The extraordinary group of Russian composers who came together in St Petersburg in the 1860s — long known as The Mighty Handful, but, as the moguchaya kuchka, better translated as 'the great little heap' — gave rise to one of the most fascinating and colourful stories in all musical history. Stephen Walsh, author of a major biography of their direct successor, Stravinsky, has written an absorbing account of Musorgsky and his circle — Borodin, Cui, Balakirev and Rimsky-Korsakov. With little or no musical education they created works of lasting significance — Musorgsky's Boris Godunov, Borodin's Prince Igor and Rimsky-Korsakov's Sheherazade. Written with deep understanding and panache, The Kuchka, is highly engaging and a significant contribution to cultural history.
