Niolay Rimsky-Korsakov

Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov is said to have shaped classical music regarding Russian style.  Basically, if you were to think of classical music from Russia, chances are you will think of Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov.    He strived to create a sound with a nationalistic quality, in order to provide a nationalistic tone he used Russian Folklore.   The most characteristic feature of his works are involved with fairy tales, folk fantasy, and the poetry of the Russian countryside.  With his music he would create a picture of the people living on the countryside.   He used authentic folk themes in his works and incorporated folk-songs in his own melodies.  He is exalted in his ability to expand and enrich the color possibilities of harmony and instrumentation.  His harmonies and orchestral timbre were distinguished by color, brilliance, and a wealth of nuances.  One of his very familiar works is “Flight of the bumblebee”.  If you look this song up you will pick up on the nuances of the bumblebee and it buzzing around your head. He does a fantastic job of painting a vivid picture about his intended scene through his orchestra.  Korsakov worked mainly in opera’s and one was Sadko (1896), in which he created a contrast between epic scenes of Novgorod life and fantastic underwater scenes, interestingly though Korsakov mainly worked in opera he used the orchestra as part of the voice and wrote specific solos for the orchestra to portray a scene. I obtained all of my information from these cites listed below.

http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Rimsky-Korsakov,+Nikolai+Andreevich

http://www.atlantasymphony.org/About/Artists/Composers/Rimsky-Korsakov.aspx