Compositore
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Life
In the second half of the 19th century, Balakirev was the guiding spirit of a group of Russian ‘nationalist’ composers called the Moguchaya Koochka, literally "the mighty handful", but better known in English as the Mighty Five, which included César Cui, Mussorgsky, Borodin and Rimsky-Korsakov.
Balakirev was the only one of the group to begin as a professional musician.
His success as a composer was intermittent, largely owing to his irascible personality and a tendency to make enemies as a result of his overwhelming enthusiasm and intolerance of other ideas.
He was particularly opposed to the establishment of Conservatories of Music in Russia by the Rubinstein brothers and was accused in turn of amateurism.
Works