocal cycle (1874)
• Romances and songs, including "Where are you, little star?", "Kalistrat", "Eryomushka's Lullaby", "Orphan", "Seminarist", "Svetik Savishna", Song of Mephistopheles in Auerbach's cellar ("Flea"), "Rayok »
• Intermezzo (originally for piano, later orchestrated by the author under the title "Intermezzo in modo classico").

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Mussorgsky - brilliant composer, whose work was initially underestimated. An innovator, a seeker of new ways in music, he seemed to his contemporaries a dropout. Even his close friend Rimsky-Korsakov believed that Mussorgsky's works could only be performed by correcting the harmony, form and orchestration, and after Mussorgsky's untimely death he carried out this enormous work. It was in Rimsky-Korsakov's versions that many of Mussorgsky's works were known for a long time, including the operas Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina. Only much later, the true significance of Mussorgsky's work was revealed, who was the first to correctly assess Stasov, who said: "Mussorgsky belongs to the number of people to whom posterity erects monuments." His music had a strong influence on composers of the 20th century, in particular, French, not to mention Russian, among which the largest are Prokofiev and Shostakovich. “Create a living person in live music”, “Create a vital phenomenon or type in a form inherent in them, which was not before any of the artists”, - this is how the composer himself defined his goal. The nature of his work determined Mussorgsky's predominant appeal to vocal and stage genres. His highest achievements are the operas "Boris Godunov" and "Khovanshchina", the vocal cycles "Children's", "Without the Sun" and "Songs and Dances of Death".

Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky was born on March 9 (21), 1839 in the Karevo estate not far from the town of Toropets, Pskov provinces, into an old noble family, descended from the Rurikovichs - the descendants of the legendary Rurik, who was called to reign in Rus' from the Varangians. WITH early childhood he, like all children of the nobility, studied French and German, as well as music, showing great success, especially in improvisation. At the age of 9, he already played a concerto by J. Field, but, of course, about professional pursuits there was no music. In 1849 he was sent to St. Petersburg, where, after three years of training, he entered the School of Guards Ensigns. For music, these three years were not lost - the boy took piano lessons from one of the best teachers in the capital A. Gerke, a student of the famous Field. In 1856, Mussorgsky graduated from high school and was appointed to serve in the Life Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment. During one of his duties at the military land hospital, he met Borodin, then a doctor in the same hospital. But this acquaintance has not yet led to friendship: the age, the interests, and the environment surrounding each of them were too different.

Keenly interested in music and striving to get to know the works of Russian composers better, Mussorgsky at the age of 18 ends up in Dargomyzhsky's house. Under the influence of the prevailing situation there, he begins to compose. The first experiments - the romance "Where are you, little star", the idea of ​​the opera "Han the Icelander". At Dargomyzhsky he meets Cui and Balakirev. This last acquaintance has a decisive influence on his entire life. later life. It was with Balakirev, around whom a circle of musicians formed, which later became famous under the name of the Mighty Handful, that his studies in composition began. During the first year, several romances and piano sonatas appeared. Creativity captures the young man so much that in 1858 he resigns and selflessly engages in self-education - psychology, philosophy, literature - tries himself in different musical genres. And although he still composes in small forms, he is most attracted to opera, in particular, to the plot of Oedipus. On the advice of Balakirev, in 1861-1862 he wrote a symphony, but left it unfinished. But next year, he is captivated by the plot of "Salambo" based on Flaubert's novel, which has just been published in Russian translation. He has been working on the opera "Salambo" for about three years and creates many interesting fragments, but gradually he realizes that it is not the East, but Rus' that attracts him. And "Salambo" also remains unfinished.

In the mid-60s, Mussorgsky's works appeared, clearly showing which path he decided to follow. These are the songs "Calistrat" ​​based on Nekrasov's poems about the heavy peasant lot (the composer called "Calistrat" ​​an etude in the folk style), "Sleep, sleep, peasant son" in the spirit folk songs on the text from A. Ostrovsky's drama "Voevoda", everyday picture "Svetik Savvishna" in his own words. After listening to the last famous composer and authoritative musical critic A. Serov said: “A terrible scene. This is Shakespeare in music." Somewhat later, The Seminarist appears, also in his own text. In 1863, the need arises to earn a living - the family estate is completely upset and no longer brings any income. Mussorgsky enters the service: from December he becomes an official of the Engineering Department.

In 1867, finally, the first major orchestral work was created - "Midsummer Night on Bald Mountain". At the same time, under the influence of The Stone Guest by Dargomyzhsky, Mussorgsky began work on the opera The Marriage based on the prose text of Gogol's comedy. This bold idea captivates him very much, but after a while it becomes clear that this is only an experiment: he does not consider it possible to create an opera on one recitative, without arias, choirs, ensembles.

The 60s were a time of fierce struggle between the Balakirev circle and the so-called conservative party, to which belong the professors of the recently opened first Russian conservatory, supported by Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna. Balakirev, who for some time was the director of the Russian Musical Society (RMO), was dismissed from his post in 1869. In contrast to this institution, he organizes a cycle of Free concerts music school, but the fight is obviously lost, since, unlike the RMO, the BMSh is not subsidized by anyone. Mussorgsky lights up with the idea to embody the opponents of the Mighty Handful in music. This is how “Rayok” arises - a unique satirical vocal composition, according to Stasov, a masterpiece of “talent, causticity, comedy, mockery, brilliance, plasticity ... Even the ridiculed themselves laughed to tears, so talented and contagiously cheerful, this original novelty was funny” .

The years 1868-1869 were devoted by the composer to work on Boris Godunov, and in 1870 he presented the score to the Mariinsky Theatre. But the opera is rejected: it is too unconventional. One of the reasons for the refusal is the lack of a major female role. The following years, 1871 and 1872, the composer reworks "Boris": Polish scenes appear and the role of Marina Mniszek, the scene near Kromy. But even this option does not satisfy the committee in charge of accepting operas for staging. Only the perseverance of the singer Y. Platonova, who chose Mussorgsky's opera for her benefit performance, helps "Boris Godunov" to see the limelight. While working on the second edition of the opera, Mussorgsky rents an apartment with Rimsky-Korsakov. They share their time at the piano in a friendly way, both write operas based on a plot from Russian history (Rimsky-Korsakov creates The Maid of Pskov) and, very different in character and creative principles, perfectly complement each other.

In 1873, "Children's" in the design of Repin was published and received wide recognition from both the public and musicians, including Liszt, who highly appreciated the novelty and unusualness of this work. This is the only joy of a composer who is not spoiled by fate. He is oppressed by the endless troubles associated with the production of Boris Godunov, tired of the need to serve, now in the Forest Department. Loneliness is also depressing: Rimsky-Korsakov got married and moved out of their common apartment, and Mussorgsky, partly on his own conviction, partly under the influence of Stasov, believes that marriage will interfere with creativity and sacrifice his personal life for him. Stasov goes abroad for a long time. Soon, the composer's friend, artist Viktor Hartman, suddenly dies.

Next year brings like a big creative luck- the piano cycle "Pictures at an Exhibition", created under the direct impression of Hartmann's posthumous exhibition, and a new great sorrow. An old friend of the composer Nadezhda Petrovna Opochinina dies, with whom he, apparently, was deeply, but secretly in love. At this time, a gloomy, full of melancholy cycle “Without the Sun” was created to the verses of Golenishchev-Kutuzov. Work is also underway on a new opera - "Khovanshchina" - again on a plot from Russian history. In the summer of 1874, work on the opera was interrupted for the sake of The Sorochinskaya Fair by Gogol. The comic opera is moving forward with difficulty: there are too few reasons for fun around. But the inspired vocal ballad “Forgotten” appears based on the painting by Vereshchagin, which he saw at an exhibition in the same 1874.

The life of a composer becomes more and more difficult and hopeless. The actual collapse of the Mighty Handful, which he repeatedly complains about in letters to Stasov, has a heavy effect on him, who always strived for close friendly communication. In the service, they are dissatisfied with him: he often skimps on his duties, both for the sake of creativity, and, unfortunately, also because, under the influence of the sad circumstances of life, he increasingly resorts to the generally accepted Russian consolation - the bottle. Sometimes his need becomes so strong that he has no money to pay the rent. In 1875 he was evicted for non-payment. For some time he finds refuge with A. Golenishchev-Kutuzov, then with an old friend, Naumov, a former naval officer, a great admirer of his work. On the verses of Golenishchev-Kutuzov, he creates a vocal cycle "Songs and Dances of Death".

In 1878, friends help Mussorgsky find another position - junior auditor of the State Control. It is good because the immediate supervisor of the composer T. Filippov, a great lover of music and a collector of folk songs, looks at Mussorgsky's absenteeism through his fingers. But the meager salary barely allows you to make ends meet. In 1879, in order to improve his financial situation, Mussorgsky, together with the singer D. Leonova, went on a big tour that covered everything big cities south of Russia. The program of performances includes arias from operas by Russian composers, romances by both Russian composers and Schubert, Schumann, Liszt. Mussorgsky accompanies the singer, and performs with solo numbers - transcriptions from Ruslan and Lyudmila and his own operas. The trip has a beneficial effect on the musician. He is inspired by the beautiful southern nature, rave reviews from newspapers that highly appreciate his gift as a composer and pianist. This causes a spiritual uplift, a new creative activity. Appear famous song"Flea", piano pieces, concept large suite for the orchestra. Work continues on the Sorochinskaya Fair and Khovanshchina.

In January next year Mussorgsky finally leaves the civil service. Friends - V. Zhemchuzhnikov, T. Filippov, V. Stasov and M. Ostrovsky (the playwright's brother) - add up to a monthly stipend of 100 rubles so that he can finish Khovanshchina. Another group of friends pays 80 rubles a month under the obligation to finish the Sorochinskaya Fair. Thanks to this help, in the summer of 1880 Khovanshchina was almost finished in clavier. Since autumn, Mussorgsky, at the suggestion of Leonova, has become an accompanist at her private singing courses and, in addition to accompaniment, composes choirs in Russian for students. folk texts. But his health is completely undermined, and at one of the student's home concerts he loses consciousness. Arriving Stasov, Rimsky-Korsakov and Borodin find him delirious. Urgent hospitalization is required. Through an acquaintance of the doctor L. Bertenson, who worked in the Nikolaev military hospital, Mussorgsky manages to get a place there, writing down "Bertenson's intern as a civilian batman." On February 14, 1881, the unconscious composer was taken to the hospital. For a while he gets better, he can even receive visitors, among them Repin, who painted the famous portrait of Mussorgsky. But soon there is a sharp deterioration in the condition.

Mussorgsky died on March 16, only 42 years old. The funeral took place on March 18 at the cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. In 1885, through the efforts of true friends, a monument was erected on the grave.

L. Mikheeva

The main dates of life and work:

1839. - 9 III. In the village of Karevo, the son Modest was born into the Mussorgsky family - the landowner Pyotr Alekseevich and his wife Yulia Ivanovna (née Chirikova).

1846. - The first successes in learning to play the piano under the guidance of the mother.

1848. - Mussorgsky's performance of J. Field's concerto (at the parents' house for guests).

1849. - VIII. Admission to the Peter and Paul School in St. Petersburg. - The beginning of piano lessons, with Ant. A. Gerke.

1851. - Performance by Mussorgsky "Rondo" A. Hertz at a home charity concert.

1852. - VIII. Admission to the school of guards ensigns. - Edition of the piano piece - polka "Ensign" ("Porte-enseigne Polka").

1856. - 17 vi. Graduation from the school of guards ensigns. - 8 x. Enrollment in the Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment. - x. Meeting with A. P. Borodin on duty in the 2nd land hospital. - Winter 1856-1857. Acquaintance with A. S. Dargomyzhsky.

1857. - Acquaintance with Ts. A. Cui and M. A. Balakirev in the house of Dargomyzhsky, with V. V. and D. V. Stasovs in the house of M. A. Balakirev. - Beginning of composition studies under the direction of Balakirev.

1858. - 11 vi. Retirement from military service.

1859. - 22 II. Performance by Mussorgsky leading role V comic opera"Son of the Mandarin" Cui in the author's house. - VI. A trip to Moscow, acquaintance with its sights.

1860. - 11 I. Scherzo performance in B-dur in the RMO concert conducted by A. G. Rubinshtein.

1861. - I. A trip to Moscow, new acquaintances in the circles of the advanced intelligentsia (youth). - 6 IV. Performance of the choir from the music for the tragedy "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles in a concert conducted by KN Lyadov (Mariinsky Theatre).

1863. - VI-VII. Stay in Toropets in connection with the troubles on the estate. - XII. The idea of ​​the opera "Salambo" based on the novel by G. Flaubert. - 15XII. Entering the service (official) in the Engineering Department.

1863-65. - Life in a "commune" with a group of young friends (under the influence of the novel "What is to be done?" N. G. Chernyshevsky).

1864. - 22V. Creation of the song "Kalistrat" ​​to the words of N. A. Nekrasov - the first in a series of vocal scenes from folk life.

1866. - The beginning of friendship with N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov.

1867. - 6 III. Performance of the choir "The Defeat of Sennacherib" in the concert of the Free Music School conducted by Balakirev. - 26 IV. Leaving the service in the Engineering Department. - 24 IX. Complaints about the difficult financial situation in a letter to Balakirev.

1868. - Rapprochement with the Purgold family, participation in their home music meetings. - 23 IX. Showing "Marriage" in the house of Cui. - Acquaintance with the historian of literature VV Nikolsky, the beginning of work on "Boris Godunov" on his advice. - 21XII. Enrollment in the Forest Department of the Ministry of State Property.

1870. - 7V. Display of "Boris Godunov" in the house of the artist Konstantin Makovsky. - Prohibition by censorship of the song "Seminarian".

1871. - 10 II. The Opera Committee of the Mariinsky Theater rejected the opera "Boris Godunov".

1871-72. - Mussorgsky lives in the same apartment with Rimsky-Korsakov, works on the 2nd edition of Boris Godunov.

1872. - 8 II. Showing of the opera "Boris Godunov" in a new edition in the house of VF Purgold. - 5 II. Performance of the finale of the 1st act of "Boris Godunov" in the RMO concert conducted by E. F. Napravnik. - II-IV. Collective work (together with Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov and Cui) on the opera-ballet "Mlada" commissioned by the directorate of the imperial theaters. - 3 IV. Performance of the Polonaise from "Boris Godunov" in the concert of the Free Music School conducted by Balakirev. - VI. Start of work on "Khovanshchina".

1873. - 5 II. Execution three paintings from "Boris Godunov" at the Mariinsky Theatre. - v. F. Liszt's performance in Weimar for a group of musicians from the "Children's" cycle by M.

1874. - 27 I. Premiere of "Boris Godunov" at the Mariinsky Theatre. - 7-19V. Creation of the ballad for voice and piano "Forgotten" to the words of Golenishchev-Kutuzov, dedicated to VV Vereshchagin. - VII. The origin of the concept of the opera "Sorochinsky Fair".

1875. - 13 II. Mussorgsky's participation as an accompanist in a concert in favor of needy students of the Medical and Surgical Academy. - 9 III. Participation in the musical and literary evening of the St. Petersburg Society for the benefit of students of medical and pedagogical courses.

1876. - 11 III. Participation in musical evening Petersburg meeting of artists in favor of needy students of the Medical and Surgical Academy.

1877. - 17 II. Participation in the concert Yu. F. Platonova. - Participation in a concert in favor of the Society of cheap apartments.

1878. - 2 IV. Performance with singer D. M. Leonova in the concert of the Society for Assistance to Students of Women's Medical and Pedagogical Courses. - 10XII. Resumption of "Boris Godunov" (with large bills) at the Mariinsky Theatre.

1879. - 16 I. Performance of the scene in the cell from "Boris Godunov" in the concert of the Free Music School conducted by Rimsky-Korsakov (staged by the Mariinsky Theater was released). - 3 IV. Participation in the concert of the Society for Assistance to Students of Women's Medical and Pedagogical Courses. - VII-X. Concert trip with Leonova (Poltava, Elizavetgrad, Kherson, Odessa, Sevastopol, Yalta, Rostov-on-Don, Novocherkassk, Voronezh, Tambov, Tver). - 27XI. Performance of excerpts from "Khovanshchina" in a concert of the Free Music School conducted by Rimsky-Korsakov.

1880. - I. Departure from service. Deterioration of health. - 8 IV. Performance of excerpts from "Khovanshchina" and "Song of a Flea" in Leonova's concerto with an orchestra conducted by Rimsky-Korsakov. - 27 and 30 IV. Two concerts by Leonova and Mussorgsky in Tver. - 5 VIII. Message in a letter to Stasov about the end of "Khovanshchina" (with the exception of small passages in the last act).

1881. - II. A sharp deterioration in health. - 2-5 III. I. E. Repin paints a portrait of Mussorgsky - 16 III. Death of Mussorgsky in the Nikolaev military hospital from erysipelas of the leg. - 18 III. The funeral of Mussorgsky at the cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg.