Vasily Sergeyevich Kalinnikov (1866-1901) was on his way of becoming among the bigger forces in late Russian Romantic music. However, obstacles stood in his way during his life. He grew up impoverished, and although he wanted to enroll as a student at the Moscow Conservatory of Music, he could not afford it. Pyotr Tchaikovsky, who sympathized with Kalinnikov, recommended him for a conducting position at the Opera Theater in Moscow. Kalinnikov was able to achieve an education and thereafter, began to compose in earnest, completing two symphonies, incidental music to the play "Tsar Boris", miscellaneous orchestral scores such as a Suite, overtures, and intermezzi, as well as works for piano, chamber, and voice. However, Kalinnikov fell sickened by tuberculosis and retired in Crimea. He never recovered and passed on just two days before his 35th birthday. By the time of his death, Kalinnikov was largely forgotten and his scores, for the most part, remained unpublished. That problem was resolved eventually by Pyotr Jurgensen, thanks to Sergei Rachmaninovs tireless yet selfless crusade.