Modest Mussorgsky (1835 - 1881)

                            Modest Mussorgsky Biography         List of Mussorgsky's Compositions         

                Many of his works were inspired by Russian history, Russian folklore, and other national 

        themes.  Several of his works are masterpieces of the Russian romantic style, especially the 

        opera Boris Godunov, the orchestral tone poem Night on Bald Mountain and the piano suite 

         Pictures at an Exhibition.

               Mussorgsky was civil servant.  The tragic figure amoung The Five, he died of alcoholism 

         at age 42 leaving a very large number of uncompleted works.    



  Compositions:

        A Night on Bald Mountain  (1867)  Symphonic Poem


        Boris Godunov   (1868 - 1873)  Opera

               is an opera by Modest Mussorgsky (1839–1881). The work was composed between 1868 and 1873 

               in Saint Petersburg, Russia.  It is Mussorgsky's only completed opera and is considered his masterpiece.  

               Its subjects are the Russian ruler Boris Godunov, who reigned as Tsar (1598 to 1605) during the Time 

               of Troubles, and his nemesis, the False Dmitriy (reigned 1605 to 1606).  The Russian-language libretto 

               was written by the composer, and is based on the 1825 drama Boris Godunov by Aleksandr Pushkin.


        Pictures at an Exhibition  (1874)  Piano Suite