"New Russian Musical School" or Balakirev's circle. The community of Russian composers, formed in the middle of the nineteenth century.
The name was fixed with the light hand of the famous music critic Vladimir Stasov - this is in Russia. In Europe, the community of musicians was simply called the "Group of Five".
1.
The first step towards the emergence of the "Mighty Handful" was the arrival in 1855 in St. Petersburg of the gifted 18-year-old musician Mily Balakirev.
With his brilliant performances, the pianist attracted the attention of not only a sophisticated audience, but also the most famous music critic of that time - Vladimir Stasov, who became the ideological inspirer of the composers' association.
2.
A year later, Balakirev met the military engineer Caesar Cui. In 1857 - with a graduate of the military school Modest Mussorgsky.
In 1862, with naval officer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, at the same time, common musical views were revealed with chemistry professor Alexander Borodin. This is how the music group was formed.
3.
Balakirev introduced beginner musicians to the theory of composition, orchestration, and harmony. Together, like-minded people read Belinsky and Chernyshevsky, together they opposed the academic routine, they were looking for new forms - under the common idea of folk as the main direction in the development of music.
4.
Vladimir Stasov dubbed the "Mighty Handful" the musical union. In one of the articles, the critic noted:
"How much poetry, feeling, talent and skill a small, but already powerful handful of Russian musicians have."
The phrase became winged - and members of the musical community began to be referred to only as "Kuchkists".
5.
The composers of The Mighty Handful considered themselves the heirs of the recently deceased Mikhail Glinka and dreamed of ideas for the development of Russian national music. The spirit of democracy was in the air, and the Russian intelligentsia thought about a cultural revolution, without violence and bloodshed - solely by the power of art.
6.
Folk song as the basis for the classics. The Kuchkists collected folklore and studied Russian church singing. Organized entire musical expeditions. So, Balakirev from a trip along the Volga with the poet Nikolai Shcherbina in 1860 brought material that became the basis of a whole collection - “40 Russian Folk Songs”.
7.
From song genre to large forms. The folklore of the Balakirevians inscribed in operatic works: “Prince Igor” by Borodin, “The Maid of Pskov” by Rimsky-Korsakov, “Khovanshchina” and “Boris Godunov” by Mussorgsky. The epic and folk tales became a source of inspiration for the symphonic and vocal works of the composers of the Mighty Handful.
8.
Colleagues and friends. The Balakirevtsy were bound by close friendship. The musicians discussed new compositions and spent evenings at the intersection of different art forms. The Kuchkists met with writers - Ivan Turgenev and Alexei Pisemsky, artist Ilya Repin, sculptor Mark Antokolsky.
9.
Not only to the people, but also for the people. Through the efforts of the Balakirevites, a free music school was opened for talented people of different classes. Free concerts of works by Kuchkists and congenial composers were given at the school. The school survived the Balakirev circle and worked until the revolution.
10.
The 70s of the nineteenth century divorced the Balakirevites. The "Mighty Handful" broke up, but five Russian composers continued to create. As Borodin wrote, individuality took over the school, but
“the general warehouse of music, the general style characteristic of the circle, remained”:
in the classes of the St. Petersburg Conservatory together with Rimsky-Korsakov and in the work of followers - Russian composers of the twentieth century.
"The Mighty Handful" is a community of Russian composers, which was formed in the 50-60s of the 19th century. Some call it the "New Russian Musical School". The bunch included several extremely talented musicians of the time: Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky and Mussorgsky. For some period, Lodyzhensky, Gussakovsky and Shcherbachev adjoined them. The name for the society was invented for a reason. This was prompted by their article, which reviewed one of Balakirev's works. It ended with the following words:
We have forever preserved memories of how much poetry, feelings, talent and skill a small but already mighty bunch of Russian musicians have.
As a result of the work of the Mighty Handful, the concept of a new Russian musical school was put forward. It was created by the members of the community themselves, who considered themselves successors of the ideas of Mikhail Glinka and Alexander Dargomyzhsky. In France, for example, the "Mighty Handful" was not called that. They were called more trivially - the Group of Five.
"The Mighty Handful" - a community of Russian composers, which was formed in the 50-60s of the 19th century // Photo: mr-fact.ru
Purpose of creation
Cultural figures created their own group for mutual support in the struggle for aesthetic progressive ideals. The Mighty Bunch opposed academic stability. They wanted to make the pieces of music more alive. At the same time, they wished that all works clearly corresponded to modern musical requirements. Thus, several people headed the advanced direction in national music.Balakirev was elected the head of the community of composers. That is why the "Mighty Handful" is also called the Balakirev Circle. Sometimes Stasov collaborated with them. Moreover, he played one of the main roles in developing the ideological and aesthetic features of the handful. He actively promoted the creativity of its individual participants.
Balakirev was elected the head of the community of composers // Photo: ria.ru
Starting in 1864, Cui published systematically. He was the epitome of the tendencies and attitudes of the Mighty Handful as a whole. Some thoughts were expressed by other representatives: Rimsky-Korsakov and Borodin. The work of the community was based on the creation of a free music school. Its foundations were laid in 1862 by Balakirev and Lomakin. On its basis, many works were created, most of which belonged to a handful. Other congenial domestic and foreign composers also worked on it.
Features of creativity
All five composers who were part of the community preferred to use fairy tale or folk motifs in their works. Sometimes there were also Russian historical plots. The geniuses of music did not cease to search for moral ideals in the original principles. In this regard, they focused on the folk song. Each led his own search for old peasant tunes. In their opinion, it was in this kind of music that the unique thinking of the Russian people was concluded. The collected motifs were processed and presented in a new way in the work before the listener. Rimsky-Korsakov, together with Balakirev, even released an entire collection of folk songs in 1860.
All five composers who were part of the community preferred to use fairy tale or folk motifs in their works // Photo: wikipedia.org
If we talk about intonational expressiveness, then Alexander Dargomyzhsky was the authority here. In his operas Mermaid and The Stone Guest, the composer most accurately expressed the idea of the word. To this day, this composer, like Glinka, is considered the father of Russian musical culture. Borodin showed himself excellently in chamber music. At the piano - Mussorgsky and Balakirev.
The main opponent of the "Mighty Handful" was the academic school. Composers were especially disliked at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. At that time it was headed by Rubinstein. The Commonwealth, in turn, spoke unflatteringly about the conservatives, saying that they follow patterns and do not allow music to follow its own path, including the national folk one. Over time, this conflict faded away. Moreover, in 871, Rimsky-Korsakov was even invited to teach at the St. Petersburg Conservatory.
The meaning of the five composers in Russian music
It is very difficult to overestimate the enormous contribution of musicians to domestic and world music. In their operas, for the first time, national character began to be clearly displayed. Popular scenes and the scope of the Russian soul appeared. Each of the composers strove for brightness and wanted to convey certain images to the listener, for this they made extremely spectacular paintings. The works of the "Great Five" can rightly be considered the ingenious components of the world musical treasury.
The Mighty Handful is a creative community of Russian composers that formed in the late 1950s and early 1960s. 19th century. It is also known under the name "New Russian Musical School", Balakirev Circle.
The Mighty Handful included M. A. Balakirev, A. P. Borodin, Ts. A. Cui, M. P. Mussorgsky, N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov. The source of the figurative name was the article by the music critic V.V. Stasov “Slavic concert of the city of Balakirev” (about the concert conducted by Balakirev), which ended with the wish that the guests “forever keep memories of how much poetry, feelings, talent and skill there are with a small but already powerful handful of Russian musicians. The concept of the "New Russian Musical School" was put forward by the members of the "Mighty Handful", who considered themselves followers and successors of the work of the senior masters of Russian music - M. I. Glinka and A. S. Dargomyzhsky. In France, the name "Five" or "Group of Five" ("Groupe des Cinq") is adopted according to the number of the main representatives of the "Mighty Handful".
The "Mighty Handful" brought together the most talented composers of the younger generation, who came to the fore in the late 1950s and early 1960s, with the exception of P. I. Tchaikovsky, who was not a member of any groups. The leading position in the "Mighty Handful" belonged to Balakirev (hence the Balakirev Circle). Closely associated with it was Stasov, who played an important role in developing the common ideological and aesthetic positions of the Mighty Handful, in shaping and promoting the creativity of its individual members.
The center of musical and educational activities of the "Mighty Handful" was Free music school(Created in 1862 on the initiative of Balakirev and G. Ya. Lomakin), in whose concerts the works of members of the Mighty Handful and Russian and foreign composers close to her in the direction were performed.
The fundamental principles for the "Kuchkist" composers were nationality and nationality. The themes of their work are mainly associated with images of folk life, the historical past of Russia, folk epic and fairy tales, ancient pagan beliefs and rituals.
One of the most important sources of creativity was the folk song for the composers of The Mighty Handful. Their attention was attracted mainly by the old traditional peasant song, in which they saw the expression of the fundamental foundations of national musical thinking. The folk song received a variety of refractions in the operatic and symphonic works of the composers of the Mighty Handful. They also showed interest in the folklore of other peoples, especially those of the East. Following Glinka, the "Kuchkists" widely developed intonations and rhythms of the peoples of the East in their works, and thereby contributed to the emergence of their own national composer schools among these peoples.
The creative activity of the "Mighty Handful" is the most important historical stage in the development of Russian music. Based on the traditions of Glinka and Dargomyzhsky, the Kuchkist composers enriched it with new conquests, especially in opera, symphony and chamber vocal genres. Such works as "Boris Godunov" and "Khovanshchina" by Mussorgsky, "Prince Igor" by Borodin, "Snow Maiden" and "Sadko" by Rimsky-Korsakov belong to the heights of Russian opera classics. Their common features are national character, realism of images, wide scope and important dramaturgical significance of popular scenes. The desire for picturesque brightness, concreteness of images is also inherent in the symphonic work of the composers of The Mighty Handful.
In its innovative aspirations, the "Mighty Handful" drew close to the leading representatives of Western European musical romanticism - R. Schumann, G. Berlioz, F. Liszt. The "Kuchkist" composers highly valued the work of L. Beethoven, whom they considered the founder of all new music.
Thus, the main merit of the composers of the "Mighty Handful" is the development, enrichment of Russian composer music and their musical and educational activities.
By the mid 70s. The "Mighty Handful" as a close-knit group ceased to exist. The main reason for the collapse of the "Mighty Handful" is in internal creative differences. Borodin saw in the collapse of the "Mighty Handful" a manifestation of the natural process of creative self-determination and finding their own individual path by each of the composers that were part of it.
“THE POWERFUL BUNCH” (Ba-la-ki-rev-sky circle, New Russian mu-zy-kal-naya school) is a creative community of Russian composers led by M.A. Balakirev, which took shape in the late 1850s - early 1860s in St. Petersburg.
Po-na-cha-lu - free volume-e-di-non-nye ode-ryon-nyh lyu-bi-te-lei; or-ga-ni-for-tor-sky talent and musical era-di-tion Ba-la-ki-re-va ob-slo-vi-would-a-str-ry professional growth of members of the circle .
For-mi-mo Ba-la-ki-reva, A.P. enters the “Mighty Handful” Bo-ro-din, Ts.A. Cui, M.P. Mu-sorgsky, N.A. Rimsky-Kor-sa-kov, we-ka-whether to her A.S. Gus-sa-kov-sky, H.H. Lo-dy-female, N.V. Shcher-ba-chev, with time, departed from the com-po-zi-tor-sky activity.
A different name for the “Mighty Handful” was given by the ideologist of the circle V.V. Sta-sov in the article “Slavic concert of the city of Ba-la-ki-re-va” (according to the way of the concert in honor of the Slavic de-le-ha-tsy for All -Russian ethno-graphic exhibition of 1867). Ter-min “New Russian mu-zy-kal-naya school” pre-lo-zhen sa-mi-mi-com-po-zi-to-ra-mi of the “Mighty Handful” as a sign of pre- eat-st-ven-no-sti with art-kus-st-vom of senior ma-te-ditch - M.I. Glinka and A.S. Dar-go-myzh-sko-go. Closely connected with the "Mighty Handful" would be L.I. Shes-ta-ko-va (se-st-ra Glin-ki and pro-pa-gan-dist of his co-chi-not-ny).
The center of the music-cal-no-pro-sve-ti-tel-sky activity of the “Mighty Handful” was the Free Music School (created in 1862 according to ini-tsia-ti-ve Ba-la-ki-re-va and G.Ya. -from-ve-de-niya members of the circle and those close to the Russians and foreign-beige-com-for-the-ditch.
The activity of the “Mighty Handful” is the most important stage in the development of Russian music, op-re-de-living its way in the late XIX - early XX centuries. Her highest achievements are connected with the opera genre (“Bo-ris Go-du-nov” and “Ho-van-schi-na” by M.P. Mu- sorg-sko-go, “Prince Igor” by A.P. Bo-ro-di-na, “Psko-vi-tyan-ka”, “Sne-gu-roch-ka” and “Garden-ko” by N.A Rome-sko-go-Kor-sa-ko-va).
In the sym-phonic creation-che-st-ve com-po-zi-to-ditch of the “Mighty Handful” -ro-vye elements-you (sym-phony of Bo-ro-di-na and M.A. Ba-la-ki-re-va; sym-phonic pro-from-we-de- niya Rome-sko-go-Kor-sa-ko-va). In the ca-mer-nom-in-cal-creative-che-st-ve, psycho-ho-logism and ethical od-ho-creation-ryon-nost co-che-ta-yut-sya with the rest a swarm of jan-ro-howl ha-rak-ter-no-stu, dra-ma-tiz-mom. In the ka-mer-in-st-ru-men-tal-ny genres of pro-from-ve-de-niya you-give-xia-artistic value-would you create -ny only Bo-ro-di-nym (2 stringed kvar-te-ta, piano quintet). In the field of piano music, ko-lo-ri-stic, its-ob-ra-zi-em from-li-cha-et-sya fan-ta-zia "Is-la-mey" Ba -la-ki-re-va, deep-bi-noy, ori-gi-nal-no-stu for-thought-la and completion-shen-st-vom incarnation - cycle "Kar -tin-ki from you-bet-ki "Mo-sorg-sko-go.
Reliance on ar-ha-ic folklore (including newly-discovered would-be-lin-nye-pe-you, ka-len-dar-nye and other ritual songs ); then-na-tsy and rhythms of oriental music-ki ob-slo-vi-whether especially-ben-no-sti of the musical language of the most-bo-lee od-ryon-nyh pre-hundred-vi-te -lei of the "Mighty Handful" - A.P. Bo-ro-de-na, M.P. Mu-sorg-sko-go, N.A. Rome-sko-go-Kor-sa-ko-va.
Mo-da-liz-we (including sym-metric frets), complex meters, harmonic and timbre-vaya co-lo-ri-sti -ka, other especially ben-no-sti rhythm-ma, gar-mo-nii and musical form, do not fit-sy-vav-shie-sya into the es-te-tic stereo-reo-ty-py western -European class-si-ko-ro-mantic music and so on, but included in the ar-se-nal members of the circle, became a sign of their national -ob-ra-ziya of the Russian Kom-po-zi-Tor-sky school, how-so-s-st-in-va-whether its world-ro-in-mu-recognition, eye-influence- nie, in part, on the French com-po-zi-to-ditch. Princip-qi-py gar-mo-ni-za-tion of folk song me-lo-dii would you-ra-bo-ta-ny Ba-la-ki-re-vym in the collections “40 Russian folk songs" (on the basis of their own for-pi-this, made during a trip along the Volga with this N. V. Shcher-bi-noy in 1860).
But-va-tor-sky us-rem-lyon-ness of the members of the "Mighty Handful" brought them together with Western European ro-man-ti-ka-mi - G. Ber-lio-zom , F. Lis-vol. Considering the origin of all new music by L. van Bet-ho-ve-na, they (especially ben-but Ts.A. Cui, sys- te-ma-ti-che-ski you-stu-fallen-shiy in pe-cha-ti) one-but-one-ron-not-not-ha-tiv-but and pre-taken-something-no-va -whether the musical legacy of the do-bet-hoven-sko-go-pe-rio-yes, Italian opera, the work of R. Vag-ne-ra.
In the Russian musical life of the 1860s, the “Mighty Handful” was in a confrontation with the Russian Musical Society and the St. Petersburg Conservatory (led by A.G. Ru-bin-shtein-nom).
By the mid-1870s, the “Mighty Handful” had dis-pasted, which, to a large extent, was called internal creative races-ho-w-de-nia-mi, naturally sa -mo-op-re-de-le-ni-em com-po-zi-to-ditch circle-ka and only from-part-ty - soul-cri-zi-som M.A. Ba-la-ki-re-va, his time from the active part in the musical life.
With the "Mighty Handful" pre-em-st-ven-but is connected Be-la-ev-sky circle.
Historical sources:
Roman-sky-Kor-sa-kov H. A. Le-to-writing of my m-u-zy-kal-noy life. SPb., 1909. M., 1955.
Initially, the composers who united in a creative union called themselves "Balakirev circle" or "New Russian Music School". The name "Mighty Handful" arose thanks to Vladimir Stasov's article "Slavonic Concert of Mr. Balakirev". The article was dedicated to a concert that took place at the All-Russian Ethnographic Exhibition in 1867. The musicians who performed at this concert under the baton of Mily Balakirev represented the Slavic delegation at the exhibition. The article ended with the wish that the Slavic guests “forever keep memories of how much poetry, feelings, talent and skill the little, but already mighty handful Russian musicians. Another name for this community of composers and musicians is the “Five” (“Groupe des Cinq”), according to the number of the main representatives of the “Mighty Handful”.
The 60s of the 19th century, distinguished by democratic trends in all spheres of Russian public life, brought new forms of creating commonwealths in various areas of Russian culture (literature, painting, music). They sang new, democratic ideals, preached progressive aesthetic views and ideas. Examples can be the literary circle of the Sovremennik magazine, the Artel of Artists, the Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions. The Mighty Bunch was such an "alternative" fellowship in the field of music. This group of musicians rejected the academic routine, divorced from modern trends in music and life as such. Members of the "Mighty Handful" were the conductors of advanced ideas in music, and in Russian culture of the second half of the 19th century as a whole.
Compound: The "Mighty Handful" included Mili Balakirev, Alexander Borodin, Caesar Cui, Modest Mussorgsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Apollon Gussakovsky, Nikolai Lodyzhensky, Nikolai Shcherbachev, who later retired from composing, adjoined it temporarily. The first five are the most talented composers of the younger generation, who showed themselves in the late 50s and early 60s of the 19th century. Pyotr Tchaikovsky was also a contemporary of the members of the Mighty Handful, but he preferred independent creativity and did not belong to any groups. leader, ideologue"Mighty handful" was Balakirev(hence the first name - "Balakirev circle").
The same Vladimir Stasov played an important role in the life of the Mighty Handful, he developed the ideological and aesthetic positions of the Mighty Handful, actively participated in the formation and promotion of the work of its individual members, by today's standards he was the promoter of this commonwealth of composers. Since 1864, Cui, who was not only a composer, but also a music critic, systematically appeared in print. The materials that came out from under his pen and were published in the press largely reflected the views of all members of the Mighty Handful. In 1862, on the initiative of Mily Balakirev, a Free Music School was established.
At the heart of the works of the "Kuchkist" composers is the folk music, its closeness to the roots. Similarly, the themes of their work are dominated by images taken from folk life, the historical past of Russia, folk epos and fairy tales, and even ancient pagan beliefs and rituals. Modest Mussorgsky, the most radical member of the Mighty Handful, most vividly embodied folk images in his music. The people's liberation ideas of that time were reflected in the work of other composers of the Five. For example, Balakirev wrote his overture "1000 Years" under the influence of Alexander Herzen's article "The Giant Wakes Up". Borodin's "Song of the Dark Forest" or the veche scene in Rimsky-Korsakov's opera "The Maid of Pskov" are also imbued with a revolutionary spirit and desire for democratic change. At the same time, in the work of the composers of The Mighty Handful, the national past is romanticized, a search for a positive moral and aesthetic ideal is taking place in the ancient, primordial principles of folk life.
One of the most important sources of creativity was for the composers of the "Mighty Handful" folk song. Their attention was attracted mainly by the old traditional peasant song as the basis of national musical thinking. Balakirev, together with the poet Nikolai Shcherbina, went on a trip along the Volga in 1860, during which he recorded folk peasant songs, then, having processed them, he published a collection of 40 Russian folk songs. Rimsky-Korsakov paid much attention to the collection and processing of folk songs. The folk song received a variety of refractions in the operatic and symphonic works of composers. They also showed interest in the folklore of other peoples. Following Glinka, the "Kuchkists" widely developed intonations and rhythms of the peoples of the East in their works, and thereby contributed to the emergence of their own national composer schools among these peoples.
The work of composers such as Mikhail Glinka and Alexander Dargomyzhsky, the "Kuchkists" considered their basis, it was these composers that the Balakirevites considered the founders of Russian classical opera. Based on the traditions of Glinka and Dargomyzhsky, the composers of The Mighty Handful enriched Russian classical music with new conquests, especially in the operatic, symphonic and chamber vocal genres. Such works as "Boris Godunov" and "Khovanshchina" by Mussorgsky, "Prince Igor" by Borodin, "Snow Maiden" and "Sadko" by Rimsky-Korsakov belong to the heights of Russian opera classics. These works are deeply individual in their composer's style, but they also have much in common - national character, realism of images, wide scope and important dramatic significance of folk scenes. Most of the works of the member composers are painting embodied in music. Symphonic works are capable of conveying vivid images. Borodin and Balakirev are the creators of such a genre as Russian national epic symphonism. Heroes of legends and epics literally come to life in their works. In the chamber vocal work of the Kuchkists, subtle psychologism and poetic spirituality are combined with sharp genre specificity, drama and epic breadth. Balakirev's "Islamey" and Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" occupy a unique place among piano works in terms of originality of conception and coloring.
The innovation of the composers of the "Mighty Handful" brought their work together with the works of the Western European musical school, the school of romanticism - Robert Schumann, Hector Berlioz, Franz Liszt. And the "Kuchkists" considered Ludwig van Beethoven to be the founder of all new music, dismissing everything created in the "pre-Beethoven" period. By the way, among composers and musicians who shared the views of the members of the Mighty Handful, Italian opera was also denied as a form of musical art, although many of the Italian composers - "operators" were contemporaries of the Five.
However, gradually, the radicalism of the opinions of the members of the "Mighty Handful" began to soften, and by the mid-70s of the 19th century, the community, as a close-knit group of like-minded people, ceased to exist. This was partly due to Balakirev's severe mental crisis and his withdrawal from active participation in musical life. But the main reason for the collapse of the "Mighty Handful" is in internal creative differences. Balakirev and Mussorgsky disapproved of Rimsky-Korsakov's teaching activities at the St. Petersburg Conservatory and viewed this as a surrender of principled positions.
"Kuchkism", as a direction, continued to develop further. The aesthetic principles and creativity of the Mighty Handful influenced many Russian composers of the younger generation, such as the Belyaevsky Circle, but none of the subsequent associations had such a unified ideological base as The Mighty Handful.
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