Boris Godunov is the most famous Russian opera of all time and gave its creator, Modest Mussorgsky, a permanent place in Russian history. The opera is fundamentally Russian as it uses variations of Russian folk music, a strong appearance of horns and plays on the country's famous historical context. The political themes of the opera come full circle as they relate directly to the political state of Russia during Mussorgsky's lifetime. The opera's emotional conflicts dealing with guilt, love, lust, greed, and the struggle for power are what make this opera universally accessible. That is why the opera is not only one of the most important pieces of Russian composition, but also one of the most famous pieces in the world. The young Modest Mussorgsky was born in 1839 in Russia. His mother was a virtuoso pianist and gave Modest piano lessons from a young age. At the age of seven, he already showed great promise and could play some of Franz Liszt's pieces. In 1849, when he was only ten years old, his father took Modeste to Saint Petersburg to the Pierre-Paul school with a view to a military career. His father also took Modest's musical passions into consideration, his father entrusted Modest to Anton Gerke, who would later be a music professor at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. In 1852, Mussorgsky entered the Guard Cadet School. It was at the Guard Cadet School that Mussorgsky composed his first piece, Podpraporshchik. During his years in the military, he met and learned from many of the men who would later become members of the Five. Beginning in 1856, Mussorgsky began traveling to St. Petersburg to meet the Five, which consisted of himself and four other Russian composers. Their goal was to create music that...... middle of paper......and works. Fair Lawn, NJ: Essential Books, 1956.2012 https://archive.org/details/modestmussorgsky00calv "Category: Mussorgsky, Modest." - IMSLP/Petrucci music library: free public domain scores. http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Mussorgsky,_Modest (accessed May 6, 2014). Encyclopædia Britannica Online, sv “Modest Mussorgsky”, accessed May 6, 2014, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/399528/Modest-Mussorgsky.Littell, E. . The age of life. . Reprint,: Living Age Company, Incorporated, 1853.NPR. “Boris Godunov by Mussorgsky.” NPR. http://www.npr.org/2007/07/06/11752910/mussorgskys-boris-godunov (accessed May 6, 2014). Richard Taruskin. “Boris Godunov.” The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed May 6, 2014, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/O006575.