the 19th century. The Five, also known as The Mighty Handful, were
composers Mily Balakirev, Alexander Borodin, César Cui, Modest
Mussorgsky and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, who wanted to produce a
specifically Russian kind of art music, rather than one that imitated
older European music or relied on European-style conservatory training.
Tchaikovsky wanted to write professional compositions of a quality that
would stand up to Western scrutiny and thus transcend national barriers,
yet remain distinctively Russian in melody, rhythm and other
compositional characteristics. The Five also believed in using the
melodic, harmonic, tonal and rhythmic properties of Russian folk song,
along with exotic melodic, harmonic and rhythmic elements from music
originating in the middle- and far-eastern parts of the Russian Empire
(a practice that would become known as musical orientalism), as
compositional devices in their own works. Tchaikovsky remained friendly
but never intimate with most of The Five, ambivalent about their music.
He took pains to ensure his musical independence from them as well as
from the conservative faction at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Ilyich_Tchaikovsky_and_The_Five>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1411:
Forces of Donald of Islay, Lord of the Isles, and Alexander
Stewart, Earl of Mar, fought at the Battle of Harlaw near Inverurie,
Scotland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Harlaw>
1783:
The Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti and the Russian Empire signed the
Treaty of Georgievsk, establishing Georgia as a protectorate of Russia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Georgievsk>
1943:
Second World War: RAF Bomber Command began Operation Gomorrah,
the strategic bombing of Hamburg, Germany, eventually killing at least
50,000 and leaving over a million others homeless.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Hamburg_in_World_War_II>
1963:
Bluenose II, a replica of a major Canadian symbol, was launched
in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluenose_II>
1991:
The government of P. V. Narasimha Rao and his finance minister
Manmohan Singh introduced reforms that began the ongoing economic
liberalisation in India.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_liberalisation_in_India>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
sagacity:
The quality of being sage, wise, or able to make good decisions; wisdom.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sagacity>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
No kind action ever stops with itself. One kind action leads to
another. Good example is followed. A single act of kindness throws out
roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees. The
greatest work that kindness does to others is that it makes them kind
themselves.
--Amelia Earhart
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Amelia_Earhart>
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