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Alexander Borodin
Artist: |
Alexander Borodin |
Born: | 12 November 1833 , St Petersburg |
Died: | 27 February 1887, St Petersburg |
Summary: | Russian composer, one of the group known as The Five.
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Popular Sheet Music:
on 8notes.com |
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Alexander Borodin Biography
Alexander Porfyrevich Borodin (Алекса́ндр Порфи́рьевич Бороди́н) (November 12, 1833 – February 27, 1887) was a Russian composer who made his living as a chemist. He was a member of The Five, or 'The Mighty Handful', a group of composers dedicated to producing a specifically Russian music. Borodin was born in Saint Petersburg, the illegitimate son of a Georgian Prince, Luka Gedevanishvili, who had him registered instead as the son of one of his serfs. He received a good education, including piano lessons, but it was chemistry in which he specialised, and he did not receive any formal lessons in composition until 1863, when he was taught by Mily Balakirev. In 1869, Balakirev conducted Borodin's first symphony, and in the same year, Borodin started on his second symphony. This new symphony was a failure at its premiere, but Franz Liszt arranged a performance of it in Germany in 1880, and this brought Borodin some fame outside Russia. Also in 1869, Borodin began work on his opera, Prince Igor, seen by some to be his most significant piece. It contains the Polovtsian Dances, which are often performed as a stand-alone work, and in that form probably constitute his best known composition. Borodin left the opera incomplete at his death, composition being slowed by his heavy workload as a chemist. It was completed posthumously by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Glazunov. Despite being recognised as an accomplished composer, Borodin always earned a living as a chemist, and gained great respect in that field also, being particularly noted for his work on aldehydes. As a result, describing himself as a 'Sunday composer', he was not as prolific a composer as many of his contemporaries, but he did write the popular symphonic poem In the Steppes of Central Asia, two string quartets and a handful of songs and piano pieces. He also started work on a third symphony, but that, also, was incomplete at his death (two movements of it were later completed by Glazunov). Borodin died on February 27, 1887 and was interred in Tikhvin Cemetery at the Alexander Nevsky Monastery, in St. Petersburg, Russia. In 1954, Borodin was posthumously awarded a Tony Award for composition on the Broadway musical Kismet (musical), by Robert Wright and George Forrest, which reworked several of his compositions. Sound sample This biography is published under the GNU Licence
Items to buy by Alexander Borodin
| Quartet No. 2 in D major "By Alexander Borodin (1833-1887). For 2 violins, viola and cello. Classical Period. Difficulty: difficult. Set of performance parts. Standard notation. Composed 1881. 49 pages. Published by International Music Company"
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| String Quartet No.2 "By Alexander Borodin (1833-1887). String Quartets. For string quartet (2 violins, viola, cello). Classical Period. Intermediate. Set of performance parts. Published by Belaieff Verlag"
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| String Quartet No.2 "By Alexander Borodin (1833-1887). String Quartets. For string quartet (2 violins, viola, cello). Classical Period. Intermediate. Study score. Published by Belaieff Verlag"
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| Polovetzian Dance By Alexander Borodin (1833-1887). Arranged by Lloyd Conley. For 4 Bb Clarinets. Clarinet Quartet. Grade 3+. Published by Kendor Music Inc
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| Oriental Nocturne (from the Broadway Show Kismet) By Alexander Borodin (1833-1887). Arranged by John W. Schaum. For Piano. Masterworks; Piano - Schaum Method Supplement (Sheet); Solo. Schaum Publications Sheet Solo. Masterwork Arrangement; Romantic. Late Intermediate. Sheet. Published by Alfred Music Pub
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| "Dvorak, Rimsky-Korsakov and More - Volume 5" "(The Orchestra Musician's CD-ROM Library - Full Scores on DVD-ROM). By Alexander Borodin (1833-1887), Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915), Antoní_n Dvoríçk, Bedrich Smetana (1824-1884), and Nikolay Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908). Score. CD Sheet Musi
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| Polovetsian Dances "(from Prince Igor). By Alexander Borodin (1833-1887). Arranged by Ann Pope. For Piano. This edition: 2 copies required. Duet or Duo; Piano Duo (2 Pianos, 4 Hands). Early Advanced level piece for the Piano Duo event with the National Federation of Music C
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| Igor's Paradise By Alexander Borodin (1833-1887). Arranged by Mike Lewis. Jazz Ensemble. Jazz Ensemble; Masterworks. Jazz Expressions Series. Masterwork Arrangement; Romantic. Grade 2. Conductor Score. Published by Alfred Music Publishing
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| Polovetsian Dances By Alexander Borodin (1833-1887). Edited by Forrest Buchtel. Band. For Bb tenor saxophone solo. Solos/ensembles. Grade 2. Music book. Published by Neil A. Kjos Music Company
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| "Polowetzer Tanze aus ""Furst Igor""" By Alexander Borodin (1833-1887). For solo piano. Classical Period. Difficulty: medium-difficult. Single piece. Standard notation (does not include words to the songs). 27 pages. Published by Belaieff Verlag
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| String Quartet in D Major (Study Score). By Alexander Borodin (1833-1887). Study Score. Eulenburg Taschenpartituren (Pocket Scores). Study Score. 48 pages. Schott Music #ETP201. Published by Schott Music
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| Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor "By Alexander Borodin (1833-1887). Arranged by John Rutter. For SATB choir and piano/orchestra (Piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes (II + english horn), 2 clarinets, 2 bassoon, 4 horn, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (glockenspiel, triangle, tam
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| Scherzo and Petite Suite By Alexander Borodin (1833-1887). For Piano. Masterworks; Piano Solo; Solo. Kalmus Edition. Form: Suite. Masterwork; Romantic. Advanced; Early Advanced; Intermediate; Late Intermediate. 32 pages. Published by Alfred Music Publishing
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| String Quartet No.1 "(Streichquartett Nr.1). By Alexander Borodin (1833-1887). String Quartets. For string quartet (2 violins, viola, cello). Classical Period. Difficulty: difficult. Miniature score. 48 pages. Published by Belaieff Verlag"
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