Thread: Borodin

Represent!

My number one favorite. The man came up with the most memorable melodies!

Keystones:
Polovetsian Dances, from the opera Prince Igor, from which we get "Strangers in Paradise" from Kismet.
In the Steppes of Central Asia, a fanciful meeting of Russian soldiers and Mongol nomads.
Symphony # 2, with its yearning third movement.

Originally Posted by BuddhaBandit

Don't forget his great quartets! Very mellifluous... they clearly show the influence of the other members of The Five, a group of Russian Romantic nationalist composers which also included Rimsky-Korsakov and Mussorgsky.

Completely agree, he is a lesser known genius among great Russians. He never gets enough credit, but his style is so unique and distinct. I also love his quartets!!! Got the CD last week, very hard to find!

i think there is no need to be disappointed that those geniuses died young, because even though they lived a short life, most of them had very large outputs. Schubert, Mozart, or even Bizet, people don't recognize that Bizet was a composer of Operas, and he wrote several interesting works prior to "Carmen". As for Wagner, having heard his "immature" symphony in C, i'd rather hear one more opera from him than a "mature symphony", his skills were in the dramatic department, and his symphonies should be written by his followers. like Mahler, and don't be disappointed by the fact that Mahler never wrote an opera, because he quite frankly expressed plenty of drama in his orchestral works and songs.
So, at the end, there are lots of nice music out there already, and i'm sure that those composers knew what they were best suited for, other wise, you'd see more operas from Mahler and more symphonies from Wagner.

Composing was Borodin's hobby. Not many people can have as great an influence on a field of endeavor as Borodin had on music and he only composed when his real vocation allowed him the time for it. I really enjoy his seconds- the symphony and the string quartet which has some really beautiful melodies.

I think that's right on the money, shsherm. It's good to remember the point that, ultimately, Borodin considered himself a scientist who did a little composing, rather than a composer who paid the bills with his professorship(s). He didn't even consider his involvement in those two spheres co-equal, which makes his accomplishments in music all the more wondrous.

Originally Posted by Gustav

...having heard his "immature" Symphony in C, I'd rather hear one more opera from him than a "mature symphony."

Thanks for the visit to my 'home pitch.' Keep in mind that Wagner was 19 when he completed that piece. At about the same time, he was involved in the abortive Die Hochzeit, and would complete Die Feen (an even more unpromising work than the symphony) about a year later. From those very humble beginnings, who would have anticipated the monumental, repertory-cornerstone music dramas that would, in time, emerge from his imagination? And, by extension, who's to say that his "learning curve" for Symphony composition wouldn't have similiarly risen, had he been so inclined?

Well..Apparently Nobody here notices that Prince Igor is one of the greatest operas of the IXXth century, and of course Borodin's friends help him to finish it. You can have nowadays two versions on DVD, one bad (Gergiev, I have it) and one good I have)

http://www.amazon.com/Alexander-Boro...3132091&sr=1-1

or

probably very good:

I don't have it:

http://www.amazon.com/Borodin-Prince...3132091&sr=1-3

Enjoy

Merry Christmas

Martin

Borodin was half Georgian I should say, and his favorite composer was Felix Mendelssohn.
He also wrote a Scherzo in the Mendelssohnian style.

Borodin was half Georgian I should say, and his favorite composer was Felix Mendelssohn.
He also wrote a Scherzo in the Mendelssohnian style

.
i.
How interesting! My sister is half Fascist and her favorite composer is Ligeti.

(out of the blue)

Martin

Originally Posted by myaskovsky2002

.
i.
How interesting! My sister is half Fascist and her favorite composer is Ligeti.

(out of the blue)

Martin

Well those facts I stated were true, while yours was an attempt at comedy.

Poor attempt I should add...

Prince Igor is one of the most fabulous Russian operas ever. Furthermore, his 2nd Symphony is great if performed correctly. Otherwise it is bland and uninteresting .

Surprised there hasn't been much love for Borodin in this area of the forum. I've been playing a fair bit by him lately: one of my orchestras performed his second symphony today (the third movement is lovely), while another group is performing selections from Prince Igor in a few weeks.

[QUOTE=Saul_Dzorelashvili;130534]Borodin was half Georgian I should say, and his favorite composer was Felix Mendelssohn.

Didn't realize I was replying to a 5 year old post

Originally Posted by BuddhaBandit

Don't forget his great quartets! Very mellifluous... they clearly show the influence of the other members of The Five, a group of Russian Romantic nationalist composers which also included Rimsky-Korsakov and Mussorgsky.

I heard about a man who was introducing his girlfriend to classical music, and at one point she asked, "How long had Rimsky and Korsakov been collaborating?"