born Jan. 2, 1837, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
died May 29, 1910, St. Petersburg
Russian composer.
As a youth he met and was influenced by the nationalist composer Mikhail Glinka . Balakirev himself later became the mentor of César Cui (1835–1918) and Modest Mussorgsky ; in 1861–62 their group expanded to become The Five . In 1862 Balakirev cofounded the Free School of Music. His works include two symphonies, the piano fantasy Islamey (1869), music for King Lear (1858–61), and a piano concerto. With his colourful imagination and use of folk themes, he was perhaps the most influential proponent of Russian nationalism. After a nervous breakdown in 1871, he adopted a fervent and bigoted form of Orthodoxy and was thereafter involved in musical life only sporadically.