Modest Mussorgsky  

Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (21 March 1839 - 28 March 1881), one of Russia's prominent composers known as The Five, was a pioneer in shaping Russian music during the romantic era. He aimed to establish his own unique musical identity by challenging Western music conventions. His works were often inspired by Russian history, folklore, and other nationalist themes, such as the opera Boris Godunov, Night on Bald Mountain's orchestral tone poem, and Pictures at an Exhibition's piano suite.