èßäAV

Born in Karevo, Russia in 1839, Modest Musorgsky is considered one of the most original and influential of the 19th-century Russian nationalist composers.

His mother gave him piano lessons. At age nine, he played a piano concerto by John Field before an audience in his parents’ house. At age 13, he was enrolled in a military academy in St. Petersburg and entered the Russian army in 1856. During this time, he sustained his interest in music even though he had not yet studied harmony or composition.

In 1857, he joined a circle of Russian nationalist composers from whom he received instruction in composition. In 1858, he resigned from military service to devote himself to music. He began working for the government in 1863 but was dismissed from his post in 1867 because of his heavy drinking.

After his dismissal, he spent some time composing. The resulting works include Saint John’s Night on the Bare Mountain, also known as Night on Bald Mountain. In 1869, Musorgsky was reinstalled in his government job and was able to complete the original version of the opera Boris Godunov, which was first produced after considerable changes in 1874.

Other works during this time include the song cycles The Nursery (1872) and Songs and Dances of Death (1877), and the piano suite Pictures from an Exhibition (1874).

When he died at age 42 from an alcohol-related stroke, many of Musorgsky’s works were unfinished. Some were completed by fellow composers. Among them are the operas Khovanshchina, completed by Rimsky-Korsakov, and The Fair at Sorochinsk, by César Cui.

Kennedy Center Education Digital Learning

Eric Friedman 
Director, Digital Learning

Kenny Neal 
Manager, Digital Education Resources

Tiffany A. Bryant 
Manager, Operations and Audience Engagement

JoDee Scissors 
Content Specialist, Digital Learning

Connect with us!

Generous support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by the U.S. Department of Education.

Gifts and grants to educational programs at the Kennedy Center are provided by The Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; Bank of America; Capital One; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; Carnegie Corporation of New York; The Ednah Root Foundation; Harman Family Foundation; William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust; the Kimsey Endowment; The Kiplinger Foundation; Laird Norton Family Foundation; Lois and Richard England Family Foundation; Dr. Gary Mather and Ms. Christina Co Mather; The Markow Totevy Foundation; Dr. Gerald and Paula McNichols Foundation; The Morningstar Foundation; Myra and Leura Younker Endowment Fund; The Irene Pollin Audience Development and Community Engagement Initiatives;

Prince Charitable Trusts; Dr. Deborah Rose and Dr. Jan A. J. Stolwijk; Rosemary Kennedy Education Fund; The Embassy of the United Arab Emirates; The Victory Foundation; The Volgenau Foundation; Volkswagen Group of America; Jackie Washington; GRoW @ Annenberg and Gregory Annenberg Weingarten and Family; Wells Fargo; and generous contributors to the Abe Fortas Memorial Fund and by a major gift to the fund from the late Carolyn E. Agger, widow of Abe Fortas. Additional support is provided by the National Committee for the Performing Arts..

The content of these programs may have been developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education but does not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education. You should not assume endorsement by the federal government.