Mussorgsky, Modest Petrovich

Russian composer. He was a member of the group of five composers (‘The Five’). His opera masterpiece Boris Godunov (1869, revised 1871–72), touched a political nerve and employed realistic transcriptions of speech patterns. Many of his works, including Pictures at an Exhibition (1874) for piano, were ‘revised’ and orchestrated by others, including Rimsky-Korsakov, Ravel, and Shostakovich, and some have only recently been restored to their original harsh beauty.

Mussorgsky, born in Karevo (Pskov, Russia), resigned his commission in the army in 1858 to concentrate on music while working as a government clerk. He was influenced by both folk music and literature. Among his other works are the incomplete operas Khovanshchina and Sorochintsy Fair, the orchestral Night on the Bare Mountain (1867), and many songs. He died in poverty, from alcoholism.