Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) came from an aristocratic family which lived near Novgorod. When he appeared to be musically gifted as a child his parents did not hesitate one moment to map out a more honourable profession for him – he wasto make a career in the navy as a marine officer. Rimsky-Korsakov however succeeded in secretly studying the cello next to his studies at the Naval Academy at St Petersburg. Through his cello teacher he came into contact with the composerBalakirev. In this way he suddenly became a member of The Mighty Five (a group of Russian composers consisting of Balakirev Moussorgsky Cui Borodin and Rimsky-Korsakov himself). Rimsky-Korsakov turned out to be so talented that he evenbecame a teacher at the St Petersburg Conservatory.‘Procession of the Nobles’ comes from the opera-ballet ‘Mlada’.The opera has a remarkable history for between 1868 and 1870 five different composers worked on this project. The finalresult was never executed however. Twenty years later Rimsky-Korsakov started work on the opera once more and composed his own version of Mlada.The theme of the opera is a tragic love story that is set in the early Middle Ages in a realm on theBaltic Sea. In ‘Processsion of the Nobles’ all the princesses of the country gather for a grand feast on the occasion of the summer holidays.

from 'Pictures at an Exhibition'-The Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881) was self-educated to a large extent but went on to become one of the 'Mighty Five' which also included Balakirev Cui Borodin and Rimsky-Korsakov. Today he is considered the innovator of Russian music par excellence. He composed Pictures at an Exhibition in 1874 inspired by ten pictures produced by his then recently deceased friend the Russian architect and artist Victor Hartmann. The French composer Maurice Ravel made an orchestration of Mussorgsky's composition in 1922 which is now more well-known and more performed than the original Piano suite. For his transcription of Pictures at an Exhibition TohruTakahashi made use of the original Piano composition by Mussorgsky. The Great Gate of Kiev issued here separately is probably the best known melody from this classical masterpiece.