Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and The Five argued about music in Russia in 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