"The Five" - Russian composers who have changed the history of music

Alexander Porphyevich Borodin

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Alexander Porphyevich Borodin was born in 1833 in St. Petersburg. He was a chemist by profession, but in his spare time, he became a composer and musician. He was known mainly as a composer, which he regretted because chemistry played a much more important role in his life.

In his work, he referred to Neo-Romanticism and the tradition of Russian music. He composed three symphonies (I e-flat major, II b-minor "heroic" and III a-minor, which remained unfinished), string quartets in a-major and d-major, the opera Kniaź Igor, containing the suite "Polovieckie dances", Polka d-minor "Helene," concerto "for flute and piano", opera-farce "Bogatyri", symphonic poem "in the steppes of Central Asia" and songs, including "Enchanted Garden" and "Sleeping Beauty".

He died in February 1887 in St. Petersburg.

Borodin: Nocturne

Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov

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Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov was born in March 1844 in Tikhvin. He came from a Russian aristocratic family. This fact certainly contributed to his excellent education, also in the field of music. He began to learn to play the piano at the age of six and shortly after became a member of the court orchestra of the Rimsky-Korsakov house. In 1856, at the age of twelve, he entered the Tsarist Sailing School in St. Petersburg, became an officer.

During his military service, he discovered his love of composing and created his first works: the Symphony, Op. 1, the symphonic poem Sadko 1867, and the opera Pskovianka 1872. A year after writing his first opera, he finally left the army, limiting himself to composing pieces for military orchestras and assuming the position of inspector of naval orchestras.
After discovering his passion, Rimsky-Korsakov did not continue his music education in any of the schools. He remained self-taught, but this did not prevent him from becoming a master in the field of orchestration. He has been hailed as the best contemporary orchestral composer. His music was innovative thanks to oriental motifs, while at the same time referring to Russian folklore, he was delivering brilliant instrumentation, and programmatic character. In his works, he referred to the achievements of Hector Berlioz and Richard Wagner.

At the age of 33, he became a professor of composition and instrumentation at the music conservatory in St. Petersburg. He has taught many outstanding composers, including Alexander Glazunov and Anatol Ladov. However, due to his activities aimed at maintaining the autonomy of the school, he was expelled. His career as a lecturer was very turbulent. After long efforts, he regained the right to lecture, the title, and the trust of the authorities, which, however, he lost again after writing the opera "The Golden Cockerel", which criticized relations in Tsarist Russia.

Rimsky-Korsakov's oeuvre can be considered the most outstanding of all the composers of "The Five". He wrote 121 songs, 51 choral pieces, 10 symphonies (best known: Spanish Caprice), 8 concertos, 17 chamber works, 14 operas (e.g. Fairy Tale of the Sultan, Immortal Kosciej, Wojewoda, Sadko, or the mentioned before Golden Cockerel), 4 ballets (most popular - Scheherazade), 29 pieces for piano and 45 other orchestral works.

Rimsky-Korsakov: Flight Of The Bumblebee

Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky

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Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky was born in March 1839 in Karevo (Pskov region). He came from a wealthy family. Like Rimski-Korsakov, he initially developed in the military direction, gaining the title of officer. However, he abandoned this profession to take up music. Mussorgsky played the piano. After acquiring basic knowledge of music, he also began a career as a composer. In the times in which he lived, his works did not attract much attention. Due to his lack of education, he made many formal mistakes, and his music was imperfect. The originality of Mussorgsky's works and an amazing artistic concept, filled with grotesque, pessimism, and often mystery and despair, allowed him to stand out posthumously despite small skirmishes in the composition. The lack of recipients of his works during his life resulted in the composer's poverty. At the end of his life, Mussorgsky was a poor man, with alcohol problems and depression.

The works of the composer from "The Five" heralded the style of impressionism with their harmoniousness. He created, among others: Comic Opera Jarmark Soroczyński (which remained unfinished), a cycle of piano miniatures Pictures from an exhibition, song cycles: "Without the Sun", "Songs, and Dances of Death", "In the Children's Chamber", operas: "Borys Godunov", "Chowanieszczyzna" (which Korsakow finished for him) and the well-known symphonic poem "The Night on Bald Mountain".

Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky died in March 1881 in Saint Petersburg.

Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition

Caesar Cui

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Caesar Cui was born on January 18, 1835, in Vilnius. He was the son of a French officer and a Polish woman - Julia Gucewicz. He studied music from the very beginning. He studied under Stanislav Moniuszko, who remained his great friend. Already in junior high school, he showed great musical talent, which he decided to abandon, starting in 1851 at the St. Petersburg School of Engineering, and later at the Military Academy of Engineering. In 1878 he became a professor, and a few years later a general.

Despite a break in music education and working as a lecturer at a military university, he did not give up music. He created independently in every free moment, educating himself. His acquaintance with Emiliusz Balakirev helped him considerably in his self-education process.

He joined the group, but over time he began to gradually depart from its ideological assumptions and finally left the group.

In his work, he alluded to Robert Schuman, Franz Liszt, and Fryderyk Chopin. He mainly composed operas (10 titles, including "Caucasian Prisoner", "William Ratcliff", "Angelo", "Captain's Daughter"), piano works, and songs (over 200). He also wrote a lot of orchestral and chamber works. He became famous for creating the first children's operas in Russia.

He died on March 26, 1918, in Petrograd.

Cui: Orientale

Music of "The Five" nowadays

The songs of "The Five" are eagerly used to this day. They are important in films, animations, and cartoons all over the world. The most common works by Russian composers in cinematography are "Flight of the Bumblebee" and "Night on the Bald Mountain"

Borodin's motives are most often used in films, such as in the beautiful animated short film "The Little Matchgirl" by Roger Allers from 2006, "Misplaced" from 1989, where the artist's works created the soundtrack along with the music of Handel and Michał Urbaniak or "Alegre has non-troppo” by Fernando Colomo - a Spanish romantic comedy. These two films with disjointed themes perfectly demonstrate the universality of the artist's works. His oeuvre includes both works that match the tragic events and those in which the viewer gets acquainted with funny, light situations.

The second most frequent artist in cinematography is Rimski-Korsakov. The greatest film work in which his works have been used is the 1996 Australian film "Sine" directed by Scott Hicks. Rimski-Korsakov also had a biographical film about himself. By the way, not the only one from "The Five"

In November 1950, the inhabitants of the Soviet Union were delighted with the film "Mussorgsky", a biographical film about the dramatic life of the composer. The role of Mussorgsky was played by Aleksandr Borisov, the role of Borodin was played by Yuri Leonidov, Rimsky-Korsakov was played by Andrei Popov, Balakirev was played by Vladimir Balashov, and the role of Cezary Cui was taken by Bruno Frejndlikh.

When writing about Mussorgsky in cartoons and movies, it is impossible to ignore Walt Disney's "Fantasy". It was a full-length animation variation drawn in 1940, among others, for the song "Night on Bald Mountain". Despite the cartoon form, at that time it was intended only for adults, and it aimed to disseminate classical music by great composers. It was also the first full-length film with stereo sound. The company won the Film Academy honorary awards and two special Oscars for him. In 1995, the film was included in the Vatican's list of 45 feature films that promote particular religious, moral, or artistic values.

The works of all five members of the group are often played in philharmonics around the world to this day. The Russian school has permanently entered the concert schedule both in smaller institutions distributing classical music and in the largest philharmonics in our globe.

In 1972, the band Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, which performs symphonic and progressive rock, created the music album Pictures at an Exhibition. The album was a loose adaptation of Mosorgski's cycle of piano miniatures and excerpts from the symphonic poem The Night on Bald Mountain. Another popular music band that adapted his songs was Mekong Delta, a band from Germany, playing progressive thrash metal.

Fantasia (1941) - Night on Bald Mountain by Mussorgsky

Thank you for reading,
@papi.mati

Book sources:

• Andrzej Chodkowski (red.), Encyklopedia muzyki, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 1995.
• Edward Wrocki, Cezary Cui. Życie i działalność. 1835-1918, Rytm, Warszawa 1925.
• Dorota Szamborska, opracowanie Modest Musorgski – przedstawiciel Potężnej Gromadki.
• Popularna Encyklopedia Powszechna, Wydawnictwo Fogra, Kraków 1999.

Website sources:

• List of the most important movies of the XXth century
• Balakiriew and Cui
• history of "The Five"
• history of "The Five"