Editing Mily Balakirev (section)

===Waning influence and friendship with Tchaikovsky===
{{see also|Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and The Five}}
When Anton Rubinstein relinquished directorship of the RMS concerts in 1867, Balakirev was suggested to replace him. The conservative patron for the RMS, Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, agreed—provided [[Nikolai Zaremba]], who had taken over for Rubinstein at the [[Saint Petersburg Conservatory]] was also appointed, along with a distinguished foreign composer.<ref name="Maes, 43">Maes, 43.</ref> The choice of Berlioz as foreign conductor was widely lauded, but Balakirev's appointment was seen less enthusiastically.<ref name="maes44">Maes, 44.</ref> Balakirev's uncompromising nature caused tension at the RMS,<ref name="Maes, 43"/> and his preference for modern repertoire earned him the enmity of Elena Pavlovna.<ref>Holden, Anthony, ''Tchaikovsky: A Biography'' (New York: Random House, 1995), 71.</ref> In 1869, she informed him that his services were no longer required.<ref name="maes44">Maes, 44.</ref>

[[File:Tchaikovsky 6.jpeg|thumb|[[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky]] at the time he wrote ''[[Romeo and Juliet (Tchaikovsky)|Romeo and Juliet]]'' with Balakirev's support]]
The week after Balakirev's dismissal, an impassioned article in his defense appeared in ''The Contemporary Chronicle''. The author was [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky]]. Balakirev had conducted Tchaikovsky's symphonic poem ''[[Fatum (Tchaikovsky)|Fatum]]'' and the "Characteristic Dances" from his opera ''[[The Voyevoda (opera)|The Voyevoda]]'' at the RMS, and ''Fatum'' had been dedicated to Balakirev.<ref>Holden, 70.</ref> The appearance of Tchaikovsky's article may have been calculated, as he knew Elena Pavlovna was due in Moscow, where he lived, the day the article was to appear. He sent two notes to Balakirev; the first alerted him to Elena Pavlovna's planned presence in Moscow, and the second thanked Balakirev for criticisms he had made about ''Fatum'' just after conducting it. Balakirev's immediate response was positive and enthusiastic.<ref>Holden, 71.</ref>

This exchange of letters grew into a friendship and a creative collaboration over the next two years, with Balakirev helping Tchaikovsky produce his first masterpiece, the fantasy-overture ''[[Romeo and Juliet (Tchaikovsky)|Romeo and Juliet]]''.<ref>Holden, 73–74.</ref> After ''Romeo and Juliet'', the two men drifted apart as Balakirev took a sabbatical from the music world.<ref name="holden248">Holden, 248.</ref> In 1880, Balakirev received a copy of the final version of the score of ''Romeo'' from Tchaikovsky, care of the music publisher Besel. Delighted Tchaikovsky had not forgotten him, he replied with an invitation for Tchaikovsky to visit him in Saint Petersburg.<ref name="holden248"/> In the same letter, he forwarded the programme for a symphony, based on [[Lord Byron]]'s poem ''[[Manfred]]'', which Balakirev was convinced Tchaikovsky "would handle wonderfully well." This programme had originally been penned by Stasov for [[Hector Berlioz]]. Tchaikovsky initially refused, but two years later changed his mind, partly due to Balakirev's continued prodding over the project.<ref>Holden, 248–9.</ref> The [[Manfred Symphony|''Manfred'' Symphony]], finished in 1885, became the largest, most complex work Tchaikovsky had written to that point.<ref>Holden, 251.</ref> As with ''Romeo and Juliet'' and ''Fatum'', Tchaikovsky dedicated the ''Manfred'' Symphony to Balakirev.<ref>Holden, 250.</ref>

When Lomakin resigned as director of the Free Music School in February 1868, Balakirev took his place there.<ref>Brown, ''Tchaikovsky: The Early Years'', 127</ref> Once he had left the RMS, he concentrated on building attendance for concerts of the Free Music School. He decided to recruit popular soloists and found Nikolai Rubinstein ready to help.<ref name="maes45">Maes, 45.</ref> Elena Pavlovna was furious. She decided to raise the social level of the RMS concerts by attending them personally with her court. This rivalry caused financial difficulties for both concert societies as RMS membership declined and the Free Music School continued to suffer from chronic money troubles. Soon the Free Music School could not pay Balakirev and had to cut its 1870–71 series short.<ref name="maes45">Maes, 45.</ref> The RMS then scored the ''coup de grâce'' of assigning its programming to [[Mikhaíl Azanchevsky]], who also took over as director of the [[Saint Petersburg Conservatory]] in 1871. Azanchevsky was more progressively-minded musically than his predecessors, a staunch believer in contemporary music on the whole and Russian contemporary music in particular.<ref name="maes45">Maes, 45.</ref> For the opening concert of the RMS 1871–72 season, he had conductor [[Eduard Nápravník]] present the first public performances of Tchaikovsky's ''[[Romeo and Juliet (Tchaikovsky)|Romeo and Juliet]]''  and the [[polonaise (dance)|polonaise]] from Mussorgsky's ''[[Boris Godunov (opera)|Boris Godunov]]''.<ref name="maes45">Maes, 45.</ref> This implicit recognition of Balakirev's ideas made his own concerts seem unnecessary and redundant.<ref name="maes45">Maes, 45.</ref> Balakirev then hoped that a solo recital in his hometown of Nizhny Novgorod in September 1870 would restore his reputation and prove profitable. Neither happened—he played to an empty house, and the profits of the recital amounted to 11 rubles.<ref name="abraham249"/> Added to these professional troubles were the death of his father in June 1869, and the financial responsibility for his younger sisters resulting from it.<ref>Campbell, ''New Grove (2001)'', 2:311.</ref>