Boris Godunov, the only project out of nine that Mussorgsky completed himself, has been cited as the great masterpiece of nineteenth-century Russian opera – with its thrilling crowd scenes, historic panorama and the chilling power of its principal character. Boris was unusual in having its chief male role written for a bass voice and for the ‘sung prose’ ...
,500 at a time, committed suicide by fire rather than compromise their faith. Some productions of Khovanshchina have reproduced this mass burning by means of flickering tongues of light. Mussorgsky left the opera unfinished and there was no orchestration for the vocal score. It was completed by Rimsky-Korsakov and in 1886 the first performance was given at the Kononov Hall ...
1839–81, Russian Modest Mussorgsky was born in to a family of aristocratic landowners – a status in life that afforded him both luxury and leisure. His musical talent was evident from an early age. Taught at first by his mother and his governess, Mussorgsky could play concertos by John Field (1782–1837) at the age of nine. At age 10 ...
(Mod-yest’ Moo-zôrk’-ske) 1839–81 Russian composer Mussorgsky was the most radical of the Russian composers known as ‘The Five’. Born to a land-owning family, he joined the army in 1856, where he encountered Borodin, then a military doctor, and Cui, who introduced him to Balakirev, with whom he studied. In 1858 he resigned to pursue a ...
The tuba is essentially a large, valved bugle, designed to take the bass part in an orchestra or band. Like the trumpet, it is sounded by buzzing the lips into a mouthpiece. It is conically bored, like the horn, and consequently has a smooth, velvety sound. History The tuba is a youngster among brass instruments; ...
of it consisted of orchestral works and chamber music of stunning melodic beauty and though his operas were few, this was a quality they shared. Like his friend Modest Mussorgsky (1839–81), Borodin completed only one opera project – The Bogatyrs (1867) – a pastiche first performed in Moscow. Also like Mussorgsky, Borodin left his masterpiece, Prince Igor, ...
(Al-yek-san-der Där-go-mezh’-ke) 1813–69 Russian composer From a landowning background, Dargomïzhsky was renowned in the salons of St Petersburg as a performer and composer, while pursuing a civil service career. Emulating the example of his contemporary Glinka, Dargomïzhsky followed his first opera Esmeralda (1839) with two works of overtly Russian character based on Pushkin, Rusalka (1856) and The Stone ...
blank-verse historical dramas, such as Boris Godunov, and novels in verse like Eugene Onegin (1830). Both Boris and Onegin were used as the basis for operas, by Mussorgsky and Tchaikovsky respectively, but these were only two among a long list of Pushkin stories to be given this treatment. In all, 109 operas of the nineteenth and ...
1914–93 Bulgarian bass Christoff made his debut in Italy in La bohème (1946). He was most famous as Boris Godunov in the Rimsky-Korsakov version of the Mussorgsky opera. He made his US debut in San Francisco in 1956 in the same role. His Verdi roles included Philip II in the Giulini-Visconti Don Carlos at Covent Garden in 1958, and as ...
(D’me’-tre Shus-ta-ko’vich) 1906–75 Russian composer Shostakovich was the first of his country’s composers to come to attention after the Russian Revolution of 1917, and since Stravinsky, Rachmaninov and (until the 1930s) Prokofiev were all living abroad, his early successes made him the great hope of Soviet music. He became associated with the Western-influenced modernist movement in the Soviet ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1970–79, 1991–98) A British supergroup, who pioneered progressive rock in the early 1970s, comprising former Nice keyboardist Keith Emerson, Greg Lake, latterly of King Crimson (guitar, bass, vocals) and ex-Atomic Rooster drummer Carl Palmer. ELP’s music was a fusion of classical music and rock, which Emerson had begun to explore ...
1873–1938, Russian Almost entirely self-taught as a singer, Chaliapin began singing in Tbilisi and St Petersburg. He made a name for himself singing both Boris and Valaam from Modest Mussorgsky’s (1839–81) Boris Godunov (1874). Although best known for singing the Russian repertoire, Chaliapin performed in a wide range of operas, including those by Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868) and ...
1890. Other parts created by Melnikov included the title role in The Demon by Anton Rubinstein (1829–94) and Prince Igor in Borodin’s opera of 1890. Melnikov was a friend of Mussorgsky and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s (1840–93) favourite baritone. He sang in Tchaikovsky’s operas, including roles in The Oprichnik, Vakula the Smith, Eugene Onegin and The Queen of Spades. ...
elegiac romance of appealing simplicity. Recommended Recording: Manon, soloists, Capitole Chorus & Orchestra, Toulouse (cond) Michel Plasson (EMI/Erato) Introduction | Late Romantic | Classical Personalities | Modest Mussorgsky | Late Romantic | Classical ...
1929–2004 Bulgarian bass He studied at the Bulgarian State and Moscow conservatories, making his stage debut in Sofia in 1955 as Don Basilio (Rossini’s Barber of Seville). To this he added many of the other great bass roles: Mephistopheles in Gounod’s Faust (his Italian debut in Rome), Philip II in Verdi’s Don Carlos, and the title roles in Verdi’s ...
AUTHORITATIVE
An extensive music information resource, bringing together the talents and expertise of a wide range of editors and musicologists, including Stanley Sadie, Charles Wilson, Paul Du Noyer, Tony Byworth, Bob Allen, Howard Mandel, Cliff Douse, William Schafer, John Wilson...
CURATED
Classical, Rock, Blues, Jazz, Country and more. Flame Tree has been making encyclopaedias and guides about music for over 20 years. Now Flame Tree Pro brings together a huge canon of carefully curated information on genres, styles, artists and instruments. It's a perfect tool for study, and entertaining too, a great companion to our music books.
David Bowie
Fantastic new, unofficial biography covers
his life, music, art and movies, with a
sweep of incredible photographs.