In 1857, Cui was introduced to a young 17 year old named Modest Mussorgsky. Mussorgsky had just graduated from the Preobrazhensky Guards.  Mussorgsky was then introduced to Balakirev, who was more than happy to meet the young man who had a tremendous talent on the Piano. (Suzanne Massie, 340)   Even thought Mussorgsky had no formal training on the piano Balakirev enjoyed playing four-handed arrangements with the young man, and ended up becoming Mussorgsky’s piano teacher. (Suzanne Massie,  340)
 
    Mussorgsky was born in 1839 in Karevo in Pskov.  His mother taught him piano, his first performance in front of an audience was when he was nine. In 1852 he entered the Guard’s Cadet school which was located in St. Petersburg. After his graduation from the Preobrazshensky Guards Mussorgsky became a military officer.  However, Mussorgsky had a number of health issues during his lifetime, and in 1858 he had a nervous crisis and was forced to resign his army commission. He decided to attempt to devote himself completely to composing music. “Mussorgsky’s friends joked about his ambition to become a composer. They found his piano playing quite brilliant, but they underrated his musical intelligence. Stasov wrote that ‘he seems like a perfect idiot.’ Balakirev acidly agreed: ‘Mussorgsky is practically an idiot’.” (Suzanne Massie, 347) The only one of the five who did not agree that Mussorgsky had no talent was Borodin.  Borodin wrote “I was quite astonished … it did not please me at first, though I was greatly impressed by the novelty of it.” (Suzanne Massie, 347)

    When the serfs were emancipated Mussorgsky’s family fortunes fell heavily. He was forced to take a government position in the Ministry of Communication and then later he took a clerkship in the forestry department. Mussorgsky ended up having many careers during his life.  However, most of these were ended early due to his nerves, especially after the death of his mother in 1865. He continued to attempt to compose music and operas. Borodin with his kind hearted spirit continued to be the only positive critic of his music.  Mussorgsky started to drink more and more heavily as he aged, and when his opera Boris flopped, his mental state decayed rapidly. He started increasing the number of all night drinking bouts and soon his friends worried about him. Stasov wrote “’ Mussorgsky is changed completely… his face is swollen and dark in color, his eyes are dull and he spend days on end in a Petersburg restaurant with a cursed bunch of drunkards.’” (Suzanne Massie, 350) In 1880 he started to have alcoholic epileptic fits. Ilya Repin did a final portrait of Mussorgsky. It “Uncompromisingly recorded Mussorgsky’s decline; he is wild-eyed, with scraggly hair and unkempt beard, his face bloated by drink” (Suzanne Massie, 350)  Mussorgsky was one of the greatest songwriters of all time. He wrote over 65 songs in his lifetime, many of which where in his own words.  “In these songs, melodies conform realistically to the natural inflections of the voice and language.” (Suzanne Massie, 350)His friends took him to the Nikolaievsky Military Hospital where he stayed until his death. Mussorgsky ended up dying from alcoholic epilepsy on March 16, 1881. “’Everything is finished, ah! How miserable I am!’” (Suzanne Massie, 350) where his last words.  Mussorgsky is buried at the Alexander Nevsky Monastery in St. Petersburg.

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