A steppe sketch from Central Asia

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A steppe sketch from Central Asia ( Russian : В средней Азии , V srednej Azii , literally In Central Asia ) is a symphonic poem by the Russian composer Alexander Borodin (1833-1887). He composed this orchestral work in 1880 on the 25th anniversary of the reign of Tsar Alexander II and dedicated it to the composer Franz Liszt . This tsar had annexed Turkestan , an area in Central Asia, and incorporated it into the Russian Empire.

Insight into the composition

The work is a typical example of program music . Borodin gave him the following formulated program:

“In the monotonous steppe of Central Asia, the previously strange tones of a peaceful Russian song can be heard. From a distance you can hear the patter of horses and camels and the peculiar sound of an oriental tune. A local caravan approaches. Under the protection of Russian weapons, she makes her long journey safely and carefree through the vast desert. Further and further it goes away. The song of the Russians and the manner of the Asians combine to form a common harmony, the reverberation of which is gradually lost in the air of the steppe. "

The piece consists of four musical components, which are characterized as follows:

  • Endless expanse of the steppe
  • Russian song
  • Patter (the caravan and the horse's hooves)
  • Oriental way

In a very high, long and soft sounding tone of the violins, which characterizes the endless expanse of the steppe , the Russian song sounds through the clarinet and through the horn. Then heard trampling by plucked strings together with the Endless expanse of steppe , and the English horn carries in a delicate tone Oriental way before. Borodin also connects up to three musical components at the same time. The exception is the representation of the Russian song by the whole orchestra in the middle of the piece, to symbolize the “protection of Russian weapons”.

The composer told a very surprised and impressed friend about the excellent processing of the themes: “Before I composed this piece, I had already thought of the two themes - the Russian and the Oriental, which were then both brought together in double counterpoint; and only later did I develop the entire accessory for this orchestra picture. "

In 1882 Borodin adapted the steppe sketch from Central Asia into a four-hand piano piece.

Political interpretation of the composition

According to Wißkirchen , Borodin identified “with the Russians' awareness of being a force for order. That connects him with (almost) all Russians, not only with Slavists, but also with the Tsarists, probably also with Westerners. "As Wißkirchen observes, the Russian theme is dominant:" It appears at the beginning and at the end, it comes from the Steppe tone and at the end 'floats away' back into it: the steppe, which according to the program has been foreign to the Russian tone, is, so to speak, Russified. The same thought is articulated in the imitatively nested fragments of themes towards the end, which represent the 'reverberation' of the Russian song in the steppe. In the middle of the piece, according to the original program ('terrible war power') - effectively staged by the sudden ff, the massive sound design, the compact harmonization in the sense of a hymn (which already began in the previous thematic appearances), the 'non-program' fade out of the ambience (patter, steppe tones) and the harmonious shift from E flat to C - the Russian topic very martially. (The gentle fusion of this theme with the steppe tone at the end represents, so to speak, the internalization of this political claim.) Incidentally, Borodin foregoing a perspective dynamic that is obvious from the program in favor of this effective staging. So he is not writing program music in the true sense of the word, but a poetic painting with a clearly articulated political message. The oriental theme appears relatively often, but in the second part it is increasingly Europeanized by the instrumentation and the chromatized harmony. "

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Dorn, program music.

literature

  • Michael Dorn: Program music . Klett, Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-12-178910-4 .
  • Arnold Werner-Jensen: A steppe sketch from Central Asia . In: Albrecht Goebel: program music . Schott, Mainz 1992, ISBN 3-7957-0237-2 .
  • Wißkirchen Hubert: A steppe sketch from Central Asia . In: Music and Teaching , Lugert, Handorf 1991
  • Wißkirchen Hubert: Analysis and Interpretation . Lugert, Handorf 1994

expenditure

Web links