- Balakirev made important contributions to the development of Russian classical music and the Russian romance genre, continuing the pioneering work of Mikhail Glinka. Together with César Cui, Modest Mussorgsky, Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakow, and Alexander Borodin, Balakirev formed the group of The Five in St Petersburg that collaborated to create a distinct national style of music. Although the group only existed from 1856 to 1870, it had enormous influence on the following generation of Russian composers. In Western Europe, the symbolist composers Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy adopted their radical tonal language. - With rust-stains from a paperclip affecting the address. Traces of folds..