Rimsky-Korsakov. A short biography

by Gerald Abraham

Genres: Music

142 pages, Hardcover

Reviews

[David Dunlap]

This is, as the subtitle suggests, a bare-bones biography of the Russian composer (1844-1908). Details that might help the reader gain a greater idea of what Rimsky-Korsakov was like are almost entirely lacking: we find that his students loved him, he was a bit shy and retiring, smoked too much, and was (in his own memoirs) rather harsh in his assessments of his first mentor, Mily Balakirev. The list of compositions at the end of the book is helpful. A good overview, then, but not mandatory reading or, truth be told, very compelling reading, either.

[Eliana]

I'm extremely grateful to have been able to find this in my university's library. There seems to be never enough research on Rimsky-Korsakov, especially in English. Despite it's short length, this fairly quick read gave me both an overview of Rimsky-Korsakov and I enjoyed Abraham's perspective of the composer shining best in his operas rather than orchestral works.