Mighty Russian Five Formed

In the 1860s a group of five Russian composers came together with the aim of creating a distinctly national style of art music. The circle consisted of Mily Balakirev, who served as its leader and mentor, Cesar Cui, Alexander Borodin, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and Modest Mussorgsky.

Known in Russia as the Moguchaya Kuchka, often translated as the Mighty Handful or the Five, the group sought to draw on Russian folk song, church music, and history rather than imitate the conventions of Western European composition. Several of its members were largely self-taught and pursued music alongside other careers.

From this circle came enduring works such as Borodin's opera Prince Igor, Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov and Pictures at an Exhibition, and the orchestral and operatic music of Rimsky-Korsakov. Their efforts were central to the rise of a nationalist school that profoundly shaped the course of Russian music.