In the second half of the 19th century, Balakirev was the guiding spirit of a group of Russian ‘nationalist’ composers called the Moguchaya Koochka, literally "the mighty handful", but better known in English as the Mighty Five, which included César Cui, Mussorgsky, Borodin and Rimsky-Korsakov.

Balakirev was the only one of the group to begin as a professional musician.

His success as a composer was intermittent, largely owing to his irascible personality and a tendency to make enemies as a result of his overwhelming enthusiasm and intolerance of other ideas.