Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was born on March 18, 1844, and died on June 21, 1908. He was a Russian composer and a member of a group called The Five. His most famous orchestral works—Capriccio Espagnol, the Russian Easter Festival Overture, and the symphonic suite Scheherazade—are often performed and are part of the classical music collection. Scheherazade is an example of his interest in stories from fairy tales and folk traditions.

Rimsky-Korsakov believed in creating music that reflected Russian culture. He used Russian folk songs and stories, along with unusual sounds from other cultures, in a style called musical orientalism. He avoided traditional Western methods of composing. Later, after becoming a professor at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in 1871, he studied Western musical techniques seriously. He learned from the works of Mikhail Glinka and other members of The Five. His skills also improved after studying the music of Richard Wagner.

For much of his life, Rimsky-Korsakov worked as a composer and teacher while also serving in the Russian Navy. He first worked as an officer in the Imperial Russian Navy and later as the civilian Inspector of Naval Bands. He wrote that he loved the ocean, inspired by stories about his older brother’s naval adventures. This love of the sea may have influenced his compositions, such as the musical tableau Sadko (not to be confused with his later opera of the same name) and Scheherazade. As Inspector of Naval Bands, he learned more about playing woodwinds and brass instruments, which helped him write better orchestral music. He taught these skills to his students and also shared them in a textbook on orchestration written by his son-in-law, Maximilian Steinberg, after his death.

Rimsky-Korsakov created many original compositions that celebrate Russian culture. He also helped prepare works by The Five for performance, making them more widely known (though some people disagree about how he edited Modest Mussorgsky’s works). As a teacher, he influenced many younger composers and musicians. Because of this, he is considered the main person who shaped what the public today thinks of as the "Russian style" in classical music. His work helped connect earlier composers, who often taught themselves, with later composers who received formal training. His style was influenced by composers like Glinka, Balakirev, Hector Berlioz, Franz Liszt, and Wagner. He passed this style on to two generations of Russian composers and also influenced composers from other countries, such as Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy, Paul Dukas, and Ottorino Respighi.

Biography

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov was born in Tikhvin, a town located 200 kilometers (120 miles) east of Saint Petersburg, Russia. At the time, Tikhvin was part of the Novgorod Governorate.

The Rimsky-Korsakov family had a long history of serving in the Russian government, holding positions such as governors and military leaders. Ivan Rimsky-Korsakov was known to be a close friend of Catherine the Great, a famous Russian ruler. In 1677, a Tsar granted 18 members of the Korsakov family the right to use the name "Rimsky-Korsakov." The name "Rimsky" means "Roman" in Russian, as the family's origins traced back to the Czech lands, which were once part of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1390, a man named Wenceslaus Korsak moved from the Duchy of Lithuania to the Grand Prince of Moscow, Vasily I.

Nikolai’s father, Andrei Petrovich Rimsky-Korsakov, was one of six children born to Avdotya Yakovlevna, the daughter of an Orthodox priest from Pskov, and Peter Voinovich Rimsky-Korsakov, a lieutenant general. Because Peter could not legally marry Avdotya due to her lower social status, he officially adopted his children. With help from a friend named Aleksey Arakcheyev, the family received noble privileges. Andrei worked in the Russian Interior Ministry and held positions as a vice-governor in Novgorod and Volhynian Governorate.

Nikolai’s mother, Sofya Vasilievna Rimskaya-Korsakova, was born to a peasant serf and a wealthy nobleman named Vasily Fedorovich Skaryatin. Skaryatin raised her comfortably but gave her the surname "Vasilieva" and no legal status. By the time Andrei met Sofya, his first wife, Knyazna Ekaterina Meshcherskaya, had died nine months after their marriage. Skaryatin disapproved of Andrei marrying Sofya, so Andrei secretly took her to Saint Petersburg and married her.

The Rimsky-Korsakov family had a strong tradition of military and naval service. Nikolai’s older brother, Voin, was a famous navigator and explorer who greatly influenced Nikolai’s life. Voin later recalled that their mother played the piano a little, and their father could play simple songs on the piano by ear. Nikolai began piano lessons at age six but showed little interest, describing his playing as "badly, carelessly, … poor at keeping time."

Although Nikolai started composing music at age 10, he preferred literature to music. He later wrote that he developed a poetic love for the sea through stories of his brother’s adventures, even though he had never seen the ocean. This love, along with Voin’s encouragement, led Nikolai to join the Imperial Russian Navy at age 12. He studied at the School for Mathematical and Navigational Sciences in Saint Petersburg and passed his final examination in April 1862.

While in school, Nikolai took piano lessons from a teacher named Ulikh. Voin, who was now the school’s director, supported these lessons, hoping they would help Nikolai become more social. Nikolai later said he was "indifferent" to lessons but developed a love for music through visits to the opera and orchestral concerts.

Ulikh noticed Nikolai’s musical talent and recommended another teacher, Feodor A. Kanille. Beginning in late 1859, Nikolai studied piano and composition with Kanille, whom he later credited with inspiring his career as a composer. Kanille introduced Nikolai to works by Mikhail Glinka and Robert Schumann. Voin stopped Nikolai’s lessons at age 17, believing they were no longer practical.

Kanille encouraged Nikolai to continue visiting him every Sunday to play duets and discuss music. In November 1861, Kanille introduced Nikolai to Mily Balakirev, who then introduced him to César Cui and Modest Mussorgsky. All three were young composers. Nikolai later wrote, "With what delight I listened to real business discussions of instrumentation, part writing, etc! … I had been plunged into a new world."

Balakirev encouraged Nikolai to compose and taught him music basics when he was not at sea. Balakirev also advised Nikolai to study history, literature, and criticism. When Nikolai showed Balakirev the beginning of a symphony in E-flat minor, Balakirev urged him to continue despite his lack of formal training.

By late 1862, Nikolai had completed and orchestrated three movements of the symphony. He composed the slow movement during a stop in England and mailed the score to Balakirev before returning to sea.

During his two-year-and-eight-month cruise aboard the clipper Almaz, Nikolai studied Berlioz’s Treatise on Instrumentation and read works by Homer, Shakespeare, Schiller, and Goethe. He visited London, Niagara Falls, and Rio de Janeiro. Eventually, the lack of musical inspiration made him neglect his lessons. He later wrote, "Thoughts of becoming a musician and composer gradually left me altogether."

After returning to Saint Petersburg in May 1865, Nikolai’s daily duties were minimal, but he said his desire to compose had "been stifled." Contact with Balakirev in September 1865 encouraged him to return to music. At Balakirev’s suggestion, Nikolai completed a missing scherzo for the symphony and reorchestrated it. The symphony premiered in December 1865 under Balakirev’s direction and was performed again in March 1866 by Konstantin Lyadov.

Correspondence between Nikolai and Balakirev shows that Balakirev contributed ideas to the symphony and often rewrote sections at the piano. Nikolai later wrote, "Balakirev had no difficulty in getting along with me. At his suggestion I most readily rewrote the symphonic movements composed by me and brought them to completion with the help of his advice and improvisations." Though Nikolai later felt Balakirev’s influence was limiting, he praised Balakirev’s skills as a critic and improviser. Under Balakirev’s guidance, Nikolai began a symphony in B minor but abandoned it after it seemed too similar to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. He also completed an overture based on Russian folk themes.

Compositions

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov followed the musical ideas shared by a group of composers known as "The Five." He used themes from Orthodox religious music in his Russian Easter Festival Overture, included folk songs in Capriccio Espagnol, and created music inspired by Eastern cultures in Scheherazade, which is his most famous work. Rimsky-Korsakov was very productive as a composer, but he also often changed his own music, revising many of his orchestral pieces, including his Third Symphony. Some works, like Antar and Sadko, were revised more than once. These changes ranged from small adjustments in speed, phrasing, or instrument details to completely rewriting sections of the music.

Rimsky-Korsakov openly acknowledged the influences in his music. He told a friend, "Study Liszt and Balakirev more closely, and you'll see that a great deal in me is not mine." He used techniques from Balakirev, such as the whole tone scale, how he treated folk songs, and musical ideas inspired by the East. He also borrowed harmonic ideas from Liszt. For example, the violin melody in Scheherazade is similar to a melody in Balakirev's Tamara, and the structure of Russian Easter Festival Overture follows a plan used in Balakirev's Second Overture on Russian Themes.

Despite borrowing from others, Rimsky-Korsakov showed originality in his use of the whole tone and octatonic scales. He used these scales in the "fantasy" sections of his operas, which told stories about magical or supernatural events. He continued exploring new musical ideas throughout his life but kept his experiments under control. He believed in balancing creativity with discipline, calling his careful approach his "musical conscience." This made him both a forward-thinking and traditional composer. His use of the whole tone and octatonic scales was seen as bold in Western classical music, but his careful control of these techniques made him seem more conservative compared to later composers like Igor Stravinsky, who built on his work.

While Rimsky-Korsakov is best known in the West for his orchestral music, his operas are more complex. They include a wide range of orchestral effects and strong vocal writing. Excerpts from his operas, such as Flight of the Bumblebee from The Tale of Tsar Saltan, are as popular as his purely orchestral works. Other well-known pieces include Dance of the Tumblers from The Snow Maiden, Procession of the Nobles from Mlada, and Song of the Indian Guest from Sadko. Suites from The Golden Cockerel and The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevroniya are also widely performed.

Rimsky-Korsakov's operas are divided into three categories:
– Historical dramas: The Maid of Pskov, Mozart and Salieri, The Tsar's Bride, Pan Voyevoda, Servilya
– Folk operas: May Night, Christmas Eve
– Fairy tales and legends: The Snow Maiden, Mlada, Sadko, Kashchey the Deathless, The Tale of Tsar Saltan, The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevroniya, The Golden Cockerel

In 1902, Rimsky-Korsakov said, "In every new work, I try to do something new for me. I want my music to stay fresh and interesting, and I believe I can use many styles, moods, and techniques in my work."

Some critics say The Snow Maiden best shows Rimsky-Korsakov's musical style. The character of the Snow Maiden represents love and passion but melts when the sun shines. His music is also beautiful but can become cold and distant, like the Snow Maiden, when it lacks emotional depth.

Harold C. Schonberg, an American music critic, wrote that Rimsky-Korsakov's operas "open up a delightful new world, the world of the Russian East, the world of supernaturalism and the exotic, the world of Slavic pantheism and vanished races." He praised the operas for their poetic quality and skillful orchestration. Some critics, however, said his operas lacked dramatic power, which is a problem for an operatic composer. Rimsky-Korsakov believed operas should be first and foremost musical works, not just dramatic ones. Interestingly, his operas often succeed dramatically by being intentionally non-theatrical.

Rimsky-Korsakov's orchestral works are divided into two groups. The most famous ones in the West, and likely the best in quality, are programmatic—meaning the music tells a story, describes a scene, or reflects a non-musical idea. Examples include Scheherazade, Capriccio Espagnol, and Russian Easter Festival Overture. The second group includes more academic works, such as his First Symphony, Third Symphony, and Sinfonietta. In these, he used folk themes but followed strict musical rules.

Program music came naturally to Rimsky-Korsakov. He believed even a folk melody had a story behind it. He composed many of his orchestral works in this style during two periods: early in his career with Sadko and Antar (also known as his Second Symphony, Op. 9), and again in the 1880s with Scheherazade, Capriccio Espagnol, and Russian Easter Festival Overture. His approach to using themes remained consistent, even though the orchestration changed.

The earlier works, like Sadko and Antar, had simpler musical textures compared to the more elaborate orchestration in his 1880s works. He kept the idea of using "primary colors" of instrument sounds but added more complex effects, some inspired by other composers like Wagner, and others he created himself.

His programmatic works often resemble colorful mosaics, with different groups of instruments playing distinct patterns. For example, in the final section of Scheherazade, the main theme is played by trombones in unison, accompanied by string patterns. At the same time, woodwinds play chromatic scales, and percussion instruments play rhythmic patterns.

Rimsky-Korsakov's non-programmatic music, such as his First Symphony and Sinfonietta, is well-crafted but not as inspiring as his programmatic works. He needed imaginative ideas to create his best music. His First Symphony closely follows the structure of Schumann's Fourth Symphony but uses fewer themes than his later works. His Third Symphony and Sinfonietta include variations but are less emotionally powerful than his programmatic compositions.

Legacy

Vladimir Stasov, who helped start a group of Russian composers known as "The Five" with Balakirev, wrote in 1882 that Russian musicians from Glinka onward were skeptical of formal music education and did not treat it with the same respect as many Europeans did. This was not true for Glinka, who studied Western music theory carefully with Siegfried Dehn in Berlin before writing his opera A Life for the Tsar. It was true for Balakirev, who strongly opposed formal academic training, and it was true at first for Rimsky-Korsakov, who shared Balakirev and Stasov’s views.

Stasov intentionally left out a key fact that would have shown his statement was wrong: at the time he wrote it, Rimsky-Korsakov had been teaching music theory at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory for over a decade. After studying on his own for three years, Rimsky-Korsakov grew closer to Tchaikovsky and moved away from the other members of The Five. The others in The Five distanced themselves from him, and Stasov called him a "renegade." Richard Taruskin wrote that as Rimsky-Korsakov grew older, he looked back on his time with The Five with more irony. When young composer Semyon Kruglikov considered a career in music, Rimsky-Korsakov wrote to him.

Taruskin highlights this letter, written while Borodin and Mussorgsky were still alive, as proof of Rimsky-Korsakov’s growing separation from The Five and the kind of teacher he became. By the time he taught students like Liadov and Glazunov, their training was similar to Tchaikovsky’s, focusing on strict professionalism. By 1887, when Borodin died, Russian composers no longer learned music on their own. Instead, all who wanted to write classical music attended a conservatory and received the same formal education. Taruskin wrote that by the end of the century, the music theory and composition teachers at Rubinstein’s Conservatory were all part of the New Russian School. This contrasted sharply with Stasov’s earlier predictions.

Over 35 years at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, Rimsky-Korsakov taught theory and composition to 250 students. This does not include students from other schools, such as Glazunov, or those he taught privately at home, like Igor Stravinsky. Other notable students included Anatoly Lyadov, Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, Alexander Spendiaryan, Sergei Prokofiev, Ottorino Respighi, Witold Maliszewski, Mykola Lysenko, Artur Kapp, and Konstanty Gorski. He also taught the music critic Alexander Ossovsky and composer Lazare Saminsky.

Rimsky-Korsakov believed talented students needed little formal instruction. His teaching method had clear steps: teach harmony and counterpoint, guide students in understanding musical forms, provide a year or two of structured practice in technique and composition, and ensure students learned piano well. Once these were completed, studies ended. He applied this approach in his classes. Conductor Nikolai Malko remembered that Rimsky-Korsakov began each term by saying, “I will speak, and you will listen. Then I will speak less, and you will start to work. Finally, I will not speak at all, and you will work.” Malko noted that his class followed this pattern exactly. Rimsky-Korsakov explained everything clearly, so students only needed to focus on their work.

Rimsky-Korsakov’s editing of works by The Five was important. It continued the teamwork of The Five in the 1860s and 1870s, when members shared and improved each other’s compositions. This effort helped preserve works that might have been forgotten. For example, he completed Borodin’s opera Prince Igor with Glazunov after Borodin’s death and orchestrated parts of César Cui’s William Ratcliff for its first performance in 1869. He also orchestrated The Stone Guest by Alexander Dargomyzhsky three times—in 1869–70, 1892, and 1902. Though not a member of The Five, Dargomyzhsky shared their musical ideas.

Musicologist Francis Maes noted that while Rimsky-Korsakov’s work was valuable, it was also controversial. For Prince Igor, Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov edited Borodin’s existing music and added missing parts, including most of the third act and overture. Musicologist Pavel Lamm’s analysis of Borodin’s manuscripts showed that nearly 20% of Borodin’s original score was changed or removed. Maes argued this made the result more a joint effort by all three composers than a true reflection of Borodin’s original vision. Lamm said creating a new version of Borodin’s work would be very difficult due to the messy state of the original manuscripts.

Maes also questioned Rimsky-Korsakov’s editing of Mussorgsky’s works. After Mussorgsky died in 1881, Rimsky-Korsakov revised and completed several of his pieces for publication and performance, helping spread Mussorgsky’s music in Russia and abroad. Maes wrote that Rimsky-Korsakov let his personal musical standards guide his changes, altering or removing parts he considered experimental or poorly written. This led to criticism that he was overly strict about correcting details like harmony. Rimsky-Korsakov may have anticipated such criticism when he wrote:

Maes noted that history showed Rimsky-Korsakov was right in the long run. Mussorgsky’s style, once seen as rough, is

Folklore and pantheism

Rimsky-Korsakov may have saved the most personal part of his creativity for his work with Russian folklore. Balakirev and others in The Five focused on a type of song called protyazhnaya, which means "drawn-out song" and has long, flowing melodies. These songs often have unusual rhythms, uneven musical phrases, and unclear musical tones. After writing May Night, Rimsky-Korsakov became more interested in "calendar songs," which were created for special religious or cultural events. He was especially drawn to how these songs connected to rural traditions and old Slavic beliefs, even during his time with The Five. He studied these songs closely while collecting folk music, which deepened his fascination with their poetic descriptions of ancient sun worship. He said these songs helped him see the past clearly and inspired his work as a composer.

Rimsky-Korsakov’s interest in pantheism, the belief that nature is divine, was influenced by the writings of Alexander Afanasyev. Afanasyev’s book, The Poetic Outlook on Nature by the Slavs, became a key source for Rimsky-Korsakov’s ideas. He used Afanasyev’s ideas in May Night, adding folk dances and calendar songs to expand Nikolai Gogol’s story. He expanded this approach in The Snow Maiden, where he included many seasonal calendar songs and khorovodi, which are ceremonial dances from folk traditions.

Experts in music and Slavic studies have noted that Rimsky-Korsakov’s operas, inspired by folklore, explore themes such as the connection between ancient pagan beliefs and Christianity, as well as the religious split in the Orthodox Church during the 17th century.

In film

The 1953 Soviet film Rimsky-Korsakov shows the final twenty years of the composer's life. Grigori Belov plays Rimsky-Korsakov in the movie. Earlier in his career, during his time with The Five, the composer is portrayed by Andrei Popov in the 1950 Soviet film Mussorgsky, which was made by the same studio.

Publications

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov wrote an autobiography and books about harmony and orchestration. These works have been translated into English and published. Two books he began writing in 1892 were not finished. One was a detailed book about Russian music, and the other was a manuscript that is now lost, about a subject that is unknown.

• My Musical Life (original title: Letopis' moei muzykal'noi zhizni – literally, Chronicle of My Musical Life). Translated from the 5th revised Russian edition by Judah A. Joffe. Edited with an introduction by Carl Van Vechten. Published by Ernst Eulenburg Ltd., London, 1974.
• Practical Manual of Harmony (original title: Prakticheskii uchebnik garmonii). First published in Russian in 1885. First English edition published by Carl Fischer in 1930, translated from the 12th Russian edition by Joseph Achron. Current English edition by Nicholas Hopkins, New York, New York: C. Fischer, 2005.
• Principles of Orchestration (original title: Osnovy orkestravki). Started in 1873 and completed after Rimsky-Korsakov’s death by Maximilian Steinberg in 1912. First published in Russian in 1922, edited by Steinberg. English translation by Edward Agate; New York: Dover Publications, 1964 ("unabridged and corrected republication of the work first published by Edition russe de musique in 1922").