Description
The extraordinary group of Russian composers who came together in St Petersburg in the 1860s - long known as 'The Mighty Handful', but, as the moguchaya kuchka, better translated as 'the great little heap' - gave rise to one of the most fascinating and colourful stories in all musical history.
Stephen Walsh, author of a major biography of their direct successor, Stravinsky, has written an absorbing account of Musorgsky and his circle - Borodin, Cui, Balakirev and Rimsky-Korsakov. With little or no musical education they created works of lasting significance - Musorgsky's Boris Godunov, Borodin's Prince Igor and Rimsky-Korsakov's Sheherazade. Written with deep understanding and panache, The Kuchka, is highly engaging and a significant contribution to cultural history.
Musorgsky and His Circle: A Russian Musical Adventure, by Stephen Walsh, is an accessible and thought-provoking biography of Modest Musorgsky (or 'Mussorgsky'), creators of some of the best-known and most admired Russian music of the nineteenth century.
About the Author
Stephen Walsh is a Professor of Music at Cardiff University, and the author of several books on music. The first volume of his major biography of Stravinsky - Stravinsky: A Creative Spring - won the Royal Philharmonic Society prize in 2000. Volume Two - Stravinsky: The Second Exile - was chosen by the Washington Post as one of the ten best books of 2006. He was deputy music critic of The Observer from 1966 to 1985. He now reviews for theartsdesk.com website and broadcasts regularly for BBC Radio 3.
Book Information
ISBN 9780571245628
Author Professor Stephen Walsh
Format Hardback
Page Count 496
Imprint Faber & Faber
Publisher Faber & Faber
Weight(grams) 791g
Dimensions(mm) 240mm * 161mm * 40mm
