Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov short biography

A great Russian composer, orchestrator and teacher, Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov was a member the Group of Five, an organization of Russian nationalist composers. Before becoming a professional musician, Rimsky-Korsakov had a prominent career as a naval officer. Regarded as one of the greatest orchestrators of all time, Rimsky-Korsakov completed many unfinished compositions of his Russian fellow composers, including Borodin's Prince Igor and many works by Mussorgsky and Balakirev. Rimsky-Korsakov was one of the most outstanding teachers; his students included Stravinsky and Respighi. Ravel is known to study orchestration from Rimsky-Korsakov’s book.