In November 1860 the concert season began again.

In his reminiscences,
Dmitry Stasov recalled that the artistic committee established a tradition (pos-
sibly even supported by a resolution) that each concert would include at least
one work by a Russian composer,23 which posed a problem. At that time the
Balakirev circle was only just beginning to show that it was a signicant force
in Russian music, and, besides the music of Glinka and Dargomzhsky, there
were few established names. The Society tried to encourage native talent and
works by Baron Fitinghof-Shel and Nikolay Afanasyev, composers now almost
completely forgotten, briey found their way onto RMS programs.24 Despite
such efforts, the critics of the concerts accused them of being too Teutonic and
of failing to encourage Russian music.

The Opposition Redoubles

By late 1860 the general opposition to Rubinstein and the attacks on him
were gaining momentum. With his irascible and obdurate character, he con-
stantly made matters worse by his complete refusal to compromise. He was a
born dictator, Ippolitov-Ivanov declared. He could not tolerate objections, he
could not get on with people, nor did he want to.25 In a rehearsal of Beethovens
Eighth Symphony he harried the horn players to such an extent in the Allegretto
that they walked out. Then, in December 1860, an incident occurred which
was clearly intended to undermine his authority. In March 1861 he was to con-
duct an RMS concert that included a performance of Mendelssohns Die Erste
Walpurgisnacht. Prince Odoyevsky recorded the following in a diary entry dated
14 December 1860:
This is what Rubinstein told me about what happened at the Singing Academy (at
the Mikhaylovsky Palace). They were rehearsing Mendelssohns Walpurgisnacht;
the sopranos sang wrong notes; he made the rst sopranos singthey sang wrong
notes; he made the rst row singagain wrong notes; just the second rowno
wrong notes; that means that only the rst row were singing wrong notes; he went
through them in groups of three, and discovered that one group of three was re-
sponsible for the wrong notes [of the choir]. He invited these ladies to sing on
their own, but they would not agree. With his usual curtness, Rubinstein said: Ces
dames sont pries de ne plus revenir [These ladies are requested not to return].
Then a scandal occurred . . . Rubinstein would not give in to the demands and left
the hall. The next day he sent notication to the directors that he was giving up
teaching in the Academy, giving up his directorship and his conducting duties.
Tomorrow he is writing his apologies to the three ladies and is announcing to them
his intention of standing down. Rubinstein was not right in the form . . . but in
reality he was right; he was the one responsible for the wrong notes of the choir . . .
With Rubinsteins resignation the Society will fall apart; it can be held together
only by a general letter or a request from all members of the Society, or at least of
all those who are members of the Singing Academy.26

When the directors of the RMS received the letter of resignation, the ma-
jority of the chorus members submitted a petition, threatening to disband

The Founding of the Russian Music Society 89