Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin

Alexander Borodin

Alexander Borodin Porfirjewitsch ( Russian Александр Порфирьевич Бородин , transliteration Aleksandr Borodin Porfir'evič , pronunciation [ ɐlʲɪksaˑndr parfʲiˑrʲjɪvʲɪʧʲ bɐradʲiˑn ]; born October 31 ^{. Jul} / 12. November  1833 ^greg. In St. Petersburg ; † 15 ^{. Jul} / 27. February  1887 ^greg. ibid) was an important Russian chemist and physician . To this day he is famous as a piano dilettante and composer .

life and work

Life

Borodin's tomb in St. Petersburg

Alexander Borodin was the illegitimate son of Georgian prince Luka Gedewanishvili (1772-1840) and his 24-year-old mistress Avdotja Konstantinovna Antonova. Since the prince was married, he registered the child as the son of his servant Porfiri Borodin. The father, a retired lieutenant in the Russian army, traced his origins back to the Gedevanishvili ruling family of the former Georgian kingdom of Imereti . Shortly before his death, he confessed to his son.

Borodin grew up with his mother in St. Petersburg. There he received a good and comprehensive education. He proved to be extraordinarily talented and learned not only German, French, Italian and English but also to play the piano, flute and cello. At the age of 9 he composed the Helenenpolka.

In 1863 Borodin married the Russian Ekaterina Protopopova , a brilliant young pianist. They met during his stay in Germany in Heidelberg and fell in love on a trip to Baden-Baden , where they also became engaged. They had three daughters.

From a cholera suffered in 1885, there remained concentration disorders, insomnia, apathy and heart failure. The death of his friend Franz Liszt was an additional burden for him. Nonetheless, he continued his decades of work with the academy's choir and symphony orchestra . On February 27, 1887, he took part in their carnival ball, at which he collapsed and died around midnight. The on-site autopsy revealed a ruptured cardiac vessel. Borodin was buried in the Tikhvin cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Monastery in St. Petersburg.

Borodin as a scientist

Provided with an inheritance from his biological father, he began his training in 1850 at the Military Academy for Medicine and Surgery in St. Petersburg, founded in 1798 . As a demonstrator and preparator of anatomy , he suffered a severe hand injury during a dissection, which healed after a long process. Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov was one of his medical teachers . At the academy he soon discovered his lifelong passion for experimental chemistry . Nikolai Nikolayevich Sinin became his mentor. In 1856 Borodin passed the exam with distinction. The next year he was allowed to accompany the professor of ophthalmology to the congress in Brussels.

For the first time in the history of the academy in Russian , Borodin dealt with the chemical and toxicological properties of phosphoric and arsenic acids in his doctoral thesis . In addition to investigating the water and wells in the province, he used every free minute to play the piano and to compose. On May 3, 1858 , he received his doctorate as Dr. med. The academy's pathologist wanted him to be an assistant; the War Ministry, however, ordered him to work as a house surgeon at the 2nd St. Petersburg military hospital for a year. There he met the officer candidate Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky .

As the best graduate of the academy, he was sent abroad for two years in 1859 to perfect his knowledge of experimental and clinical chemistry. His first destination was Emil Erlenmeyer's laboratory at Karpfengasse 2 in Heidelberg . There he met not only the then world-famous scientists Friedrich August Kekulé , Dmitri Iwanowitsch Mendeleev , Iwan Michailowitsch Setschenow and (as in St Petersburg) Sergei Petrovich Botkin , but also his future wife. Sick of tuberculosis and bronchial asthma , she was on a cure in Germany. In the National Theater in Mannheim the music he impressed Richard Wagner's term. On his visits to chemical laboratories and industrial plants in southern Germany , Italy , Belgium and the Netherlands, he often made music with like-minded people.

With the scholarship extended after two years, he went to Sebastiano de Luca in Pisa . After returning to the Academy in St. Petersburg, he was appointed professor of organic chemistry in 1862 at the age of 29 . In 1874 he followed his sponsor Sinin to the chair .

Borodin researched organic reactions and compounds and in this context developed an important laboratory method for the analytical determination of urea in medicine. His later research at the above-mentioned military academy, which led to the establishment of the synthesis of organofluorine compounds in 1861, is significant for organic chemistry to this day . Borodin also published a work on the history of fluorine compounds and on the fluorobenzoyl in Liebig's annals of chemistry . His investigations in the field of polymerization and condensation reaction of aldehydes as well as the fundamental discovery of aldol addition in 1872 are of great importance. Other important milestones in his research career are the Borodin silver decarboxylation, named after him, and the Hunsdiecker-Borodin reaction .

In a quarter of a century as a scientist and university professor, Borodin promoted women's studies like no other in Tsarist Russia . Against much resistance, he accepted Nadeshda Suslowa as the first intern at the academy, which enabled her to study medicine in Zurich on a regular basis. On a wreath it said:

DEM GRÜNDER, BEWAHRER UND STREITER FÜR MEDIZINISCHE FRAUENKURSE,
DEM FREUND UND BESCHÜTZER DER LERNENDEN JUGEND – DIE ÄRZTINNEN VON 15 JAHRGÄNGEN 1872–1887

Borodin as a composer

Borodin became known worldwide less as a scientist than as a composer. His works “are characterized by Russian folk music, also by impressionistic coloring, reminiscent of Debussy , and oriental coloring” How Borodin managed to find time for music in addition to his professorship at the academy remains a mystery. In a letter to his wife, he describes

the difficulty of being both a Glinka and a Stupishin (a civil servant), a scientist, a government official, an artist, a civil servant, a philanthropist, a father of other people's children, a doctor and the disabled at the same time ... In the end you will only be the last.

In 1864, however, he came together with Mili Balakirew . It was through him that Borodin got to know the three composers César Cui , Modest Mussorgski and Nikolai Rimski-Korsakow . In this way, Borodin became the fifth and final member of the National Russian Group of Five . Her epic romantic style can best be compared to that of Richard Wagner .

In 1869, Borodin's First Symphony , conducted by Balakirev, was performed. In the same year Borodin began to work on his heroic opera " Prince Igor ", with the famous " Polovtsian Dances ". This work, the libretto of which the composer himself put together from the medieval Igor song , is often regarded as his most important. It remained unfinished until his death, probably due to Borodin's immense workload as a researcher. "Fürst Igor" was later completed and orchestrated by Alexander Glasunow and Nikolai Rimski-Korsakow . A third symphony also remained unfinished, and Glasunov again contributed to its posthumous completion.

The premiere of his second symphony was initially a failure, but when Franz Liszt arranged another performance in Baden-Baden in 1880 under the direction of Wendelin Weißheimer , Borodin also achieved some fame outside of Russia. Borodin writes enthusiastically to Weißheimer: “Professor Riedel was kind enough to inform me about the success of my symphony. I can no doubt ascribe the good success to the excellent execution under your talented direction. "

Borodin said about the music:

“For others the composition is task, work, duty, it means the whole of life; for me it is calm, fun, a mood that distracts me from my official duties as a professor or scientist. "

- Alexander Borodin

Aftermath in the musical

In 1953 Robert Wright and Chet Forrest "plundered" and edited the musical work of Borodin and completely furnished their musical Kismet , which premiered on Broadway in 1953, with the composer's music. The musical was a huge success internationally, including in London's West End , and was filmed with Ann Blythe . In 1954, Borodin was posthumously awarded the Tony Award . In 1978 the musical with the All Black Ensemble was brought to the stage again in New York under the name Timbuktu , where Borodin's melodies were combined with African folk music . Eartha Kitt and Melba Moore played and sang .

The composer's grave monument in the Tikhvin Cemetery in St. Petersburg is adorned with sheet music from the musical score . The song Stranger in Paradise ( Polowetz dances from Prince Igor ; in the musical Tanz der Virfrauen ) became a worldwide hit and was successfully interpreted by Tony Bennett , The Four Aces and Bing Crosby .

Others

The string quartet , founded in 1945 as the Moscow Philharmonic Quartet in what was then the Soviet Union , renamed itself in 1955 in honor of the composer and has since performed under the name Borodin Quartet . In 1961, the named UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee to Mount Borodin on the Antarctic Alexander Island after him.

Works

Stage works

• The Recken (Bogatyri) - Opera farce after W. Krylow in five scenes using music by Rossini , Meyerbeer , Offenbach , Serow , Verdi and others, orchestrated by E. Merten, 1867, first performance: Moscow 1867, unpublished
• Prince Igor - opera with a prologue and four acts, libretto: A. Borodin based on the Russian epic Das Lied von der Heerfahrt Igors , 1869–87, left unfinished, completed and partially orchestrated by Rimski-Korsakow and Glasunow in 1887/88, First performance: St. Petersburg 1890

Orchestral works

• Symphony No. 1 in E flat major - 1862–67
• Symphony No. 2 in B minor - 1869–76
• A steppe sketch from Central Asia - symphonic poem, 1880
• Symphony No. 3 in A minor - 1886/87, only 2 movements completed, orchestrated by Glasunow

Chamber music

• Quartet in D major - for flute, oboe, viola and violoncello, using music by Haydn, 1852–56
• Trio in G minor - for 2 violins and violoncello based on the Russian folk song "How did I grieve them", 1855
• Cello Sonata in C minor - 1860, based on a theme from Bach's Sonata No. 1 in G minor BWV 1001
• Piano trio in D major - in three movements (the fourth is lost), 1850s / early 1860s
• String Quintet in F minor - for two violins, viola and 2 cellos, 1859/60, completion of the coda in the finale by Jewlachow (1960)
• Piano quintet in c minor - 1862
• String Quartet No. 1 in A major - 1874–79
• String Quartet No. 2 in D major - 1881
• Scherzo in D major - for string quartet from the "Les Vendredis" collection, 1882, used by Glasunow in the 3rd symphony
• Serenata alla spagnola in D minor - for the string quartet "B-LA-F", in collaboration with Rimsky-Korsakow, Glasunow and Lyadow, 1886

Piano works

Piano for 2 hands

• Pathetic Adagio in A flat major - 1849
• Contributions to the Tati-Tati paraphrases - for 3 hands, polka, funeral march, requiem and mazurka, in collaboration with Cui, Ljadow, Rimski-Korsakow and Liszt, 1874–78
• Petite Suite - 1885, orchestrated by Glasunow (1889)
• Scherzo in A flat major - 1885

Piano for 4 hands

• Hélène Polka in D minor - 1843
• Allegretto D flat major - 1861, after the 3rd movement of the string quintet
• Scherzo in E major - 1861
• Tarantella in D major - 1862

Vocal instrumental works

Songs

• Why are you so early, sunrise - Solovyov, 1852–55
• The beautiful girl no longer loves me (“Love has passed”) - Winogradow, for voice, piano and cello, 1853–55
• Listen, friends, my song - v.Kruse, 1853–55
• The beautiful fisher girl - Heine, 1854–55 (also for voice, piano and cello)
• Ballad of the Sleeping Princess - Borodin, 1867, orchestrated by Rimsky-Korsakov
• The Song of the Dark Forest - Borodin, 1868, arranged by Glasunow for two-part male choir and orchestra (1873)
• The Sea Princess - Borodin, 1868
• The wrong note - Borodin, 1868.
• My songs are poisoned - Heine, 1868
• The Sea - Borodin, 1870, orchestrated in 1884 and by Rimsky-Korsakow (1896)
• From my tears - Heine, 1870
• Arabic melody - translation by Borodin, 1881
• For the shores of the distant homeland (“To return from foreign lands”) - Pushkin, 1881, orchestrated by Glazunov
• With people at home - Nekrasov, 1881, also orchestrated by Borodin in 1881
• Stolz ("The Snooty") - Tolstoy, 1884/85
• Enchanting Garden ("Septain") - translation by Borodin, 1885

Vocal works

• Serenade of 4 Cavaliers for a Lady - Comical Quartet for 4 male voices with piano accompaniment, 1870

Transcriptions

• Symphony No. 1 for piano 4 hands - 1875
• Symphony No. 2 for piano 4 hands - 1877
• String quartet No. 1 for piano 4 hands - 1887
• A steppe sketch from Central Asia for 4-handed piano - 1882
• The Sea - Orchestration, 1884

Fragments and lost works

• Concerto in D major / D minor - for flute and piano, 1847, lost
• Trio for 2 violins and violoncello in G major - on a theme from Meyerbeer's "Robert the Devil", 1847
• Le courant - Etude, 1849, lost
• Fantasy on a Subject by Hummel - 1849, lost
• Fugues - for piano, 1851/52, lost
• Scherzo in B flat minor - for piano, 1852, lost
• Merciful God - 1852–55, unfinished, unpublished
• Potpurri in A major - for piano on themes from Donizetti's opera "Lucrezia Borgia", presumably conceived as the piano part for a chamber music work, 1852–55, unfinished, unpublished
• Trio in G major - for 2 violins and violoncello in one movement ?, 1850s ?, fragmentary
• Great Trio in G major - for 2 violins and violoncello, only the first two movements completed, 1852–56 (?)
• String sextet in D minor - 2 movements, the last 2 movements lost, 1860/61
• Scherzo in B minor - for piano, 1852, lost
• Misera me! Barbaro sorte - Duet for tenor, bass and piano, 1850, unfinished, unpublished
• Fugue - for piano, 1862, lost
• A Southern Night - Parody for piano of a romance by Rimsky-Korsakov, 1866 (?), Not written down
• The Tsar's Bride - Draft for an opera after Mey, 1867/68, unfinished, the material used for other works
• Sixty Variations on a Bohemian Theme - Musical Fun for Piano, 1867, only one variation composed
• Ej uchnjem - Draft for an arrangement of the Russian folk song for piano, 1870s, unpublished
• Waltz on the theme of the song of Warlaam from Mussorgsky's opera "Boris Godunow" - Musical fun for piano, 1970s, not written down
• Quadrille on motifs from Rimsky-Korsakov's opera “ The Girl from Pskov ” - Musical fun for piano, 1870s, not written down
• A hussar leaning on his saber - Musical fun for piano based on a Russian romance, 1870s, not written down
• Lanzé in the church modes - musical fun for piano, 1870s, not written down
• Mlada - 4th act of the joint ballet opera by Borodin, Cui, Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov, unfinished, 1872, finale orchestrated by Rimsky-Korsakow (1892)
• Piano piece in E flat major - fragment, 1879
• God save Cyril! God save Methodius! - for male choir a cappella, 1885, unfinished, completed by P. Lamm

Discography

• The Essential Borodin . Decca, London 1997, No. 455 632-2
• Borodin - Symphonies. Brilliant Classics, No. 93348. (Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, cond .: Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Rec. 1993/94)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i} V. Klimpel, 2012.
2. ↑ Korff, p. 45.

literature

• Tatiana Vasilevna Popowa: Alexander Borodin. German translation by Roloff Selle. VEB Breitkopf & Härtel Music Publishing Leipzig 1955.
• Ernst Kuhn (Ed.): Alexander Borodin. His life, his music, his writings . Verlag Ernst Kuhn, Berlin 1992, ISBN 3-928864-03-3 .
• Sigrid Neef : The Russian Five: Balakirew - Borodin - Cui - Mussorgsky - Rimsky-Korsakov. Monographs - documents - letters - programs - works . Ernst Kuhn Verlag, Berlin 1992, ISBN 3-928864-04-1 .
• Volker Klimpel: Alexander Borodin - doctor, chemist and composer. On the 125th anniversary of the death of the all-rounder . In: Surgical General . 13th year, 5th issue (2012)
• Malte Korff: Tchaikovsky. Life and work. Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, Munich 2014, ISBN 978-3-423-28045-7 .
• Willem G. Vijvers: Alexander Borodin; Composer, scientist, educator. The American Book Center, Amsterdam 2013, ISBN 978-90-812269-0-5 .

Web links

Commons : Alexander Borodin  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Works by and about Alexander Porfirjewitsch Borodin in the catalog of the German National Library
• Works by and about Alexander Porfirjewitsch Borodin  in the German Digital Library
• Catalog raisonné
• Sheet music and audio files by Borodin in the International Music Score Library Project

• Alexander Borodin Porfirjewitsch in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• Biography on klassik.com.
• The life of AP Borodin. Biography on neonway.de.