Donald Macleod surveys the life and music of Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

This week, Donald Macleod traverses the dramatic and vivid musical landscapes of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: a vital, fascinating, and perhaps under-appreciated figure in the evolution of the canon of western art music. His life alone was extraordinary: beginning as a cadet in the Tsar’s navy, it ended soon after the tumult of the 1905 revolution; the prospect of far greater upheaval, national and international, looming.

Music Featured:

Flight of the BumblebeeThe Tsar of Sultan Suite, Op 57 (3rd mvt, The Three Wonders)Symphony No 1, Op 1Capriccio Espangnol, Op 34 (excerpts)The Maid of Pskov: OvertureMussorgsky arr. Rimsky-Korsakov: Night on the Bare MountainLegend of Sadko, Op 5QuintetScheherazade, Op 35 (excerpt)The Golden Cloud Slept, Op 3, No 3Trombone Concerto in B flat majorSymphony No 3, Op 32 (3rd & 4th mvts)The Tatar Captivity, Op 18, No 2The Octave, Op 45, No 3Mussorgsky arr. Rimsky-Korsakov: Gopak from Sorochintsi FairRussian Easter Festival Overture, Op 36String Quartet in F major, Op 12 (3rd mvt)Mlada SuiteThe Snow Maiden: Prologue; Dance of the birdsAgainst the Cruel Crag from SadkoThe Invisible City of Kitzeh Suite (A Hymn to Nature)The Golden Cockerel SuiteFour Songs, Op 2 (No 2, The Nightingale and the Rose)

Presented by Donald MacleodProduced by Lyndon Jones for BBC Audio Wales and West

For full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001z5dz

And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z