The Life of Musorgsky

Musical Lives

by Caryl Emerson

This is a brief biography of Russia's greatest musical dramatist, Modest Musorgsky (1839-1881), known the world over for his opera Boris Godunov, for his innovative realistic art songs, and for his pianistic work "Pictures at an Exhibition." Yet during his life Musorgsky had no institutional connections, no "degree," no family of his own, not even a permanent address. This book emphasizes the psychological and economic factors that contributed to the composer's remarkable autodidactic rise and tragic, premature end.

Genres: Music, Biography

218 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 1999

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

The appeal of reading this book was, for me, the chance to learn a little bit about Modest Musorgsky. Despite writing some very well known pieces - Pictures at an Exhibition and Night on Bald Mountain are familiar to most people - Musorgsky remains a shadowy figure. Emerson's concise yet probing biography sheds plenty of light on its subject. I particularly enjoyed the analytical content, in which Emerson examines Musorgsky's music, various aspects of his life and character, and his and his music's relationship to Russian artistic and political history.