The Russian Five

This paper explores Russian culture beginning in the mid nineteenth-century as the leading group of composers and musicians known as the Moguchaya Kuchka, or The Russian Five, sought to influence Russian culture and develop a pure school of Russian music amidst rampant Westernization. Comprised of César Cui, Aleksandr Borodin, Mily Balakirev, Modest Mussorgsky, and Nikolay Rimksy-Korsakov, this group of inspired musicians, steeped in Russian society, worked to remove outside cultural influences and create a uniquely Russian sound in their compositions. Under the progressive reign of Tsar Peter the Great and the subsequent leadership of Tsar Peter the great, the nation became saturated with French culture and outside Western practices. These musicians composed with the intent of eradicating ideologies outside of Russia and in an attempt to cultivate an unparalleled national pride. In contrast, their academically trained contemporary Pyotr Tchaikovsky held a very different perspective about the purpose of music and embraced the Western musical elements. Despite their differing musical aesthetics and compositional styles, the Moguchaya Kuchka cultivated a distinct and rich Russian culture for the arts through the incorporation of classic folk elements and local village traditions. These composers utilized local elements of tonal mutability, heterophony, the whole tone scale, and raw intervals to set themselves apart from Westernized musical harmony. The Russian’s use of parallel fifths, fourths, and thirds directly contrasted the rules set by Western music and their frequent use of other compositional techniques furthered the divide between Russian music and the west. Through studying the works of these influential composers and the cultural context surrounding their lives, one can gain a better understanding of both the essence of Russian Official Nationalism in the nineteenth-century as well as an enriched understanding of the music that was prevalent in Russia and compositional techniques employed to achieve a unique sound