Alexander Borodin (1833–1887) was a Russian Romantic composer and accomplished chemist. A member of The Five, a group of nationalist composers, Borodin is best known for his opera Prince Igor, the symphonic poem In the Steppes of Central Asia, and his string quartets. His music blends lyrical beauty with bold, heroic themes. Outside of music, Borodin made significant contributions to organic chemistry, including co-discovering the aldol reaction
Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends of music,
I am Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin, born in 1833 in Saint Petersburg — a city of winter palaces and long northern light. My life was divided, almost impossibly, between two great loves: science and music. By profession I was a chemist, and I took great pride in it. I studied reactions, discovered compounds, and taught at the Medical–Surgical Academy, believing that knowledge could serve humanity. But while my mind worked with formulas, my heart worked in melody.
I did not come to music through the conservatory. I was self-taught, guided by friendship and curiosity. In the 1860s I joined a remarkable brotherhood of Russian composers — Balakirev, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Cui — we were called The Mighty Handful. Together we dreamed of a national art that would sound Russian in every phrase, not merely imitate the salons of Paris or Vienna.
Under Balakirev’s sharp ear, I learned discipline; from Mussorgsky, the courage to write truth; from Rimsky-Korsakov, the colors of the orchestra. We quarreled, laughed, and challenged one another, but always with love for the art that bound us.
My own works grew slowly — I wrote only when time allowed between lectures and laboratories. My Symphonies and the String Quartet No. 2 were born of quiet hours snatched from my scientific life. In them I tried to blend structure with warmth, clarity with the poetry of folk song. And of course, there was my opera Prince Igor, my lifelong labor, filled with the spirit of ancient Russia and the energy of its people. It was left unfinished when I died, but my friends Glazunov and Rimsky-Korsakov completed it, so its songs — especially the Polovtsian Dances — could take flight.
I passed away in 1887, in Saint Petersburg, suddenly and unexpectedly, during a ball held in my honor. It was a fitting irony — for though I was often absent-minded, always torn between science and art, I believed life should be lived with generosity, curiosity, and joy.
If I left any trace, it is perhaps the belief that music and science are not so different: both seek harmony in chaos, and both remind us of the beauty that order and imagination can create together.
Thank you.
A Selection of Works by Alexander Borodin Available for Listening on Classical Archives
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Opera
Piano Works
Orchestral Works
Chamber Music
- Piano Trio in D
- String Quartet No.1 in A
- String Quartet No.2 in D (includes the ravishing third movement, Andante)
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