A new dynamic

The Mighty Handful, who collaborated between 1856 and 1881, changed the direction of Russian music, permanently freeing it from Germanic influences and setting the scene for the country’s ground-breaking music in the 20th century.

Who were these five composers? What was the dynamic between them, and what conditions fomented their musical iconoclasm?

In this episode, Donald Macleod explores the legacy of The Mighty Handful on modern Russian music and looks at their influence over European music, which they were themselves a reaction against.

Mussorgsky is drinking himself to death whilst struggling with the composition of Khovanshschina. We join him in March 1881 at the home of the opera singer Daria Leonova and at his wits' end, penniless and ill. He died shortly afterwards, marking the end of the ‘Mighty Handful’.

Before this, Balakirev had thrown off his own downturn and re-joined musical society, connecting with the group once again. But everything had changed in his absence - Rimsky Korsakov is now in charge at the Free Music School and remains irritated by Balakirev’s constant 'suggestions'. Rimsky remained four square behind The Mighty Handful’s warmth to Russian customs and folk traditions. They lit the creative spark for his The Snow Maiden opera, a story rooted in Russian legend.

And we look at Rimsky Korsakov’s crucial role in many of the works considered central to the Kuchka canon, which without him would have remained fragmentary – including A Night on the Bare Mountain, Prince Igor and Khovanshchina – or unknown, like Boris Godunov. Without his teaching of composers like Glazunov and Stravinsky, the pioneering Russian style would likely not have survived into the twentieth century.

Mussorgsky: Song of the Flea
Feodor Chaliapin, bass
Unnamed orchestra conducted by Eugene Goossens

Mussorgsky: Khovanshschina
Act V Scene 3: Podviglis'
Alexandrina Milcheva, mezzo-soprano (Marfa)
Todor Kostov, tenor (Andrey Khovansky)
Sofia National Opera Orchestra
Atanas Margaritov, conductor

Rimsky Korsakov: The Snow Maiden
Act III: Scene in the forest clearing: Dance of the Tumblers
Bulgarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
Stoyan Angelov, conductor

Borodin – In the Steppes of Central Asia
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra
Leonard Slatkin, conductor

Balakirev - Tamara
London Symphony Orchestra
Valery Gergiev, conductor