Alexandre Borodine
Though far from prolific as a composer -- by day he was a scientist noted for his research on aldehydes -- Alexander Borodin nevertheless earned a secure place in the history of Russian music. As a creative spirit, he was the most accomplished of the Russian nationalist composers. He had a particular gift for the distinctive stripe of exoticism so evident in his most frequently performed work, the "Polovtsian Dances" from the opera Prince Igor.
The illegitimate son of a Georgian prince and a doctor's wife, Borodin enjoyed a comfortable upbringing. As a child he learned to play several instruments and tried his hand at composing, but other aptitudes directed his formal education. He studied chemistry at St. Petersburg's Medico-Surgical Academy, obtaining his doctorate in 1858 and pursuing further studies in Europe until 1862. Upon his return to Russia, he became a professor at his alma mater, but even as an academic career apparently loomed before him, he maintained a devotion to music.
Under the influence of Mily Balakirev, whom he met in 1862, Borodin became interested in applying elements of Russian folk music to works for the concert hall and stage. He joined a circle of like-minded composers -- Balakirev, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky, and Cui -- famously dubbed "The Five" or "The Mighty Handful." The influence of Balakirev in particular is at once in evident in the Symphony No. 1 in E flat major (1867). Borodin began the much craggier Symphony No. 2 in B minor in 1869, the same year he commenced labor on his most important work, the opulent four-act opera Prince Igor. While it took him more than five years to complete the symphony, work on Prince Igor dragged on for decades. Borodin, who had in the meantime completed a number of other works, left the opera unfinished at the time of his death. It was completed posthumously by Rimsky-Korsakov, a skillful craftsman and a particularly apt match for Borodin's colorful musical character, and Alexander Glazunov. Glazunov also completed the Symphony No. 3 in A minor, which the composer had been working on until the time of his death.
Aside from teaching chemistry and conducting research, Borodin helped found a series of medical courses for women in 1872. Such activities, as well as the poor health that plagued him in the 1880s, drained the energy that he might have devoted to composition. Still, as a part-time composer, he left a significant oeuvre: more than a dozen worthy songs, miscellaneous piano pieces, two string quartets (the second of which contains a ravishing Nocturne often performed in an arrangement for string orchestra), and the popular tone poem In the Steppes of Central Asia (1880). Borodin died while attending a ball in St. Petersburg on February 27, 1887.
© James Reel /TiVo
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Borodin: In the Steppes of Central Asia (Digitally Remastered)
Classica - Pubblicato da EMG Classical il 17 apr 2013
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The Art of Nikolai Golovanov: Borodin - Symphony No. 2
Classica - Pubblicato da Music Online il 7 dic 2007
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Romantic Cello
Alexandre Borodine, Edward Elgar, Julian Lloyd Webber
Classica - Pubblicato da UME - Global Clearing House il 15 feb 2022
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String Quartets Nos. 1 and 2
Musica da camera - Pubblicato da Naxos il 24 ott 1994
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Borodin: Prince Igor
Classica - Pubblicato da Music Online il 25 ott 2007
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Borodin: Symphony No. 2 in B Minor "The Herculean" (Digitally Remastered)
Classica - Pubblicato da EMG Classical il 16 apr 2013
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Borodin: Symphony no 2
Alexandre Borodine, Christian Lindberg, Oviedo Filarmonía
Classica - Pubblicato da EUROPEAN GRAMOPHONE il 26 mar 2024
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Borodin: Petite Suite
Classica - Pubblicato da Zocotora Records il 13 mag 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ballet Music: 50 Must-Have Russian Ballet Classics
Balletti - Pubblicato da Cobra Entertainment LLC il 23 giu 2017
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Borodin: Prince Igor, Opera in Four Acts (Digitally Remastered)
The Symphony Orchestra of Bolshoi Theatre
Classica - Pubblicato da EMG Classical il 15 apr 2013
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Borodin: Polovetsian Dance No. 8 from Prince Igor (Digitally Remastered)
Classica - Pubblicato da EMG Classical il 11 apr 2013
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Borodin: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2
Classica - Pubblicato da Arabesque Recordings il 1 gen 1995
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Romantic Thanksgiving
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Sergei Prokofiev, Alexandre Borodine
Classica - Pubblicato da UME - Global Clearing House il 21 nov 2020
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Borodin: Selección de Polovietzkian Dances
Classica - Pubblicato da Piros Comercial Digital il 19 giu 2013
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Borodin: Symphony No 2, On The Steppes Of Central Asia, Tchaikovsy: 1812 Overture
The Ljubljana Symphony Orchestra
Musica sinfonica - Pubblicato da Stradivari Classics il 1 gen 1989
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Dvořák: Piano Quartet - Borodin Piano Quintet & Trio 'Unfinished'
Musica da camera - Pubblicato da Guild GmbH il 15 gen 2000
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Prokofiev - Borodin
Sergei Prokofiev, Alexandre Borodine, Christian Lindberg, Oviedo Filarmonía
Classica - Pubblicato da EUROPEAN GRAMOPHONE il 4 lug 2023
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Strings by Starlight
The Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra, Felix Slatkin
Classica - Pubblicato da Radio Tower Records il 5 gen 2015
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The Best of Classic
Classica - Pubblicato da Piros - Send il 20 giu 2011
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The Great Russian Composers
Classica - Pubblicato da OMP Classics il 30 giu 2013
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Borodin: Petite Suite
Alexandre Borodine, Niagara Falls Piano Classic Philharmonic
Classica - Pubblicato da Pastel Records Canada il 1 giu 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo