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Mozart and SalieriComposed by Nikolay Andreyevich Rimsky-KorsakovPerformed by Bolshoi Theatre Orchestrawith Alexander Fedin, Evgeny NesterenkoConducted by Mark ErmlerThe MarriageComposed by Modest Petrovich MussorgskyPerformed by USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestrawith Vladimir Khrulev, Alexandre Podbolotov, Loudmila Kolmakova, Vladimir RibasenkoConducted by Gennadi RozhdestvenskyOlympia #145 ... Read more

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Alexander Pushkin's dramatic work displays a scintillating variety of forms, from the historical to the metaphysical and folkloric. After Boris Godunov, they evolved into Pushkin's own unique, condensed transformations of Western European themes and traditions. The fearful amorality of A Scene from Faust is followed by the four Little Tragedies, which confront greed, envy, lust, and blasphemy, while Rusalka is a tragedy of a different kind--a lyric fairytale of despair and transformation.
Here, James E. Falen's verse translations are accompanied by a first-rate introduction from Caryl Emerson, an equally distinguished Russianist, which emphasizes the cosmopolitan nature of Pushkin's drama, the position of Russian culture on the European stage, together with excellent analyses of the individual works in the volume. Falen's translations of Pushkin are widely admired and his OWC translation of Eugene Onegin is considered the best available. This collection is sure to interest both casual readers and students of Russian literature. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

transliterated Russian
Unlike some librettos in the English National Opera series (e.g. "Khovanshchina") which print the Russian text in Cyrillic, this one is transliterated to Roman characters. If that's what you're looking for, you'll probably like this edition. Otherwise, keep looking....

the cesear if russia
Of course, I loved the book. It's well paced, entertaining, and insightfulto a moment in russian history. Pushkin's charm as an dramatist is as welldone as shakespeare. There aren't as many quotable lines, but that onlymakes it more fluent to read. The poetry is also nothing shy of great andthe characters are well written, notably boris and the impostor. It'salways tough to find russian literiture that doesn't bore a person, butpushkin's drama has enough romance (i.e. Romantic era), action, jokes, andtouching speeches to move the reader to bite their nails, laugh out loud,and cry. ... Read more

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Musorgsky'sLetters available in a great English translation
Musorgsky was a true genius (interspersed with bouts of alcoholism and other issues).Of the "moguchaya kuchka" (or "Mighty Five", which included Balakirev, Borodin, Cui, and Rimsky-Korsakov) Musorgsky was probably the most naturally gifted and "Russian" in his idioms.Musorgsky translated life into sound; his gift for taking simple peasant speech and creating a musical flow and ebb was almost second nature to him.He composed masterworks like Pictures at an Exhibition in the span of 21 days; St. John's Night on Bald Mountain was created in an equally astonishing 12 days!

Unfortunately, not much is known about the life of Musogsky--until more recently.The current book, a collection of letters to and from Mussorgsky, offers a valuable glimpse into the life and development of this great mind.It also shows the humanity behind such a genius, one that is too often forgotten amidst the various theories, hubris, and gossip surrounding his daily activities (inevitably mentioning alcohol).

Aside from the more humdrum letters (which would seems like chat messages today, albeit in a more flourishing style congruent with 19th-century fashion), there are fascinating and important tidbits, such as small musical sketches that would eventually turn into full-scale works.There are letters that serve as indicators of his travels, like his first impressions of Moscow (which he referred to as "Jericho"), and letter that show how much he was connected to humanity and his friends, sometimes to an extent too extreme for these same friends.

In preparing my doctoral thesis--on the subject of Musorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition--I found this resource to be of incredible value; in addition, it was wonderful to read.The English writing style remains true to the Russian source, anachronisms and all.If not, detailed explanations are given.For anyone interested in this great composer, or perhaps someone just interested in wonderfully written (and at time quite witty) letters, this book is a must in your collection. ... Read more

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This is a brief biography of Russia's greatest musical dramatist, Modest Musorgsky (1839-1881), known the world over for his operaBoris 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. ... Read more

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Modest Musorgsky was one of the towering figures of nineteenth-century Russian music. Now, in this new volume in the Master Musicians series, David Brown gives us the first life-and-works study of Musorgsky to appear in English for over a half century. Indeed, this is the largest such study of Musorgsky to have appeared outside Russia. Brown shows how Musorgsky, though essentially an amateur with no systematic training in composition, emerged in his first opera, Boris Godunov, as a supreme musical dramatist. Indeed, in this opera, and in certain of his piano pieces in Pictures at an Exhibition, Musorgsky produced some of the most startlingly novel music of the whole nineteenth century. He was also one of the most original of all song composers, with a prodigious gift for uncovering the emotional content of a text. As Brown illuminates Musorgsky's work, he also paints a detailed portrait of the composer's life. He describes how, unlike the systematic and disciplined Tchaikovsky, Musorgsky was a fitful composer. When the inspiration was upon him, he could apply himself with superhuman intensity, as he did when composing the initial version of Boris Godunov. Sadly, Musorgsky deteriorated in his final years, suffering periods of inner turmoil, when his alcoholism would be out of control. Finally, unemployed and all but destitute, he died at age forty-two. His failure to complete his two remaining operas, Khovanshchina and Sorochintsy Fair, Brown concludes, is one of music's greatest tragedies. Written by one of the leading authorities on nineteenth-century Russian composers, Musorgsky is the finest available biography of this giant of Russian music. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Brown delivers a glimpse into Musorgsky's troubled mind
When dealing with a composer whose works were so erratic and often incomplete, writing a combined biography and analysis of his works is not an easy task.Brown approaches this with sensible organization, alternating between chapters that detail Mussorgsky's life and focus on his individual compositions of important note.Significant amounts of the book are even devoted to the half-finished, aborted, or otherwise incomplete works of the composer.This is justified since these works provide some insight into Mussorgsky's compositional process, although it is sometimes presented at a level too dense for the amateur musician.Another area of focus is Mussorgsky's relationships in the "mighty handful" with specific members, and also to the RMS (Russian Music Society) and FMS (Free Music Society).

Brown's command of the English language is certainly nothing to dismiss as his diction and syntax are colorful, rich, and flowing.He often refers to Mussorgsky's compositional capacity as his "musical armory", a fitting metaphor perhaps to capture the essence of violence that often arises in Mussorgsky's works, as well as his hostility toward western music.

The biographical portions of the book are densely pocked with excerpts from letters and memoirs belonging to the most influential people in Mussorgsky's life, and Mussorgsky himself.Brown sometimes acts merely as a guide to weave all of these observations and discourses together to give the reader an accurate characterization of the composer.Of course, a near inexhaustible amount of documents could probably be relevantly cited, and it is Brown's job to attempt to extract what is important and create an unbiased recollection.There is one thing in particular that seems to be suspiciously highlighted in the later years of Mussorgsky's life, and that is his relationship with Cesar Cui.The latter composer seems to recognize his inferiority to the other members of the kuchka as the years wane on, and he particularly seems to react hostilely toward Mussorgsky.Brown cites his criticisms increasingly and also Mussorgsky's reactions, which tend toward anger and insult.It seems strange that these two that share such brotherhood in their musical circle would lash out with such negativism.Brown even notes that Cui's criticism continues near into Mussorgsky's death, almost suggesting some form of the mythical Mozart-Sallieri relationship.Perhaps Brown subconsciously wished to add a bit more tension to his biography (which, as a biography - often lacks the interest of fiction), and he certainly succeeds in portraying Cui as the villain in Mussorgsky's life

One shortcoming I see is the failure of the book to explain Mussorgsky's knowledge of music theory.Brown uses vague adjectives such as "uneducated, intuitive, unrefined" etc. to define Mussorgsky's compositional finesse, but rarely goes into any more detail.It is difficult to tell how Mussorgsky thought when he composed.Did he have knowledge of chord theory and progression, so that he could explain and "break down" his music rather than just let it flow from his mind in chaos?Did he discover these things through his own intuitiveness but with a flare of originality?It becomes apparent that Mussorgsky begins to revel in his own ignorance of western music theory, idealizing the "natural" composer as the superior filter for music.

Lastly, either due to a lack of evidence or because Brown considered it irrelevant, Mussorgsky's mental illness is largely left ambiguous.A few letters give strange metaphorical accounts of Mussorgsky's bouts of mental anguish, but they fail to list any real symptoms.I would consider the mental condition of a composer to be the primary factor contributing to the music he wrote.The book should have an appendix if not a chapter at lease speculating what the causes or true symptoms of Mussorgsky's periodic mental distress were.

In its entirety, the book succeeds in giving the reader a strong foundation of Mussorgsky as a composer.Brown highlights his relationships with other Russian composers and musicians of the time, his financial and residential situations, his musical revelations and awakenings (as shown by his letters), and the context in which each of his works, completed or not, arise.

The Best 'Musorgsky' for the General Reader
David Brown's 'Musorgsky' appears in the Oxford University Press's 'The Master Musicians' series and replaces the older volume in that series started by M. D. Calvocoressi before his death in 1944 and finished by Gerald Abraham, published in 1946. There has been no major life-and-works of Modest Musorgsky (1839-1881) in English since then, although Richard Taruskin's scholarly 'Musorgsky,' intended for a narrower musicologically-informed audience, was published in 1992. This volume has musical examples and some reasonably detailed discussion of musical points in Musorgsky's works, but it is certainly not beyond the reach of the general reader.

Musorgsky's life is detailed throughout the book but there is little that is gossipy or speculative. Much more attention is paid to the origin and development of Musorgsky's art, with a clear exposition of musical and psychological influences by such figures are Dargomizhky, Glinka, Balakirev, Rimsky-Korsakoff, Alexander Serov, Vladimir Stasov and others. The lengthy, often obscure and confusing chronology of 'Boris Godunov' is set out logically and lucidly; Brown's exposition of its difficult gestation certainly cleared up some of my confusion in this regard. There is a good deal of explanation of how and where Musorgky cannibalized earlier works, inserting whole passages in the works by which he is now primarily known. There is a fascinating discussion of how he slowly developed his musical 'fingerprints,' with examples. Several chapters are devoted to the composition of his numerous and still undervalued songs. And we get psychologically and musically insightful chapters on 'Night on Bald Mountain' (more properly 'St. John's Night on Bare Mountain') and 'Pictures at an Exhibition.' The sad story of the inability to complete 'Khovanshchina' and 'Sorochintsy Fair' is told, along with the related heart-breaking drama of Musorgky's decline and death.

In Musorgsky's too-short life he wrote at least three undisputed popular masterpieces - 'Boris,' 'Night on Bare Mountain,' and 'Pictures'- and those who love these pieces, and others, owe it to themselves to become more familiar with the life of the man behind these favorites. This book provides the kind of framework that makes those works more alive for the listener.

Recommended.

Review by Scott Morrison ... Read more