Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844–1908) was born in Tikhvin, Russia, to aristocratic parents. Despite showing early signs of musical ability, he followed family tradition and entered service in the Russian Imperial Navy where he stayed until resigning his commission in 1873. Even then, he remained as inspector of naval bands, a job which he later acknowledged to have been of great benefit in learning to compose for wind instruments.

His conversion to full-time musician began with a chance meeting with the fiery nationalist Balakirev, who continued to pressure him to make a break with his naval career and he accepted a post as professor of composition and instrumentation at the St. Petersburg conservatoire whilst still a commissioned naval officer. Although almost entirely self-taught, he became the most prolific and professional of the group of Russian nationalist composers known as “the Five” (all of whom also had non-musical careers) and his influence extended to a long line of brilliant pupils, culminating in Igor Stravinsky.

Rimsky-Korsakov’s music is characterised in particular by his brilliant use of orchestral colours, a skill he was particularly proud of. Indeed, he became somewhat notorious for publishing a textbook on orchestration in which all the musical examples were taken from his own works!

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