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Russian composer renowned for innovative nationalism in 19th-century classical musicBorn into Russian nobility, Mussorgsky initially pursued military service before dedicating himself to music. A self-taught composer and member of 'The Five,' he created groundbreaking works like the opera Boris Godunov and piano suite Pictures at an Exhibition. Despite his aristocratic background, he died impoverished at 42 due to alcoholism.

• Mussorgsky struggled with severe alcoholism throughout his adult life, leading to erratic behavior, dismissal from civil service positions, and ultimately his death from delirium tremens.
• Many masterpieces, including Khovanshchina and Sorochintsï Fair, remained unfinished at his death and were completed by Rimsky-Korsakov and others – sparking debates about editorial interference.
• His final years were spent in extreme poverty, forcing him to sell belongings and depend on friends; he died at a military hospital days after a portrait session with Ilya Repin.
• Mussorgsky's bold harmonic experiments and rejection of Western conventions were initially criticized but later recognized as visionary, influencing Debussy and Stravinsky.
• His 1860s artistic crisis led to the destruction of manuscripts and temporary withdrawal from composition, coinciding with the abolition of serfdom that eroded his family's wealth.