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mm. 17-27
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Skills & Techniques: Slurred Flexibility, Soft Playing
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Horn 1 (F)
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Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (1994)
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Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra (N/A)
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reh. C - reh. D
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Skills & Techniques: Loud Playing, Marcato Style, Rhythms, Slurred Flexibility
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Horn 1, 3 (F)
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Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (1994)
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Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra (N/A)
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Composer & Composition Information
Alexander Borodin (1833-1887)
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Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin was a Romantic composer and chemist of Georgian-Russian extraction. He was one of the prominent 19th-century composers known as "The Five", a group dedicated to producing a "uniquely Russian" kind of classical music. Borodin is known best for his symphonies, his two string quartets, the symphonic poem In the Steppes of Central Asia and his opera Prince Igor.
A doctor and chemist by profession and training, Borodin made important early contributions to organic chemistry. Although he is presently known better as a composer, he regarded medicine and science as his primary occupations, only [practicing] music and composition in his spare time or when he was ill. As a chemist, Borodin is known best for his work concerning organic synthesis, including being among the first chemists to demonstrate nucleophilic substitution, as well as being the co-discoverer of the aldol reaction. Borodin was a promoter of education in Russia and founded the School of Medicine for Women in Saint Petersburg, where he taught until 1885. The text & image are reprinted from The Kennedy Center where more information about the composer can be found. |
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In The Steppes of Central Asia
This following note, written in Russian, German, and French, appears in the score: “Out of the silence of Central Asia come the sounds of a peaceful Russian song. There are heard, too, the melancholy strains of Eastern melodies and the stamping of approaching horses and camels. A caravan, escorted by Russian soldiers, crosses the measureless desert, pursuing its way, free from care, under the protection of Russian arms. The caravan moves ever forward. The songs of the Russians and those of the Asia locals mingle in common harmony, their refrain gradually dying away in the distance.”
The text is reprinted from Mary Mayer (Hollywood Bowl) where more information about the composition can be found.
The text is reprinted from Mary Mayer (Hollywood Bowl) where more information about the composition can be found.
Notable Performances/Recordings:
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (1994)
Philharmonia Orchestra (1993)
Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire (1937)
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (1994)
Philharmonia Orchestra (1993)
Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire (1937)