Alexander Borodin (1833-1887)

Borodin's apartment was a madhouse.....he always had a bunch of sick relatives living with him, or just poor people… Naturally there was always someone sleeping in every room, on every couch, and on the floor. He didn't want to disturb them with the piano. Rimsky-Korsakov would ask: 'Did you transpose that section?' 'Yes. From the piano to the desk.'”

 -Dmitri Shostakovich on Alexander Borodin

Shostakovich described Borodin’s home life with a degree of bitterness.  His friend was arguably the most talented member of a powerhouse group of Russian composers called “The Five,” or “The Mighty Handful,” (the others were Mily Balakirev, Cesar Cui, Modest Mussorgsky, and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov).  Their goal was to create a style of art music that reflected their Russian national pride and heritage.  Yet Alexander Borodin never considered himself to be more than a “Sunday composer,” squeezing time for music in between his career and philanthropic activities.

Although young Alexander showed an early talent for music, his mother felt that it was not a suitable profession for the young man.  She did approve of his interest in science (he used to experiment with making fireworks!) and sent him to study at the School of Medicine in St. Petersburg.  He did very well there, though his professors complained that he spent too much time making music. 

Borodin graduated in 1858 as a Doctor of Medicine.  However, he could not stand the sight of blood, and soon settled into a comfortable position as professor of organic chemistry at the Academy of Medicine.  He distinguished himself with his research in the field, especially his work on aldehydes.  He was also incredibly devoted to his students, and worked especially hard to promote equal educational rights for women.  He was well loved during his life for his cheerful generosity and good-natured kindness.

But the world remembers Alexander Borodin for his music.  Inspired by the poignant folk melodies of his native Russia, his compositions are powerful, lyrical and full of expression.  Listening to them, we can forgive Borodin’s composer friends for wishing illness on him so that he would have more time to compose his music!

Sadly, Borodin left only a handful of complete compositions, and just 6,890 bars of music on paper.  His completed works are Symphony No. 1 in E flat (1867); Symphony No. 2 in B minor (1876); the String Quartet No. 1 in A (1879); the symphonic tone poem, In the Steppes of Central Asia (1880); and the String Quartet No. 2 in D minor (1881).  His friends Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Glazunov pieced together some of his works after his death, including the opera Prince Igor.  (See an excerpt from Prince Igor produced by a Russian filmmaker at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOpm6t9uwX8). 

Interestingly, death didn’t stop Borodin from continuing to win acclaim in the musical world.  The Broadway musical Kismet, based largely on his compositions, was recognized with a Tony award in 1954!