Talk:Modest Mussorgsky

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[edit] Intro revisions

  • Cleanup of name and dates to conform with other wiki bios (e.g. strike verbose "also spelled...")
  • Refer to "The Mighty Handful" and their "mission" since (1) Intro long claimed him an "innovator" without hinting why, (2) Readers, presumably here to broaden their horizons, should have an immediate reference to his contemporaries, and (3) gravitas
  • Added reference to folklore influence
  • The previous notion that only his works with lyrics ("songs and operas") had historical or nationalistic bases is false
  • Strengthened tone as a nationalist and in general. He's one of the most important figures in Russian music and of significant importance in the whole of musical history.

I'm not sure what to make of or do with that "For many years..." text. I don't think it quite fit the flow of the old text either.

These are fairly significant revisions to what I viewed as a stale introduction. I'm particularly interested in feedback from previous editors. CleffedUp 12:44, 2 April 2006 (UTC)

Can you add pronunciation for both the first name and the last name. Is Modest pronounced with a long o or a short o?

[edit] Portrait

Should we rather use the full portrait in this article? [1]? --Irpen 06:41, 5 November 2005 (UTC)

Good question. I like the detail (current version) as it highlights his face. --Viriditas | Talk 11:16, 5 November 2005 (UTC)
It is not fair to put a portrait of ill composer (painted in the hospital a few days before his death), even if created by a great master, to the beginning of the article. There are a lot of pictures of real Mussorgsky showing him in various periods of his life. It would be better to find another portrait or photo, and move this one to the middle or end of the article. --Yms 18:51, 10 June 2006 (UTC)
Took a cue from Yms. Added portrait of composer in his prime. Moved the invaluable (but not necessarily representative) portrait by Repin to the corresponding biographical section of the article. Hope this meets with collective approval. Ivan Velikii 22:18, 8 July 2006 (UTC)
I think that is an *excellent* decision. I hope people will stick with it. Pfistermeister
I am disappointed the decision was made to revert the main graphic for this article to the Repin portrait. Yes, as Yms pointed out, it is a great portrait by a master. It is colorful, and is used by many other reference works. But is that the way to introduce people to the great composer? Although M's alcoholic addiction is an unavoidable and necessary topic in his biography and the history of his musical output, remembering him primarily as a dishevelled drunk is unfair and overshadows his years of productivity and contributions to music and art. Please reconsider. Ivan Velikii 17:10, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Defacing / vandalizing

There has been recent vandalizing of this page. Please keep an eye on this article. Itzcuauhtli 18:48, 27 October 2006 (UTC)


[edit] Lock the article please

Some morons are vandalizing this article. Please look out for their IP addresses and give sanctions to these guys. thanks. 61.9.74.19 20:55, 2 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Infobox

Модест Петрович Мусоргский
Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky

Background information
Birth name Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky
Born March 9/21, 1839, Karevo, Russia
Died March 16/28, 1881, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Occupation(s) Composer
Civil Servant
Notable instrument(s)
Piano

In view of the strong developing consensus against using popular music style infoboxes for articles about composers, I am moving the infobox here for discussion, comments etc., while retaining the photo on the article page. --Kleinzach 00:53, 21 April 2007 (UTC)

Is there centralized discussion on the topic? Or an attempt to make a composers infobox? Not critical at all, just curious... --JayHenry 01:00, 21 April 2007 (UTC)
See discussion on the Composers Project Infoboxes_for_composers. --Kleinzach 01:36, 21 April 2007 (UTC)
Hmm... thanks for the link. An interesting debate. The problems being raised about infoboxes are not particular to just composers but really any historical figures. The dual birthdates on this infobox (or even the "Occupation:Civil Servant") are both annyoing enough to warrant removal IMO. Thanks! --JayHenry 02:07, 21 April 2007 (UTC)
Not useful. The article content is very decent and quite sufficient. Die boxen. Moreschi Talk 16:42, 27 April 2007 (UTC)
Was anyone else tempted to add "alcoholic" to the box's list of Mussorgsky's occupations? After all, an encyclopaedia's chief concern should be accuracy ; --Folantin 09:11, 28 April 2007 (UTC)
1) Infoboxes are good in general. However, using popular music boxes is ridiculous. Why are the classical music editors not leading on this issue, rather than following? 2) What, may I ask (JayHenry), is so annoying about dual dates and Musorgsky's occupation? 3) And surely, Folantin, you are being facetious, aren't you? Ivan Velikii 05:51, 23 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Why?

Why the double "s" in his name? In Russian there's only one "c(=s in English)"

It looks like the most common transliteration is an older one. Until recently, when they changed names from Russian to English it was a pretty informal system. My best guess is that Mussorgsky was used so people would pronounce the 's' sound correctly. If there had been only one 's' many English speakers would likely have pronounced his name "Muzorgsky." The extra 's' is for emphasis. It's probably similar to how Смирновъ in English becomes Smirnoff with two f's. --JayHenry 20:22, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Antisemitism?

There were rumors about Mussorgsky being an antisemite. Yet, Considering his "jewish song", "Samuel Golndenberg" and such, it seems that he was quite interested in jewish music. Moreover, I think his friend, Hartmann, was jewish. Are there evidences of any kind? 132.66.234.222 19:19, 11 July 2007 (UTC)