In the Steppes of Central Asia
Alexander Borodin, the illegitimate son of an Armenian prince, devoted his life to pioneering research work in the chemistry of phosphoric acid. A tireless worker for student’s rights at the St. Petersburg medical school – particularly in the field of women’s education – he spent much of his limited free time assisting in charitable work, looking after his asthmatic wife and tending innumerable stray cats rescued from the streets of St. Petersburg. So it is not really remarkable that in some 25 years pursuing his hobby of composing, he should have completed only 3 orchestral works – far more astonishing is that he should have had time to write even these, and that his two completed symphonies and this symphonic poem should be of such exceptional quality.
That Borodin completed any music at all can be attributed to his friendship with Rimsky-Korsakov. Rimsky-Korsakov similarly combined a full-time job (as a naval officer) with a career as a composer, but unlike Borodin (who once said "Science is my work, and music is my fun") he had no scruples about putting his composing first. He encouraged his friends Borodin and Mussorgsky to do the same, constantly arranging for performances of their works, and then pestering them, copying orchestral parts and even finishing their orchestration for them until a work was finally ready for performance. It is thanks to Rimsky’s persistence that Borodin was distracted from his laboratory long enough to leave us his Second Symphony, the first three acts of his opera "Prince Igor" and "In the Steppes of Central Asia", written in the winter of 1879-80 in response to a commission for music to accompany a gala celebrating the silver jubilee of Tsar Alexander II.
Borodin wrote his own description of this "musical picture", as he called it. Like much of his music, it expresses his fascination with the furthest reaches of the Russian Empire, where European Russia merged with the exotic, oriental world of Asia – a theme Rimsky-Korsakov also explored, in "Scheherazade". "In the silence of the monotonous deserts of Central Asia are heard for the first time the strains of a peaceful Russian song. From the distance we hear the approach of horses and camels and the melancholy notes of an oriental melody . A caravan emerges out of the boundless steppe, escorted by Russian soldiers, and continues safely and fearlessly on its long way, protected by the formidable military strength of the conquerors. It slowly disappears. The tranquil songs of conquerors and subjects merge in harmony, echoes of which linger on as the caravan disappears in the distance."
R.G.Bratby, 1998
Copyright Classical Notes.co.uk 2000
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