Who is included in the association is a mighty bunch. The composers of the “Mighty Handful” are a characteristic of creativity. Formation of the Mighty Handful

04.11.2019

“The Mighty Handful” is a creative community of Russian composers that formed in St. Petersburg in the late 1850s and early 1860s. Gave the name to the mug critic Vladimir Stasov, the union was also called the “New Russian Music School” or the Balakirev Circle. Abroad they called him the “Russian Five”.

K. E. Makovsky. Caricature of the Mighty Handful (1871). Photo: RIA Novosti

Who was part of the “Mighty Handful”?

The “Mighty Handful” included five talented Russian composers: Mily Balakirev, Modest Mussorgsky, Alexander Borodin, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Cesar Cui. The ideological inspirer and main non-musical consultant of the circle was the art critic and writer Vladimir Vasilievich Stasov.

The circle was founded by Balakirev and Stasov, who were passionate about reading Belinsky, Dobrolyubov, Herzen, Chernyshevsky. With their ideas they inspired young composer Cui, and later Mussorgsky joined them. In 1862, Rimsky-Korsakov and Borodin joined the Balakirev circle.

What united these composers?

The “Mighty Handful” group arose against the backdrop of revolutionary ferment that by that time had gripped the minds of the Russian intelligentsia. Members of the circle sought to find new forms of creativity and make music closer and more understandable to the general public. The interests of the Russian people have become main theme in the works of members of Balakirev’s circle. Fairy tales, epics, national history and folk life turned out to be sources of inspiration for symphonic and vocal works by composers. The embodiment of this approach was, in particular, their operas: “Prince Igor” by Borodin, “The Woman of Pskov” by Rimsky-Korsakov, “Khovanshchina” and “Boris Godunov” by Mussorgsky.

“The Mighty Handful” is a creative community of Russian composers that formed in the late 50s and early 60s. 19th century. Also known as the “New Russian Music School”, Balakirevsky Circle. The “Mighty Handful” included M. A. Balakirev, A. P. Borodin, Ts. A. Cui, M. P. Mussorgsky, N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov. A. S. Gussakovsky, N. N. Lodyzhensky, N. V. Shcherbachev, who later retired from composing, temporarily joined her. The source of the figurative name was V.V. Stasov’s article “The Slavic Concert of Mr. Balakirev” (about the concert conducted by Balakirev in honor of the Slavic delegations at the All-Russian Ethnographic Exhibition in 1867), which ended with the wish that the Slavic guests “will forever preserve the memories of how much poetry, feeling, talent and skill there is in a small but already mighty group of Russian musicians.” The concept of “New Russian Music School” was put forward by the members of the “Mighty Handful” themselves, who considered themselves followers and continuers 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 based on the number of main representatives of the “Mighty Handful”.

The “Mighty Handful” is one of the free communities that arose during the democratic upsurge of the 60s. 19th century in various areas of Russian artistic culture with the aim of mutual support and struggle for progressive social and aesthetic ideals ( literary circle magazine “Sovremennik”, “Artel of Artists”, “Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions”). Like the Artel of Artists in fine arts, which opposed the official course of the Academy of Arts, the “Mighty Handful” resolutely opposed the inert academic routine, isolation from life and neglect of modern requirements, heading the advanced national direction in Russian music. The “Mighty Handful” united the most talented composers of the younger generation who emerged in the late 50s and early 60s, with the exception of P. I. Tchaikovsky, who was not a member of any groups. The leadership position in the “Mighty Handful” belonged to Balakirev (hence the Balakirev Circle). Stasov was closely associated with it, who played an important role in developing the common ideological and aesthetic positions of the “Mighty Handful”, in the formation and promotion of the creativity of its individual members. From 1864, Cui systematically appeared in print, whose musical and critical activity largely reflected the views and tendencies inherent in the entire “Mighty Handful.” Her positions are also reflected in the printed speeches of Borodin and Rimsky-Korsakov. Center for music educational activities The “Mighty Handful” was the Free Music School (created in 1862 on the initiative of Balakirev and G. Ya. Lomakin), in whose concerts works by members of the “Mighty Handful” and Russian and foreign composers close to it were performed.

The fundamental principles for the “kuchkist” composers were nationality and nationality. The themes of their work are mainly related to images folk life, the historical past of Russia, folk epic and fairy tales, ancient pagan beliefs and rituals. Mussorgsky, the most radical of the members of the “Mighty Handful” in terms of his artistic convictions, with great force embodied the images of the people in music; many of his works are distinguished by an openly expressed social-critical orientation. People's liberation ideas of the 60s. were reflected in the works of other composers of this group (overture “1000 Years” by Balakirev, written under the influence of A. I. Herzen’s article “The Giant Awakens”; “Song of the Dark Forest” by Borodin; the party scene in the opera “The Woman of Pskov” by Rimsky-Korsakov) . At the same time, they showed a tendency towards a certain romanticization of the national past. In the ancient, primordial principles of folk life and worldview, they sought to find support for the affirmation of a positive moral and aesthetic ideal.

One of the most important sources of creativity for the composers of the “Mighty Handful” was folk song. Their attention was attracted mainly by the old traditional peasant song, in which they saw an expression of the fundamental foundations of national musical thinking. Processing principles characteristic of the “kuchkists” folk songs These melodies were reflected in Balakirev’s collection “40 Russian folk songs” (compiled by Balakirev based on his own recordings made during a trip along the Volga with the poet N.V. Shcherbina in 1860). Rimsky-Korsakov paid a lot of attention to collecting and processing folk songs. The folk song received various interpretations in the operatic and symphonic works of the composers of the “Mighty Handful”. They also showed interest in the folklore of other peoples, especially eastern ones. Following Glinka, the “Kuchkists” widely developed the intonations and rhythms of the peoples of the East in their works and thereby contributed to the emergence of these peoples’ own national schools of composition.

In search of truthful intonation expressiveness, the “kuchkists” relied on Dargomyzhsky’s achievements in the field of realistic vocal declamation. They especially highly appreciated the opera “The Stone Guest,” in which the composer’s desire to embody the word in music was most fully and consistently realized (“I want the sound to directly express the word”). They considered this work, along with Glinka's operas, to be the basis of Russian opera classics.

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 Kuchka composers enriched it with new achievements, especially in opera, symphony and chamber music. vocal genres. Such works as “Boris Godunov” and “Khovanshchina” by Mussorgsky, “Prince Igor” by Borodin, “The Snow Maiden” and “Sadko” by Rimsky-Korsakov belong to the pinnacles of Russian opera classics. Their common features are national character, realistic images, wide scope and important dramatic significance of popular scenes. The desire for pictorial brightness and concreteness of images is also inherent in the symphonic work of the composers of the “Mighty Handful”, hence the large role of programmatic, visual and genre elements in it. Borodin and Balakirev were the creators of Russian national-epic symphony. Rimsky-Korsakov was an unsurpassed master of orchestral color; in his symphonic works, the pictorial element predominates. In the chamber vocal work of the Kuchkists, subtle psychologism and poetic spirituality are combined with acute genre characteristics, drama and epic breadth. Chamber music plays a less significant place in their work. instrumental genres. Outstanding works in this area artistic value were created only by Borodin, the author of two string quartets and a piano quintet. Balakirev’s “Islamey” and Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” occupy a unique place in piano literature in terms of originality of design and coloristic originality.

In its innovative aspirations, the “Mighty Handful” drew closer to the leading representatives of Western European musical romanticism - R. Schumann, G. Berlioz, F. Liszt. The Kuchka composers highly valued the work of L. Beethoven, whom they considered the founder of all new music. At the same time, in their relation to the musical heritage of the pre-Beethoven period, as well as to a number of phenomena of contemporary foreign art ( Italian opera, R. Wagner, etc.) traits of one-sided negativism and bias appeared. In the heat of polemics and the struggle for the approval of their ideas, they sometimes expressed negative judgments that were too categorical and insufficiently substantiated.

In Russian musical life of the 60s. The “Mighty Handful” was opposed by the academic direction, the centers of which were the Russian Musical Society and the St. Petersburg Conservatory, headed by A. G. Rubinstein. This antagonism was to a certain extent analogous to the struggle between the Weimar school and the Leipzig school in German music mid 19th century Rightly criticizing the “conservatives” for excessive traditionalism and their sometimes lack of understanding of the nationally unique ways of development of Russian music, the leaders of the “Mighty Handful” underestimated the importance of systematic professional music education. Over time, the severity of the contradictions between these two groups softened, and they came closer on a number of issues. Thus, Rimsky-Korsakov in 1871 became a professor at the St. Petersburg Conservatory.

By the mid-70s. The “Mighty Handful” ceased to exist as a cohesive group. This was partly caused by Balakirev’s severe mental crisis and his withdrawal from active participation in musical life. But main reason the collapse of the “Mighty Handful” - in internal creative differences. Balakirev and Mussorgsky disapproved of Rimsky-Korsakov's teaching activities at the St. Petersburg Conservatory and considered this as a surrender of principled positions. The differences that had ripened in The Mighty Handful appeared even more acutely in connection with the opera Boris Godunov staged in 1874 at the Mariinsky Theater, the assessment of which by the members of the circle was not unanimous. Borodin saw in the collapse of the “Mighty Handful” a manifestation of the natural process of creative self-determination and the finding of an individual path by each of the composers who were part of it. “...This always happens in all branches of human activity,” he wrote in 1876 to the singer L. I. Karmalina. “As activity develops, individuality begins to take precedence over the school, over what a person has inherited from others.” At the same time, he emphasized that “the general musical disposition, the general attitude characteristic of the circle, remained.” “Kuchkism” as a trend continued to develop further. Aesthetic principles and the work of the “Mighty Handful” influenced many Russian composers of the younger generation. The Belyaevsky circle was continuously associated with the “Mighty Handful”, which, however, did not possess its inherent militant innovative fervor and did not have a specific ideological and artistic platform.

The so-called “Mighty Handful” (whose composition was very small) is a union of Russian composers that formed in the late 50s and early 60s of the 19th century. It was also called the “New Russian Music School” or the Balakirevsky Circle. The name itself was adopted with the light hand of critic V.V. Stasov. and took root instantly, becoming the generally accepted name of the union. Abroad, he was called the “five”.

Members of the "Mighty Handful"

Who was part of the “Mighty Handful”? Balakirev M.A., Mussorgsky M.P., Cui T.A. and Rimsky-Korsakov N.A. These talented composers sought to find new forms in which they could embody images from Russian modernity and native history, as well as ways to make their music closer and more understandable to the general public. The embodiment of this approach was the operas of Borodin “Prince Igor”, Rimsky-Korsakov’s “The Woman of Pskov”, Mussorgsky’s “Khovanshchina” and “Boris Godunov”. Exactly folk tales, epic, national history and folk life became the basis for symphonic and vocal works by composers.

Community history

So, “The Mighty Handful”, its composition and the history of its creation. In 1855, the young man came to the capital from Kazan, performed with great success as a pianist, was loved by the public, met Vladimir Vasilyevich Stasov (the famous critic, historian, art critic and archaeologist, was connected by friendship with all the major Russian artists and musicians, was an assistant, adviser and promoter of their works). A year later, Balakirev meets Caesar Antonovich Cui. He studied at the Military Engineering Academy, but was madly in love with music, and therefore was so carried away by the bold views and suggestions of his new acquaintance that he wrote operas “ Prisoner of the Caucasus", "Son of a Mandarin" and a scherzo for piano.

A little later, the “Mighty Handful” (composition: Balakirev, Stasov, Cui) was replenished with the addition of Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky, a guards officer who realized that his calling was music. He retires, studies music, literature, philosophy, history, and is carried away by the views of new friends. In the early 60s, the “Mighty Handful” (composition at that time: Balakirev, Cui, Stasov, Mussorgsky), which Dargomyzhsky also sympathized with, was enriched with the arrival of Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin and Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov. Borodin was self-taught in music, but a versatile and very diligent self-taught. While still studying at the Medical-Surgical Academy, he played the cello in various amateur ensembles and wrote several chamber works. Balakirev very quickly understood and appreciated his erudition and brilliant talent. Well, Rimsky-Korsakov was already an established figure in music, a genius whose works the public loved very much.

The main ideas of the “bunch”

It was the life, aspirations and interests of the Russian people that became the main theme in the work of the members of Balakirev’s circle. The “mighty handful” of composers (their composition was not limited to the five, because many eminent writers of that time were familiar or friendly with the “kuchkists”) recorded and studied samples folk art and folklore, weaved folk songs and tales into “serious” symphonic music and operas. Examples of such masterpieces are “The Snow Maiden”, “Khovanshchina”, “ The Tsar's Bride", "Boris Godunov". The eastern element, the melodies of other peoples - Ukrainians, Georgians, Tatars, Spaniards, Czechs and many others, also turned out to be important. These are “Islamey”, “Tamara”, “Prince Igor”, “The Golden Cockerel”, “Scheherazade”.

“The Mighty Handful” is a creative community that played a big role in Russian musical culture. It consisted of whose works reflected the advanced ideas of the democratic movement popular at that time. Members of the “Mighty Handful” considered themselves followers of the great masters - A.S. Dargomyzhsky and . In the 1860s, the entire country was swept by a democratic upsurge, the entire intelligentsia fought for progressive ideals - both in public life and in culture.

A magazine appears in the literature
in painting -

these groups of people oppose themselves to official, classical societies. The “Mighty Handful” also becomes a kind of antagonist to the academic routine.

The main slogan is not to break away from life! The main thing in music is national orientation!

The composition of the “Mighty Handful” remained virtually unchanged throughout its existence: the main members were M.A. Balakirev, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov and Ts.A. Cui.

All these bright, outstanding, talented people once met and, seeing like-minded people in each other, united into a musical community called the “Balakirev Circle”, and later – the “Mighty Handful”, or the “Group of Five”. The ideological inspirer was Vladimir Vasilievich Stasov, musical critic- in fact, he was the sixth member of the “Mighty Handful”, although he was not a composer. He also gave the community its name in his article “Slavic Concert of Mr. Balakirev.” The members of the Balakirev circle themselves introduced such a concept as "New Russian Music School". They carried their ideas to the people: as an educational activity, the composers of the “Mighty Handful” formed a free music school.

Principles and features of the creativity of the “Mighty Handful” composers

The work of all five is dominated by folk, fairy tale motifs, often found stories from Russian history– composers are constantly looking for moral ideals in its original beginnings. In this regard, the most important support for them was folk song (both Russian and Eastern) - they collected ancient peasant tunes, in which they saw the roots of national Russian thinking. Next, the motives were processed and embodied in their work. In addition, Balakirev and Rimsky-Korsakov collected the songs in a separate collection - “Forty Russian Folk Songs” (1860).

Regarding intonation expressiveness , The “kuchkists” relied on the work of Alexander Sergeevich Dargomyzhsky. In his operas “The Stone Guest” and “The Mermaid,” as the members of the commonwealth believed, ideas and “words” are most accurately and clearly expressed. Dargomyzhsky, like Glinka, was for them the founding father of Russian musical culture.

Almost all works of the “Kuchkists” are characterized by:

scope,
big sizes,
epic breadth.

In chamber music, only Borodin showed himself clearly. However, Balakirev (“Islamey”) and Mussorgsky (“Pictures at an Exhibition”) stood out in piano literature.

The main opponent of the “Mighty Handful” was the academic school, and especially the St. Petersburg Conservatory, which was headed at that time by A.G. Rubinstein. Members of the commonwealth criticized the “conservatives” for following traditions too carefully and not recognizing other ways of developing music in Russia, including national-folk ones. However, over time, the conflict was smoothed out, and in 1871 Rimsky-Korsakov even became a professor at the St. Petersburg Conservatory.

History of the commonwealth and its followers

The “Mighty Handful” broke up in the mid-1870s. There were many reasons for this: both lying on the surface (Balakirev’s detachment due to a mental crisis) and deeper (creative differences between the “kuchkists”: for example, Mussorgsky and Balakirev considered Rimsky-Korsakov a defector and a traitor). This, in general, is not surprising: such geniuses could not stay in one group for a long time; each needed individual creative growth.

But with the collapse of the “Mighty Handful,” their ideas did not disappear anywhere - many more Russian composers created their works under their influence. Thanks to Rimsky-Korsakov, Kuchka activities began to actively develop at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. A “Belyaev circle” appeared, headed by the composer himself. According to Rimsky-Korsakov, the “Belyaevsky circle” cannot be considered an absolute successor of the “Balakirevsky circle”, because

“...Balakirev’s circle corresponded to the period of storm and stress in the development of Russian music, and Belyaev’s circle corresponded to the period of calm march forward; “Balakirevsky” was revolutionary, “Belyaevsky” was progressive...”

Among the composers working at the turn of the century, Alexander Glazunov, Anatoly Lyadov, Alexander Grechaninov and many others can rightfully be considered as continuers of the traditions of the “Mighty Handful”.

The significance of the “Mighty Handful” for Russian music and culture

It is difficult to overestimate the musical contribution of the “Mighty Handful” to Russian music.

For the first time in their operas:

national character became clearly visible,
scale and popular scenes appeared.

Composers strove for brightness and sought to convey their ideas to the people through memorable images and spectacular paintings.

Works of the “Mighty Handful” or “ great five"Russian composers entered the world musical treasury.

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Municipal educational institution

Additional education for children

"Children's music school"
ABSTRACT

on the topic of:

“COMPOSERS OF THE “MIGHTY FUNCH””

by subject

"MUSICAL LITERATURE"
Work completed

7th grade student

choir department

Volosnikova Tatyana

Checked:

Biserova Yulia Petrovna

Peskovka 2011

1.1. History of creation……………………………………………………...4

1.2. Activities of the “Mighty Handful”………………………………………………………7

2. Composers included in the “Mighty Handful”

2.1. Mily Alekseevich Balakirev (1837-1910)………………………...12

2.2. Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (1839-1881)………………………...14

2.3. Alexander Porfirievich Borodin (1833-1887)……………………….15

2.4. Caesar Antonovich Cui (1835-1918)……………………………..18

2.5. Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908)………………...19

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….22

List of sources used……………………………………..26

Appendix 1…………………………………………………………………………………27

Appendix 2…………………………………………………………………………………28

Appendix 3…………………………………………………………………………………29

Appendix 4…………………………………………………………………………………30

Appendix 5…………………………………………………………………………………31

Appendix 6…………………………………………………………………………………32

INTRODUCTION

The expression “mighty handful”, accidentally used by Stasov in 1867, firmly entered into life and began to serve as the generally accepted name for a group of composers, which included: Mily Alekseevich Balakirev (1837-1910), Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (1839-1881), Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin (1833-1881). 1887), Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) and Caesar Antonovich Cui (1835-1918). The “Mighty Handful” is often called the “New Russian Music School”, as well as the “Balakirev Circle”, named after its leader M. A. Balakirev. Abroad, this group of musicians was called “The Five” based on the number of main representatives. The composers of the “Mighty Handful” entered the creative arena during a period of enormous social upsurge in the 60s of the 19th century.

"THE MIGHTY BUBBLE"

The history of the creation of the Balakirev circle is as follows: in 1855, M. A. Balakirev came to St. Petersburg from Kazan. The eighteen-year-old boy was extremely gifted musically. At the beginning of 1856, he performed with great success on the concert stage as a pianist and attracted the attention of the public. Of particular importance for Balakirev was his acquaintance with V.V. Stasov.

Vladimir Vasilyevich Stasov is a most interesting figure in the history of Russian art. A critic, art critic, historian and archaeologist, Stasov, speaking as a music critic, was a close friend of all Russian composers. He was connected by the closest friendship with literally all the major Russian artists, and appeared in the press promoting their best paintings and was also their best adviser and assistant.

The son of the outstanding architect V.P. Stasov, Vladimir Vasilyevich was born in St. Petersburg and received his education at the School of Law. Throughout his life, Stasov's service was associated with such a wonderful institution as the public library. He happened to personally know Herzen, Chernyshevsky, Leo Tolstoy, Repin, Antokolsky, Vereshchagin, Glinka. Stasov heard Glinka’s review of Balakirev: “In...Balakirev I found views that were so close to mine.” And, although Stasov was almost twelve years older than the young musician, he became close friends with him for the rest of his life. They constantly spend time reading books by Belinsky, Dobrolyubov, Herzen, Chernyshevsky, and Stasov is undoubtedly more mature, developed and educated, brilliantly knowledgeable in classical and modern Art, ideologically guides and guides Balakirev.

In 1856, at one of the university concerts, Balakirev met with Cesar Antonovich Cui, who was studying at the Military Engineering Academy at that time and specialized in the construction of military fortifications. Cui loved music very much. IN early youth he even studied with the Polish composer Moniuszko.

With his new and bold views on music, Balakirev captivates Cui and awakens in him a serious interest in art. Under the leadership of Balakirev, Cui wrote in 1857 a scherzo for piano four hands, the opera “Prisoner of the Caucasus”, and in 1859 – a one-act comic opera “The Son of a Mandarin”.

The next composer to join the group “Balakirev – Stasov – Cui” was Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky. By the time he joined the Balakirev circle, he was a guards officer. He began composing very early and very soon realized that he had to devote his life to music. Without thinking twice, he, already an officer in the Preobrazhensky Regiment, decided to retire. Despite his youth (18 years old), Mussorgsky showed great versatility of interests: he studied music, history, literature, philosophy. His acquaintance with Balakirev occurred in 1857 with A.S. Dargomyzhsky. Everything about Balakirev struck Mussorgsky: his appearance, his bright, unique acting, and his bold thoughts. From now on, Mussorgsky becomes a frequent visitor to Balakirev. As Mussorgsky himself said, “a new world, hitherto unknown to him, opened up before him.”

In 1862, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov and A.P. Borodin joined the Balakirev circle. If Rimsky-Korsakov was a very young member of the circle, whose views and musical talent were just beginning to be determined, then Borodin by this time was already a mature man, an outstanding chemist, friendly with such giants of Russian science as Mendeleev, Sechenov, Kovalevsky , Botkin.

Borodin was self-taught in music. He owed his relatively great knowledge of music theory mainly to his serious acquaintance with the literature of chamber music. Even during his student years at the Borodin Medical-Surgical Academy, playing the cello, he often participated in ensembles of music lovers. According to his testimony, he played through the entire literature of string quartets, quintets, as well as duets and trios. Before meeting Balakirev, Borodin himself wrote several chamber works. Balakirev quickly appreciated not only Borodin’s brilliant musical talent, but also his versatile erudition.

Thus, by the beginning of 1863 we can talk about a circle formed by Balakirev.

The leading line in the themes of the works of the “kuchkists” is occupied by the life and interests of the Russian people. Most of the composers of the "Mighty Handful" systematically recorded, studied and developed samples folklore. Composers boldly used folk songs in both symphonic and operatic works (“The Tsar’s Bride”, “Snow Maiden”, “Khovanshchina”, “Boris Godunov”).

The national aspirations of the “Mighty Handful” were, however, devoid of any shade of national narrow-mindedness. The composers had great sympathy for the musical cultures of other peoples, which is confirmed by numerous examples of the use of Ukrainian, Georgian, Tatar, Spanish, Czech and other national themes and melodies in their works. The eastern element occupies a particularly large place in the work of the “kuchkists” (“Tamara”, “Islamey” by Balakirev; “Prince Igor” by Borodin; “Scheherazade”, “Antara”, “The Golden Cockerel” by Rimsky-Korsakov; “Khovanshchina” by Mussorgsky).

Creating works of art for the people, speaking in a language understandable and close to them, composers made their music accessible to the widest layers of listeners. This democratic aspiration explains the great attraction of the “new Russian school” to programming. “Program” is usually called such instrumental works in which ideas, images, plots are explained by the composer himself. The author's explanation can be given either in the explanatory text attached to the work or in its title. Many other works by the composers of the “Mighty Handful” are also programmatic: “Antar” and “The Tale” by Rimsky-Korsakov, “Islamey” and “King Lear” by Balakirev, “Night on Bald Mountain” and “Pictures at an Exhibition” by Mussorgsky.

Developing creative principles their great predecessors Glinka and Dragomyzhsky, the members of the “Mighty Handful” were at the same time bold innovators. They were not satisfied with what they had achieved, but called their contemporaries to “new shores”, strived for a direct, lively response to the demands and demands of modernity, inquisitively searched for new subjects, new types of people, new means of musical embodiment.

The “kuchkists” had to pave these new roads of their own in a persistent and irreconcilable struggle against everything reactionary and conservative, in sharp clashes with the dominance of foreign music, which had long been stubbornly propagated by the Russian rulers and aristocracy. The ruling classes could not be pleased with the truly revolutionary processes taking place in literature and art. Domestic art did not enjoy sympathy and support. Moreover, everything that was advanced and progressive was persecuted. Chernyshevsky was sent into exile; his works were stamped with a censorship ban. Herzen lived outside Russia. Artists who demonstratively left the Academy of Arts were considered “suspicious” and were registered by the Tsarist secret police. The influence of Western European theaters in Russia was ensured by all state privileges: Italian troupes had a monopoly opera stage, foreign entrepreneurs enjoyed the broadest benefits unavailable to domestic art.

Overcoming obstacles to the promotion of “national” music and attacks from critics, the composers of the “Mighty Handful” stubbornly continued their work of developing their native art and, as Stasov later wrote, “Balakirev’s partnership won over both the public and the musicians. It sowed a new fertile seed, which soon gave a luxurious and fruitful harvest."

The Balakirev circle usually met in several houses familiar and close to each other: at L.I. Shestakova (sister of M.I. Glinka), at Ts.A. Cui, at F.P. Mussorgsky (the composer’s brother), at V.V. .Stasova. Meetings of the Balakirev circle always took place in a very lively creative atmosphere.

Members of the Balakirev circle often met with writers A.V. Grigorovich, A.F. Pisemsky, I.S. Turgenev, artist I.E. Repin, sculptor M.A. Antokolsky. There were close connections with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

The composers of the "Mighty Handful" carried out great public educational work. The first public manifestation of the activities of the Balakirev circle was the opening of the Free Music School in 1862. The main organizer was M.I. Balakirev and choirmaster G.Ya. Lomakin. The free music school's main goal was to disseminate musical knowledge among the broad masses of the population.

Striving to widely disseminate their ideological and artistic principles, to strengthen creative influence on the surrounding public environment, members of the “Mighty Handful” not only used the concert platform, but also spoke on the pages of the press. The speeches were sharply polemical in nature, the judgments were sometimes harsh, categorical, which was due to the attacks and negative assessments to which the “Mighty Handful” were subjected from reactionary criticism.

Along with Stasov, Ts.A. Cui acted as an exponent of the views and assessments of the new Russian school. Since 1864, he was a permanent music reviewer for the St. Petersburg Vedomosti newspaper. Besides Cui, with critical articles Borodin and Rimsky-Korsakov spoke in the press. Even though the criticism was not theirs main activity, in their musical articles and reviews they gave examples of accurate and correct assessments of art and made a significant contribution to Russian classical musicology.

The influence of the ideas of the “Mighty Handful” also penetrates the walls of the St. Petersburg Conservatory. Rimsky-Korsakov was invited here in 1871 to the position of professor in the classes of instrumentation and composition. From that time on, Rimsky-Korsakov's activities were inextricably linked with the conservatory. He becomes the figure who concentrates young creative forces around himself. The combination of the advanced traditions of the “Mighty Handful” with a solid and solid academic foundation constituted characteristic feature“Rimsky-Korsakov school”, which was the dominant direction at the St. Petersburg Conservatory from the late 70s of the last century until the beginning of the 20th century.

By the end of the 70s and the beginning of the 80s, the work of the composers of the “Mighty Handful” was gaining wide fame and recognition not only in their homeland, but also abroad. An ardent admirer and friend of the “new Russian school” was Franz Liszt. Liszt energetically contributed to the dissemination of the works of Borodin, Balakirev, and Rimsky-Korsakov in Western Europe. Mussorgsky's ardent admirers were the French composers Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy, and the Czech composer Janacek.

COMPOSERS WHO WERE PART OF THE “MIGHTY PICKLE”

- Russian composer, pianist, conductor, head and inspirer of the famous “Five” - “Mighty Handful” (Balakirev, Cui, Mussorgsky, Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov), which personifies the national movement in Russian musical culture of the 19th century.

Balakirev was born on January 2, 1837 in Nizhny Novgorod, into an impoverished noble family. Brought to Moscow at the age of ten, he took lessons from John Field for some time; later A.D. Ulybyshev took a big part in his fate. enlightened amateur musician, philanthropist, author of the first Russian monograph on Mozart. Balakirev entered the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Kazan University, but in 1855 he met in St. Petersburg with M.I. Glinka, who convinced the young musician to devote himself to composition in the national spirit, relying on Russian music, folk and church, on Russian subjects and texts.

The “Mighty Handful” formed in St. Petersburg between 1857 and 1862, and Balakirev became its leader. He was self-taught and drew his knowledge mainly from practice, therefore he rejected the textbooks and methods of teaching harmony and counterpoint accepted at that time, replacing them with a wide acquaintance with the masterpieces of world music and their detailed analysis. The “Mighty Handful” as a creative association lasted relatively short-lived, but had a huge influence on Russian culture. In 1863, Balakirev founded the Free Music School - as opposed to the St. Petersburg Conservatory, the direction of which Balakirev assessed as cosmopolitan and conservative. He performed a lot as a conductor, regularly introducing listeners to early works your circle. In 1867 Balakirev became the conductor of concerts of the Imperial Russian musical society, but in 1869 he was forced to leave this post. In 1870 Balakirev experienced the strongest spiritual crisis, after which he did not study music for five years. He returned to composition in 1876, but by this time he had already lost his reputation as the head of the national school in the eyes of the musical community. In 1882, Balakirev again became the director of concerts at the Free Music School, and in 1883 - the manager of the Court Choir (during this period he created a number of church compositions and transcriptions of ancient chants).

Balakirev played a huge role in the formation of the national music school, but he himself composed relatively little. In symphonic genres, he created two symphonies, several overtures, music for Shakespeare's King Lear (1858-1861), symphonic poems Tamara (c. 1882), Rus' (1887, 2nd edition 1907) and In the Czech Republic (1867, 2nd edition edition 1905). For piano he wrote a sonata in B flat minor (1905), a brilliant fantasy Islamey (1869) and a number of pieces in different genres. Romances and adaptations of folk songs are of high value. Musical style Balakireva rests on one side on folk origins and the traditions of church music, on the other - to the experience of the new Western European art, especially Liszt, Chopin, Berlioz. Balakirev died in St. Petersburg on May 29, 1910.

born March 9 (21), 1839 on his parents’ estate in the village of Karevo, Toropetsky district, Pskov province.

Russian composer. He did not receive a systematic musical education, although in his childhood he learned to play the piano and tried to compose. According to family tradition, the young man was assigned to a guards school. At the end of the 50s, Mussorgsky met Dargomyzhsky and Balakirev, and struck up friendships with Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Stasov. Meetings with them helped the talented musician determine his true calling: he decides to devote himself entirely to music. In 1858, Mussorgsky retired and became an active participant creative group advanced composers, known in history as the “Mighty Handful”.

In his work, imbued with deep nationalism and realism, Mussorgsky was a consistent, bright, courageous exponent of the revolutionary democratic ideas of the 60s. The composer's talent was most fully revealed in operas. The monumental innovative musical dramas "Boris Godunov" (based on Pushkin) and "Khovanshchina" are the pinnacles of his work. In these works, as in the comic opera "Sorochinskaya Fair" (according to Gogol), the main character is the people. A brilliant master of musical characteristics, Mussorgsky created lively, rich images of people of different classes, showing human personality in all its diversity and complexity spiritual world. Psychological depth and high drama are combined in Mussorgsky's operas with a wealth of musical and expressive means. The originality and novelty of the composer's musical language lies in the innovative use of Russian folk song and in conveying the intonations of live speech.

The composer sought to ensure that in his works " characters spoke on stage, as living people speak..." He achieved this not only in operas, but also in solo vocal music- songs based on stories from peasant life, dramatic ballads, satirical sketches. These are, first of all, such masterpieces as “Kalistrat”, “Eryomushka’s Lullaby”, “Forgotten”, “Commander”, “Seminarist”, “Rayok”, “Arrogance”, “Classic”, “Song of a Flea”, etc. best essays Mussorgsky also includes the vocal cycle “Children’s Room”, fantasy for orchestra “Night on Bald Mountain”, and the brilliant “Pictures at an Exhibition” for piano. "Comprehension of history, deep perception of countless shades folk spirit, mood, intelligence and stupidity, strength and weakness, tragedy and humor - all this is unparalleled in Mussorgsky,” wrote V. V. Stasov.

born on November 12, 1833 and was recorded as the son of the serf servant of Prince L.S. Gedianov - Porfiry Borodin. In reality, the future composer was the illegitimate son of the prince himself and the St. Petersburg bourgeois Avdotya Antonova, in whose house the child was raised.

Having shown an early interest in music, Borodin began learning to play the flute at the age of eight, and then the piano and cello. When the boy turned nine, he composed a polka for piano for 4 hands, and at sixteen his musical works were already praised by music critics, noting the “subtle aesthetic taste and poetic soul" of the young composer.

However, despite obvious successes in this area, Alexander nevertheless chose the profession of a chemist, enrolling in 1850 as a volunteer at the Medical-Surgical Academy, which he graduated from in 1856.

After Borodin received his doctorate in medicine in 1858, he was sent on a scientific trip to Western Europe, where he met his future wife, pianist Ekaterina Protopopova, who discovered many romantic composers for him, in particular Schumann and Chopin.

In parallel with scientific activity Borodin did not abandon his musical experiments. During his trip abroad, he created string and piano quintets, a string sextet and some other chamber works.

After returning to Russia in 1862, he became an associate professor at the Medical-Surgical Academy, and in 1864 - an ordinary professor of the same department.

In the same 1862, a significant meeting took place for Borodin - he met M. Balakirev, and subsequently the rest of the members of his circle, known as the “Mighty Handful” (C. Cui, N. Rimsky-Korsakov and M. Mussorgsky ). “Before meeting me,” Balakirev later recalled, “he considered himself only an amateur and did not attach importance to his exercises in composition. It seems to me that I was the first person to tell him that his real business was composing.”

Under the influence of the “kuchkist” composers, Borodin’s musical and aesthetic views finally took shape and his art style, inextricably linked with the Russian national school.

All his work is permeated with the theme of the greatness of the Russian people, love for the motherland, and love of freedom. A striking example that is the Second Symphony, which Mussorgsky proposed to call “Slavic Heroic”, and the famous music critic V. Stasov - “Bogatyrskaya”.

Due to his great commitment to scientific and pedagogical activities, to which Borodin devotes almost more time than to music, work on each new work was delayed for months, and more often for years. Thus, the composer worked on his main work - the opera “Prince Igor”, starting from the late 1860s. I worked for eighteen years, but never managed to finish it.

At the same time, it is difficult to overestimate Borodin’s contribution to the development national science. The great Russian chemist D.I. Mendeleev said: “Borodin would have stood even higher in chemistry and would have brought even more benefits to science if music had not distracted him too much from chemistry.”

Borodin wrote more than 40 scientific papers on chemistry (he is the author of the discovery of a special chemical reaction, called the “Borodin reaction” in his honor).

Since 1874 Borodin began to lead chemical laboratory Medical-Surgical Academy. In addition, he was one of the organizers of the highest educational institution for women - Women's medical courses (1872–1887), at which he later taught.

By the end of his life, Borodin the composer achieved a certain fame outside of Russia. On the initiative of F. Liszt, with whom Borodin was friends, his symphonies were repeatedly performed in Germany. And in 1885 and 1886. Borodin traveled to Belgium, where his symphonic works enjoyed great success.

During this period he wrote two string quartets, two movements of the Third Symphony in A minor, musical picture for orchestra "B" Central Asia", a number of romances and piano pieces.

A.P. died Borodin on February 15, 1887 in St. Petersburg, without having time to finish either the opera “Prince Igor” or his Third Symphony (they were completed by N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov and A.K. Glazunov).

Caesar Antonovich Cui (1835-1918) – Russian composer and critic, member of the famous "Five" - "Mighty Handful" (Balakirev, Cui, Mussorgsky, Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov), one of the founders national movement in Russian music. Born January 18, 1835 in Vilna (now Vilnius, Lithuania); his mother was Lithuanian, his father French. He studied at the Main Engineering School, and then at the Military Engineering Academy in St. Petersburg, from which he graduated in 1857. Cui made a brilliant career in the military field, rose to the rank of general and became a specialist in fortification issues. In 1857 he met Balakirev, and this was the impetus for resuming his music studies (while still in Vilna, Cui took lessons from the famous Polish composer S. Moniuszko). Cui became one of Balakirev's students and subsequently a member of the Five. In his publications in periodicals, he actively supported the principles of the “new Russian music school.” The composer's legacy includes 10 operas that were not successful; the most interesting of them is the first, William Ratcliffe (after Heinrich Heine, 1869). He also composed a number of orchestral pieces of small genres, 3 string quartets, about 30 choirs, pieces for violin and piano and more than 300 romances. Cui died in Petrograd on March 26, 1918.
came from ancient noble family. He was born on March 18, 1844 in Tikhvin, Novgorod province. Some traits of N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov's nature - high integrity, inability to compromise - were probably formed not without the influence of his father, who at one time was removed from the post of governor by a personal decree of Nicholas I for his humane attitude towards the Poles.

When Rimsky-Korsakov was twelve years old, he was assigned to the naval cadet corps, something he had dreamed of almost since birth.

Around this time, Rimsky-Korsakov began taking piano lessons from the orchestra's cellist Alexandria Theater Ulikha. And in 1858, the future composer changed teachers. His new teacher was the famous pianist Fyodor Andreevich Kanill, under whose guidance Nikolai began to try to compose music on his own. Imperceptibly, the music pushed thoughts about a career as a naval officer into the background.

In the fall of 1861, Rimsky-Korsakov met M. Balakirev and became a member of the “Balakirev circle.”

In 1862, Nikolai Andreevich, having barely survived the death of his father, went to trip around the world(visited a number of countries in Europe, Northern and South America), during which he composed Andante for a symphony on a Russian theme folk song about Tatar is full, proposed by Balakirev.

Upon returning to his homeland, he devoted himself almost entirely to writing. When the composer was 27 years old, he was invited as a professor of composition and orchestral writing at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. At the age of 29, he became an inspector of military bands of the Naval Department, after that - the head of the Free Music School, and even later - an assistant to the manager of the Court Singing Chapel.

In the early 1870s, Rimsky-Korsakov married the talented pianist Nadezhda Purgold.

Aware of the imperfection of his musical education, he studies diligently, but before writing the opera “May Night” (1878), creative failures haunt him one after another.

After the death of his comrades in the “Mighty Handful” - Borodin and Mussorgsky - Rimsky-Korsakov completed the works they had begun, but not completed.

On the centenary of the birth of A.S. Pushkin (1899) Korsakov wrote the cantata “Song of prophetic Oleg" and the opera "The Tale of Tsar Saltan, of his glorious and mighty hero Gvidon Saltanovich and the beautiful Swan Princess."

After the revolution of 1905, Rimsky-Korsakov, who supported the demands of the students, was fired from the conservatory.

His the last opera Viewers heard “The Golden Cockerel” after the composer’s death.

CONCLUSION

The “Mighty Handful” existed as a single creative team until the mid-70s. By this time, in the letters and memoirs of its participants and close friends, one can increasingly find reasoning and statements about the reasons for its gradual collapse. Borodin is closest to the truth. In a letter to singer L.I. Karmalina in 1876, he wrote: “...As activity develops, individuality begins to take precedence over the school, over what a person has inherited from others. ...Finally, at the same thing, in different eras development, in different times, views and tastes in particular change. All this is completely natural.”

Gradually, the role of the leader of advanced musical forces goes to Rimsky-Korsakov. He educates the younger generation at the conservatory, and since 1877 he has become the conductor of the Free Music School and the inspector of musical choirs of the naval department. Since 1883 he has been leading pedagogical activity in the Court Singing Chapel.

The first of the leaders of the “Mighty Handful” to pass away was Mussorgsky. He died in 1881. Last years Mussorgsky's life was very difficult. Failing health, material insecurity - all this prevented the composer from concentrating on creative work, caused a pessimistic mood and alienation.

In 1887, A.P. Borodin died.

With the death of Borodin, the paths of the surviving composers of the “Mighty Handful” finally diverged. Balakirev, withdrawing into himself, completely moved away from Rimsky-Korsakov, Cui has long fallen behind his brilliant contemporaries. Stasov alone remained in the same relationship with each of the three.

Balakirev and Cui lived the longest (Balakirev died in 1910, Cui in 1918). Despite the fact that Balakirev returned to musical life in the late 70s (in the early 70s Balakirev stopped studying musical activity), he no longer had the energy and charm that characterized him in the 60s. The composer's creative powers died out before his life.

Balakirev continued to direct the Free Music School and the Court Singing Chapel. The educational routines he and Rimsky-Korsakov established in the choir led to the fact that many of its students went on the real road, becoming outstanding musicians.

Cui’s creativity and inner appearance also bore little resemblance to his former connection with the “Mighty Handful.” He successfully advanced in his second specialty: in 1888 he became a professor at the Military Engineering Academy in the department of fortification and left many valuable published scientific works in this area.

Rimsky-Korsakov also lived a long time (died in 1908). Unlike Balakirev and Cui, his work followed an ascending line until its completion. He remained faithful to the principles of realism and nationalism, developed during the great democratic upsurge of the 60s in the “Mighty Handful”.

Based on the great traditions of the “Mighty Handful,” Rimsky-Korsakov raised an entire generation of musicians. Among them are such outstanding artists as Glazunov, Lyadov, Arensky, Lysenko, Spendiarov, Ippolitov-Ivanov, Steinberg, Myaskovsky and many others. They brought these traditions alive and active to our time.

The work of the composers of the “Mighty Handful” belongs to the best achievements of the world musical art. Based on the legacy of the first classic of Russian music, Glinka, Mussorgsky, Borodin and Rimsky-Korsakov embodied the ideas of patriotism in their works, glorified the great forces of the people, and created wonderful images of Russian women. Developing Glinka's achievements in the field symphonic creativity in program and non-program works for orchestra, Balakirev, Rimsky-Korsakov and Borodin made a huge contribution to the world treasury symphonic music. The composers of the “Mighty Handful” created their music based on wonderful folk song melodies, endlessly enriching it with this. They showed great interest and respect not only for Russian musical creativity; their works presented themes from Ukrainian and Polish, English and Indian, Czech and Serbian, Tatar, Persian, Spanish and many others.

The work of the composers of the “Mighty Handful” is the highest example of musical art; at the same time, it is accessible, expensive and understandable to the most wide circles listeners. This is its great enduring value.

The music created by this small but powerful group is a high example of serving the people with their art, an example of genuine creative friendship, an example of heroic artistic work.

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