What is Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov?
[[File:Walentin Alexandrowitsch Serow 004.jpg|250px|thumb|Portrait of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov by Valentin Serov, 1898]] '''Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov''',<ref>[[Russian language|Russian]]:'''Николай Андреевич Римский-Корсаков''', sometimes spelt ''Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakoff''</ref> (18 March 1844, Tikhvin – 21 June 1908) was a [[Russia]]n composer. He was one of the most famous composers of his time and [[influence]]d a lot of other composers. Like so many Russian composers in the 19th century, he was an [[amateur]] composer. His main job was in the [[navy]]. Rimsky-Korsakov was born near [[Novgorod]], 18 March 1844, and died in Lybensk, near [[St Petersburg]], 21 June 1908. He is best known for his [[opera]]s, [[orchestra|orchestral music]] and [[song]]s. He was brilliant at writing music for [[orchestra]]s and wrote an excellent book about [[orchestration]]. He loved to write music about [[fairy-tale]] stories and [[legend]]s. His best-known work is ''Scheherazade'', an orchestral piece which describes in music the stories told by [[Scheherazade]] in the book of ''[[One Thousand and One Nights]]''. He also completed or [[orchestration|re-orchestrated]] several works by [[Modest Mussorgsky]] which had been left unfinished. ==Life== ===Early years=== Rimsky-Korsakov was born in 1844. Several people from his family had careers in the Russian army and navy. Both his grandmothers, however, were simple people who had lived in the country. When he was young he showed a great interest in music. He sang every tune he heard and knew, without looking, the names of the [[note (music)|notes]] that he heard being played on the piano. When he was six he started piano lessons. The [[opera]] ''[[Life for the Tsar]]'' by [[Mikhael Glinka|Glinka]] made a big impression on him. However, he wanted to join the navy, so in 1862 he entered the College of Naval Cadets, where his brother (who was 22 years older) was the [[Board of directors|director]]. He continued to learn the piano while he was at Cadet school. He was