Rimsky-Korsakov - Russian Easter Overture

This composition was based on Russian Orthodox liturgical themes found by Rimsky-Korsakov in an old book. His idea was to highlight the pagan origins of the Easter Festival and how the more modern Orthodox festival and tradition had its roots in the old pagan ways. Rimsky-Korsakov was a non believer but he seems to have had an interest in the music of the church.Rimsky-Korsakov wrote his own program notes for the work, as written in his autobiography:

"This legendary and heathen side of the holiday, this transition from the gloomy and mysterious evening of Passion Saturday to the unbridled pagan-religious merry-making of Easter Sunday, is what I was eager to reproduce in my overture. . . . The rather lengthy slow introduction . . . on the theme “Let God arise” [woodwinds], alternating with the ecclesiastical melody “An angel cried out” [solo cello], appeared to me, in the beginning, as it were, the ancient prophecy of Isaiah of the Resurrection of Christ. The gloomy colors of the Andante lugubre seemed to depict the Holy Sepulchre that had shone with ineffable light at the moment of the Resurrection—in the transition to the Allegro of the overture. The beginning of the Allegro —the theme “Let them also that hate Him flee before Him”—led to the holiday mood of the Greek Orthodox service on Christ's matins; the solemn trumpet voice of the Archangel was replaced by a tonal reproduction of the joyous, almost dancelike tolling of bells, alternating now with the sexton's rapid reading and now with the conventional chant of the priest's reading the glad tidings of the Evangel. The Obikhod theme, “Christ is arisen,” which forms a sort of subsidiary part of the overture, appears amid the trumpet blasts and the bell-tolling, constituting a triumphant coda."

The work was composed in 1887-1888 and the premiere was lead by the composer late in 1888. It was one of his last works for orchestra as he devoted his time almost exclusively to writing opera. The work is full of orchestral color and shows Rimsky-Korsakov a master of the orchestra.  It opens with the very different time signature of 5/2, and in the last section of the work time signatures of 3/1 and 2/1 are used.

Rimsky -Korsakov - Capriccio Espagnol

Rimsky-Korsakov composed three brilliantly orchestrated works in 1887-1888; Scheherazade, Russian Easter Festival Overture and the first piece composed, Capriccio Espagnol. The orchestration is colorful and bold, with numerous opportunities for the first-chair players for solos, and the Spanish tunes used are memorable.  

The work is in one continuous movement but consists of 5 different sections:

Albarado - A festive dance celebrating the morning sun opens the work.

Theme and variations - The tune is first played by the horns and then is carried to different instruments of the orchestra.
Albarado -  The same tune as in  the first section, but in a different key.
Scene and gypsy song -  This section begins with five solos by different instruments played over drum rolls that lead into a fast dance in triple time.
 Fandango from the Asturias - A fast and energetic dance that leads to a repeat of the Albarado theme which finishes the work.

Rimsky-Korsakov originally was going to compose a virtuoso work for violin and orchestra on Spanish themes but he changed his mind. Evidently he kept some of the solo violin virtuoso passages and gave them to the concertmaster of the orchestra.

At the premiere of the piece in 1887 with Rimsky-Korsakov conducting, the audience demanded that the entire work be repeated after the first hearing. During rehearsals of the work the orchestra members kept interrupting the rehearsals to applaud the composer.  Even so, Rimsky-Korsakov took exception to positive reactions of the piece that reacted to the orchestration of the piece,while seeming to ignore other aspects of the work. He vented his displeasure in his autobiography:

The opinion formed by both critics and the public, that the Capriccio is a magnificently orchestrated piece - is wrong. The Capriccio is a brilliant composition for the orchestra. The change of timbres, the felicitous choice of melodic designs and figuration patterns, exactly suiting each kind of instrument, brief virtuoso cadenzas for instruments solo, the rhythm of the percussion instruments, etc., constitute here the very essence of the composition and not its garb or orchestration. The Spanish themes, of dance character, furnished me with rich material for putting in use multiform orchestral effects. All in all, the Capriccio is undoubtedly a purely external piece, but vividly brilliant for all that. 

It is hard to imagine that Rimsky-Korsakov first had a career in the Russian Navy. He began composing as an untrained amateur and actually was appointed Professor of Practical Composition at the St. Petersburg conservatory despite his lack of even some basic music fundamentals. He managed to stay one step ahead of his students and studied all of these on his own and formed himself into an excellent teacher, master of orchestration, composer and conductor.

Rimsky-Korsakov - Scheherazade

Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov  was an an officer in the Russian Imperial Navy and Inspector Of Naval Bands. He was also a professor of composition, harmony and orchestration at the St. Petersburg Conservatory beginning in 1871.  He composed in many musical forms, but is best known for his operas and symphonic works.

He was a master orchestrator and his composition Scheherazade is a brilliant piece for orchestra. The piece is based on The Book Of A Thousand And One Nights also known as The Arabian Nights.  Rimsky-Koraskov  wrote a short introduction that he intended for use in the score and as a program note for concerts:

"The Sultan Schariar, convinced that all women are false and faithless, vowed to put to death each of his wives after the first nuptial night. But the Sultana Scheharazade saved her life by entertaining her lord with fascinating tales for a thousand and one nights. The Sultan, consumed with curiosity, postponed from day to day the execution of his wife and finally repudiated his bloody vow entirely."

Scheherazade is in four separate sections:

1) The Sea and Sinbad's Ship
2) The Kalendar Prince
3) The Young Prince and Young Princess
4) Festival At Baghdad. The Sea. The Ship Breaks Against A Cliff Surmounted By A Bronze Horseman.

Rimsky-Korsakov was very sparse in his explanation of the movements and the tales depicted. In later editions of the work he did away with even the titles of the movements, expressing his hope that the listener would hear the music as Oriental-themed work that evoked the sense of a fairy tale adventure.

Rimsky-Korsakov - String Sextet In A Major

In 1871, Rimsky-Korsakov was offered the position of professor of composition and orchestration at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory of Music.  He accepted the position although he was still an officer in the Russian Navy and had to teach his classes in uniform. Of more immediate concern was Rimsky-Korsakov's lack of formal musical education. He had already composed works for orchestra that had received glowing reviews, but he composed them by his natural talent and keen ear. He consulted his friend and mentor Pyotr Tchaikovsky who suggested he best get busy studying. Rimsky-Korsakov spoke of these years of study:

I practiced a lot and studied Bach’s oeuvre in particular, appreciating his genius, whereas before when I didn’t know his works well, I was inclined to follow the opinion of Balakirev, who called him a “composition machine”

Rimsky-Korsakov threw himself into a rigid program of self-education and came out of it a master. While he was studying he concentrated on technical exercises and did next to no original composition. After his crash course in theory and counterpoint, he began to compose works for smaller chamber ensembles and in 1876 entered a competition for compositions for chamber ensemble in two categories; works for strings alone and works for piano and one or more instruments. He entered a work in each category; the String Sextet In A Major and the Quintet in B-major for Piano, Flute, Clarinet, Horn and Bassoon.

Neither one of his compositions won a prize, although the String Sextet got an honorable mention. The composer set aside the sextet and it was almost forgotten. It was finally published in 1912 after Rimsky-Korsakov's death, but that addition was lost after the Russian Revolution of 1917.  The sextet was reprinted during the soviet era, but went out of print. The work has since been reprinted and is heard on occasion.

The String Sextet is in 5 movements:

I. Allegro vivace - The first movement begins with a theme theme that is solidly in the home key of A major. This theme is passed along the instruments until the next theme begins. This second theme resembles the first in mood, and the exposition gives a feeling of charm and grace.The development section is short and maintains the mood. Rimsky-Korsakov's study of counterpoint is in evidence periodically as themes are played off against each other. A slight repetitive climax leads to the recapitulation as the main theme returns with a more elaborate accompaniment. The movement ends with a short coda.

II. Rondo fugato. Allegretto grazioso - The composer was rather proud of this movement, a six-voiced fugue, along with other contrapuntal sections.

III. Scherzo. Vivace alla saltarello - A saltarello is a fast Italian dance. This one is just that, fast and somewhat furious. The middle section is in contrast as it is slower and has a theme that is treated contrapuntally.

IV. Andante espressivo - The only slow movement in the sextet begins with a mellow theme for the cello. The music proceeds slowly and the tune is highlighted with complex counter melodies and a rich accompaniment as it moves from the cello to violin.

V. Finale. Allegro molto - The instruments bounce a rondo theme back and forth and in unison. Slight slower episodes give way to the rondo theme, and the movement ends with a short coda.

Mussorgsky - St. John's Eve On The Mountain

Modest Mussorgsky finished his composition St. John's Eve On The Mountain on the very night of the celebration in 1867. St. John's Eve is named for John The Baptist and is linked with ancient pagan rituals, perhaps fertility rituals, that were performed on the day of the summer solstice. The Orthodox kept the date of the ritual but changed its meaning to a religious one by declaring it a day of feasting to honor John The Baptist.

Mussorgsky wrote several versions of the work. He originally had an idea for an opera based on a story written by Gogol titled St. John's Eve.  that involved witchcraft. He later considered writing a different opera based on a play by his friend Baron Georgiy Mengden titled The Witch. Mussorgsky wrote of his idea for the opera in a letter to his mentor Balakirev:

I have also received some highly interesting work which needs to be prepared for the coming summer. This work is: a whole act on The Bald Mountain (from Mengden's drama The Witch), a witches' sabbath, separate episodes of sorcerers, a ceremonial march of all this rubbish, a finale—glory to the sabbath... The libretto is very good. There are already some materials, perhaps a very good thing will come of it.

There is no existing music for either planned opera.  Mussorgsky then decided to write a tone poem for orchestra that incorporated the ideas from both planned operas. In turn, the written works that inspired the tone poem were themselves based on folk legends, of which Mussorgsky writes about in a letter to Vladimir Nikolsky, a professor of Russian history and language:

So far as my memory doesn't deceive me, the witches used to gather on this mountain, ... gossip, play tricks and await their chief—Satan. On his arrival they, i.e. the witches, formed a circle round the throne on which he sat, in the form of a kid, and sang his praise. When Satan was worked up into a sufficient passion by the witches' praises, he gave the command for the sabbath, in which he chose for himself the witches who caught his fancy. So this is what I've done. At the head of my score I've put its content: 1. Assembly of the witches, their talk and gossip; 2. Satan's journey; 3. Obscene praises of Satan; and 4. Sabbath ... The form and character of the composition are Russian and original ... I wrote St. John's Eve quickly, straight away in full score, I wrote it in about twelve days, glory to God ... While at work on St. John's Eve I didn't sleep at night and actually finished the work on the eve of St. John's Day, it seethed within me so, and I simply didn't know what was happening within me ... I see in my wicked prank an independent Russian product, free from German profundity and routine, and, like Savishna, grown on our native fields and nurtured on Russian bread.

Mussorgsky sent the finished score to Balakirev and was mortified when his mentor severely criticized the work, and refused to perform it. Mussorgsky continued ot revamp the music, first in the opera Mlada, another planned work that was never written, and yet again in another opera The Fair At Sorochyntsi, a work that was still not finished when Mussorgsky died in 1881. The original score  had to wait for its first performance until the 20th century after the manuscript was found in the Leningrad Conservatory in the 1920's. After a handful of performances the work languished further until the 1960's when it began to be played occasionally.

Rimsky-Korsakov

Rimsky-Korsakov revised the work a few years after Mussorgsky's death and published it as A Night On Bare Mountain.  Rimsky-Korsakov's work is not so much a revision of Mussorgsky's as it is an original composition based on the original. Rimsky-Korsakov made performing editions of Mussorgsky's unfinished works and for many years Rimsky-Korsakov's versions were all that were available. The original versions of Mussorgsky's works started to come to light when Stokowski performed the original version of the opera Boris Godonov in 1929 instead of the Rimsky-Korsakov edition.  Stokowski also made a version of Rimsky-Korsakov's work for the Walt Disney movie Fantasia in 1940.

Mussorgsky's original tone poem compared to Rimsky-Korsakov's work is more fragmented and can sound rather crude. But the music fits the subject matter, as Mussorgsy makes up for his lack of compositional technique with brilliant orchestral colors and powerful effects.  Below is a video of Mussorgsky's original, along with a video of Rimsky-Korsakov's version for comparison.

Rimsky-Korsakov - Overture On Three Russian Themes

The nationalistic movement in Russian music began with Mikhail Glinka in the early 19th century and after his death in 1857 Mily Balakirev became the leader of the movement. Balakirev was a member of, and a main influence on, the other four composers of  a group known as The Five; Borodin, Mussorgsky, Cui, and Rimsky-Korsakov. But his influence was also felt by Tchaikovsky, and other Russian composers.

Rimsky-Korsakov was in training to be an officer in the Russian Navy, and when not at sea Balakirev taught him the rudiments of composition and encouraged him to compose.  While Rimsky-Korsakov was on two-year duty at sea he wrote to Balakirev expressing his loss of interest in music, but when he was stationed ashore, Balakirev inspired and pushed him to compose in earnest and gave him ideas for many projects. One of these was the Overture On Three Russian Themes, inspired by Balakirev's Overture On Three Russian Folk Themes.  Balakirev conducted the first version of the work in 1866, but Rimsky-Korsakov revised the work in 1880 and this is the version that is usually performed today. 

Mily Balakirev

The work begins with a slow introduction that introduces the first of the themes known in Russia by the name of 'Slava'. This theme was previously used by Beethoven in the scherzo of his 8th String Quartet Opus 59, No. 2 (the second of the set of three quartets known as the Rasmouvsky quartets). Mussorgsky also used the theme in the Coronation Scene of his opera Boris Godunov.  This theme is expanded and developed until the appearance of the next theme known in Russia as 'At The Gates', a theme previously used by Tchaikovsky in his 1812 Overture.  This second theme is at a faster pace and is played a few times with minor variations. The third theme begins directly after the second and is known as 'Ivan Is Wearing A Big Coat'. For the rest of the piece the themes weave in and out in slightly different guises, but always recognizable. At the very end of the piece the opening 'Slava' theme makes a last appearance in a hushed beginning that expands to a treatment from the full orchestra punctuated by the brass. The pace quickens as snippets of the 'Slava' theme are heard, and the overture ends. 

Rimsky-Korsakov - Piano Concerto In C-sharp Minor

Nicolai Rimsky - Korsakov  was a master of orchestration and was recognized as such early in his career. Despite his lack of formal education in music theory and harmony, he was appointed professor of Composition and Orchestration at the St. Petersburg Conservatory of Music in 1871.   To prepare himself and stay one step ahead of his pupils he ceased to compose for three years, studied textbooks at home and followed a strict regimen of writing exercises in counterpoint and fugue. Rimsky-Koraskov wrote that while teaching he became "possibly the best pupil of the conservatory judging by the quality of the information it gave me!"

He wrote his only piano concerto in 1883-1884 at the urging of Balakirev.  Despite not being a pianist, Rimsky-Korsakov wrote:

 It must be said that it sounded beautiful and proved entirely satisfactory in the sense of piano technique and style; this greatly astonished Balakirev, who found my concerto to his liking. He had by no means expected that I ... should know how to compose anything entirely pianistic.

The piece is much better known in Russia and influenced other composers such as Rachmaninoff.  Rimsky-Korsakov used the concertos of Franz Liszt as his model  and acknowledged this by dedicating the work to Liszt. The concerto is very short, only about 15 minutes in duration, and is in three contrasting sections played without pause:

Moderato - Allegretto quasi polacca -  An introduction starts off the concerto that introduces the Russian folksong that the composer used in the work. It is the only theme of the concerto and Rimsky-Korsakov uses the Lisztian technique of thematic metamorphosis on it throughout, which makes the concerto a type of theme and variation movement. This introduction is followed by a polonaise treatment given to the theme. The next section is marked:
Andante mosso -  The accompaniment played by the piano is based on the first part of the folksong while the treble is based on the second part. The solo part gets more complex and erupts directly into the final section:
Allegro - The theme continues its metamorphosis as the piano part grows more brilliant with bravura passages. The concerto ends with a final flourish.