Alexander Borodin Free Sheet Music, Program Notes and recordings

The Sunday Composer: A Scientist's Epic Melodies

In the history of classical music, there is no figure quite like Alexander Borodin. He was a man who lived a dual life with extraordinary success in both. By day, he was Dr. Borodin, one of Russia’s most respected organic chemists, a published academic, and a tireless advocate for women's education. But on evenings, weekends, and even when feigning illness to escape his laboratory duties, he was a composer of breathtaking genius. He often referred to himself as a "Sunday composer," lamenting that his scientific work left him little time for his true passion. Yet, from these stolen moments of creativity emerged some of the most powerful, lyrical, and enduringly Russian music ever written, proving that a part-time passion could produce a full-time masterpiece.

Early Life and Dual Talents

Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin was born in St. Petersburg, the illegitimate son of a 62-year-old Georgian nobleman, Prince Luka Gedevanishvili, and his 25-year-old mistress, Avdotya Antonova. Due to the social conventions of the time, the prince had the boy registered as the legitimate son of one of his serfs, Porfiry Borodin, lending him a name and a place in society. Despite this unusual start, his princely father ensured he received an excellent and broad education.

From a very young age, two distinct talents blossomed within him: a fascination with science and an innate gift for music. He built a home laboratory for chemistry experiments while simultaneously learning to play the piano, flute, and cello. He began composing his first pieces as a teenager, but his primary path was set toward a more practical and respectable career. In 1850, he enrolled in the Medico-Surgical Academy in St. Petersburg, the very institution where he would later become a celebrated professor. His mentor was the famous chemist Nikolay Zinin, and Borodin quickly established himself as a brilliant scientific mind.

The Scientist Who Composed

After graduating, Borodin spent several years as an army surgeon before pursuing postgraduate studies in chemistry in Western Europe, particularly in Germany. It was here, in Heidelberg, that he met and fell in love with Ekaterina Protopopova, a gifted young pianist. She introduced him to the works of Robert Schumann and Frédéric Chopin, expanding his musical horizons beyond the chamber music he had previously favored.

Upon returning to Russia in 1862, Borodin accepted a professorship at his alma mater. His scientific career flourished. He published important papers on aldehydes, and his work on the silver salt decarboxylation of carboxylic acids became known as the Hunsdiecker–Borodin reaction. He was also a passionate social advocate, co-founding the School of Medicine for Women, where he taught chemistry for many years. His life was consumed by lectures, laboratory research, and academic duties.

Music, however, remained a persistent and powerful calling. He famously complained to a friend, "In winter I can only compose when I am too unwell to give my lectures. So my friends, reversing the usual custom, never say to me, 'I hope you are well,' but 'I do hope you are ill.'" This constant struggle between his demanding profession and his artistic soul would define his entire life and, consequently, limit his musical output.

The Mighty Handful

The most significant turning point in Borodin's musical life occurred in 1862 when he met Mily Balakirev. Balakirev was a composer and the charismatic, dogmatic leader of a group of young composers who sought to create a truly nationalistic Russian music, free from the dominant German and Italian influences. This circle, later dubbed "The Mighty Handful" or "The Five," included Balakirev, César Cui, Modest Mussorgsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and Borodin.

Balakirev took Borodin under his wing, providing formal instruction in composition and pushing him to embrace his Russian heritage in his music. The group met to play their works for one another, offering harsh criticism and unwavering support. Surrounded by the fiery genius of Mussorgsky and the brilliant orchestration of Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin found the encouragement he needed to take his "hobby" seriously. He began work on his First Symphony, a piece that took him five years of intermittent effort to complete. Its successful premiere in 1869, conducted by Balakirev, announced the arrival of a major new voice in Russian music.

Famous Works

Borodin’s small but brilliant catalog of works is filled with epic grandeur, soaring lyricism, and a distinctive "exotic" color, drawing on the folk music of Russia's eastern regions.

• Prince Igor and the "Polovtsian Dances": This is Borodin's magnum opus, an epic opera based on the 12th-century tale The Lay of Igor's Campaign. He labored over it for 18 years, leaving it unfinished at his death. It was painstakingly completed and orchestrated by his friends Rimsky-Korsakov and a young Alexander Glazunov. The opera's most famous section is the "Polovtsian Dances," a breathtaking sequence of choruses and dances from Act II. With their wild, percussive energy and hauntingly beautiful melodies, the dances are a staple of the concert hall and have transcended the opera to become Borodin's single most famous work.

• Symphony No. 2 in B minor: This is arguably the most important Russian symphony between Glinka's work and the symphonies of Tchaikovsky. It took Borodin seven years to write, often setting it aside for months at a time. The symphony is a monumental work, nicknamed the "Bogatyr" or "Heroic" symphony, meant to evoke images of ancient Russian knights and epic legends. Its powerful themes and brilliant orchestration make it a landmark of Russian symphonic music.

• In the Steppes of Central Asia: This masterful orchestral tone poem was composed in 1880. It vividly paints a musical picture of a caravan of Asians crossing the vast desert under the protection of Russian soldiers. Borodin masterfully weaves together two distinct themes—a flowing, lyrical "Russian" melody and a plaintive, "Oriental" theme played on the English horn—to create an atmosphere of immense space and peaceful movement.

• String Quartet No. 2 in D major: While known for his epic orchestral works, Borodin also had a gift for intimate chamber music. This quartet is his most famous, beloved for its warmth and heartfelt lyricism. Its third movement, the "Nocturne," is exceptionally beautiful, a passionate and romantic conversation between the cello and violin. The melodies from this quartet were famously adapted for the 1953 Broadway musical Kismet, with the "Nocturne" becoming the song "And This Is My Beloved."

Death and Legacy

Borodin died suddenly from a heart attack on February 27, 1887, during a fancy-dress ball he was hosting at the academy. He was dressed in a Russian peasant costume. His premature death was a profound loss for both science and music.

Though his output was small, Borodin's influence was immense. As a core member of "The Mighty Handful," he helped to forge a national musical identity for Russia. His use of folk melodies, "eastern" scales, and bold harmonies influenced generations of Russian composers, including Glazunov, Igor Stravinsky, and Sergei Prokofiev. His melodies have a unique, long-breathed quality that is instantly recognizable and deeply moving. He remains the ultimate "Sunday composer," a man whose stolen moments of artistic creation gave the world a timeless legacy of epic and beautiful music.

Section 4: References and Further Reading

• Dianin, Sergey. Borodin. Translated by Robert Lord. Oxford University Press, 1963.

• Figes, Orlando. Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia. Metropolitan Books, 2002. (Provides excellent cultural context for Borodin and The Five).

• Abraham, Gerald. Borodin: The Composer and His Music. W. Reeves, 1927.

• Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai. My Musical Life. Edited by Carl Van Vechten, translated by Judah A. Joffe. Faber and Faber, 1989. (Offers a firsthand account of his friend and colleague).