One of the greatest composers (in my book) was Nicolay Rimsky-Korsakov, and he came from a fine and liberal-minded family, according to the book I just finished: “Even at the time that serfdom was in existence, the Rimskys had only hired servants in their house.  When his father was offered three hundred souls (i.e., serfs) as a reward for one of his services to the government he declined, saying that he did not know how to take care of even one soul – his own.”   — from The Mighty Five, by Victor Seroff.  The book is an excellent portrayal of the five great 19th Century Russian composers, who formed a close-knit group and collaborated on many of their most famous works.