Balakirev from the beginning decried the use of Western European musical forms, considering them un-Russian. The first of his two symphonies appeared in 1888—after 20 years over which a group of Balakirev'c compatriots (the "Mighty Five") established a purely Russian school of classical composition. This symphony is in a mosaic-type form instead of using standard symphonic development. The slow introduction of the first movement contains two melodies which are quoted throughout the body of the first movement proper; one of them, which some have said is based on a liturgical chant, recurs in various guises elsewhere in the work. The second movement is a Scherzo, with two contrasting sections. The third movement is a rich and romantic song for orchestra, with an Eastern-flavored melody of the kind often favored by the Mighty Five. The finale, the only movement which quotes an actual folk melody, consists of repetition after repetition of its themes in different guises, as if the composer is trying to see how original each new variation might be. The orchestration is typically brilliant in the Russian manner, and the work as a whole is highly entertaining.

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