Mily Balakirev Alexander Borodin
The Russian Five is composed of a special group of Russian composers namely Balakirev, Borodin, Cui, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov, sometimes known as “The Mighty Five” or “The Five.” In the latter part of the nineteenth century they developed a musical style based on the melodies, rhythms, and harmonies of Russian folk music. Mily Balakirev (1837-1910) was the leader and the only thoroughly trained musician of the group. Arriving in St. Petersburg from the provinces, where he had come to know Russian folk music intimately, Balakirev at the age of eighteen set about to preach the nationalist ideals that were inspiring Michael Glinka (1804-57) and Alexander Dargomyzhsky (1813-69) to compose operas based on Russian subject matter.
Russian musical life had been dominated until the middle of the nineteenth century by western European composers and native composers trained in the western European style. Balakirev, fired with tremendous energy and an almost fanatical zeal, attracted the four other talented young men and influenced them with his own enthusiasm.
Cesar Cui
Alexander Borodin (1833-87) was one of the leading chemists of his day. Cesar Cui (1835-1918), trained as a military engineer, became a professor at the Russian Artillery School and Military College. Modest Mussorgsky (1839-81) was a cavalryman and civil-service employee. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) was a naval officer until, in his late twenties, he chose music as his career.
Modest Mussorgsky
“The Five” met regularly, performing and discussing both the musical classics and the new music of the Romantic composers. They also brought in their compositions—whatever they happened to be writing—for criticism, suggestions, and encouragement. Basing their works on Russian folk songs and exotic Asian melodic ideas, “The Five” were forced to invent a harmonic style that fitted the modal patterns of the melodies; a type of orchestration colorful enough to portray the vivid scenes they had in mind; and musical forms in which the song-phrase, rather than the motive, was the basic building block.
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| Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov |
Somewhat narrow in their outlook, “The Five” sneered at the less nationalistic compositions of Anton Rubinstein and Tchaikovsky. These men were great enough to ignore the sneers of “The Five” and even to encourage performances of their music.
Once having established the principles of what they felt to be truly Russian music, the members of “The Five” quickly asserted their individualities. Balakirev concentrated on
