Born into a military family, he took piano lessons as a child but became a naval officer and began composing his first opera while still in service. He collected and arranged Russian folk songs and immersed himself in the opera scores of Glinka .He taught at the St.Petersburg Conservatory.

His opera’s include; "Sadko" 1895, "Scheherazade" 1880’s, "The Tsar’s Bride", "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" and "Le Coq d’Or" (1906-07). He created works in all genres from chamber music and songs to concertos and tone poems. The subject matter of his opera’s varied in subject matter and combined folk style with fantastical harmonies Russian history , peasant life and fairytale.