Editing The Five (composers) (section)

===Name===
[[Image:Vladimir Stasov.jpg|thumb|[[Vladimir Stasov]] <br> (1824&ndash;1906)]]
In May 1867 the critic [[Vladimir Stasov]] wrote an article, titled ''Mr. Balakirev's Slavic Concert'', covering a concert that had been performed for visiting Slav delegations at the "All-Russian Ethnographical Exhibition" in Moscow. The four Russian composers whose works were played at the concert were [[Mikhail Glinka]], [[Alexander Dargomyzhsky]], [[Mily Balakirev]], and [[Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov]].<ref>Abraham, Gerald, ''Essays on Russian and East European Music: Vladimir Stasov, Man and Critic'', Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1985, pg. 112</ref> The article ended with the following statement:

{{quote|God grant that our Slav guests may never forget today's concert; God grant that they may forever preserve the memory of how much poetry, feeling, talent, and intelligence are possessed by the small handful of Russian musicians.<ref name="Calvocoressi, M.D. 1946, pg. 178">Calvocoressi, M.D., Abraham, G., ''Master Musicians Series: Mussorgsky'', London: J.M.Dent & Sons, Ltd., 1946, pg. 178</ref>|Vladimir Stasov|''[[Sankt-Peterburgskie Vedomosti]]'', 1867}}

The expression "mighty handful" ({{langx|ru|Могучая кучка}}, ''Moguchaya kuchka'', "Mighty Bunch") was mocked by enemies of Balakirev and Stasov: [[Alexander Serov|Aleksandr Serov]], academic circles of the conservatory, the Russian Musical Society, and their press supporters. The group ignored critics and continued operating under the moniker.<ref name="Calvocoressi, M.D. 1946, pg. 178"/> This loose collection of composers gathered around Balakirev now included Cui, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Borodin &mdash; the five who have come to be associated with the name "Mighty Handful", or sometimes "The Five". [[Gerald Abraham]] stated flatly in the ''[[Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians]]'' that "they never called themselves, nor were they ever called in Russia, 'The Five'"<ref>Abraham, Gerald, ''The New Grove: Russian Masters 1: Balakirev'', New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1986, pg. 86</ref> (although today the Russian equivalent "Пятёрка" ("Pyatyorka") is occasionally used to refer to this group).<ref>''Krugosvet'', "[http://www.krugosvet.ru/enc/kultura_i_obrazovanie/muzyka/BALAKIREV_MILI_ALEKSEEVICH.html Balakirev Mily Alekseevich]".</ref> In his memoirs, Rimsky-Korsakov routinely refers to the group as "Balakirev's circle", and occasionally uses "The Mighty Handful", usually with an ironic tone. He also makes the following reference to "The Five":

{{quote|If we leave out of account [[Nikolai Lodyzhensky|Lodyzhensky]], who accomplished nothing, and [[Anatoly Lyadov|Lyadov]], who appeared later, Balakirev's circle consisted of Balakirev, Cui, Mussorgsky, Borodin, and me (the French have retained the denomination of "''Les Cinq''" for us to this day).<ref>Rimsky-Korsakov, N., ''Chronicle of My Musical Life'', New York: Knopf, 1923, pg. 286</ref>|Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov|''Chronicle of My Musical Life'', 1909}}

The Russian word ''kuchka'' also spawned the terms "kuchkism" and "kuchkist", which may be applied to artistic aims or works in tune with the sensibilities of the Mighty Handful.