Alexander Borodin (November 12, 1833 – February 27, 1887) was a Russian composer and chemist with Georgian and Russian heritage. He was part of a group of five composers known as "The Five," who aimed to create classical music with a distinctly Russian style. Borodin is most famous for his symphonies, two string quartets, the symphonic poem In the Steppes of Central Asia, and his opera Prince Igor.

As a doctor and chemist, Borodin contributed important discoveries to the field of organic chemistry. Though he is best known today as a composer, he considered medicine and science his main careers, only composing music during free time or when he was sick. In chemistry, Borodin is noted for his research on chemical reactions, including being among the first to show how certain molecules replace others in reactions, and for helping to discover a reaction called the aldol reaction. He also helped establish education in Russia by founding the School of Medicine for Women in Saint Petersburg, where he taught until 1885.

In the 1880s, Borodin had little time for composition due to work and health problems. He died suddenly in 1887 while attending a ball.

Early life

Alexander Borodin was born in Saint Petersburg as the son of a 62-year-old Georgian nobleman, Luka Stepanovich Gedevanishvili, and a 25-year-old Russian woman, Evdokia Konstantinovna Antonova. Because of the circumstances of Alexander’s birth, the nobleman registered him as the son of one of his Russian serfs, Porfiry Borodin, which is why Alexander later used the last name Borodin. This registration made Alexander and his nominal father, Porfiry, officially serfs of Alexander’s biological father, Luka. When Alexander was 7 years old, Luka freed him from serfdom and gave him and his mother housing and money. However, Alexander’s mother was never publicly recognized as his parent by him; he referred to her as his “aunt.”

Although Alexander was not born into nobility, his Georgian father provided him with a comfortable life. He grew up in a large four-story house that Luka gifted to Alexander and his “aunt.” Despite his registration as a serf, which prevented him from attending a proper gymnasium, Alexander received a strong education through private tutors at home. In 1850, he enrolled in the Medical–Surgical Academy in Saint Petersburg, a school later associated with Ivan Pavlov. He studied chemistry and later worked as a surgeon in a military hospital before spending three years studying advanced science in Western Europe.

In 1862, Alexander returned to Saint Petersburg to teach chemistry at the Imperial Medical-Surgical Academy. He continued his scientific work, taught others, and later created medical courses for women in 1872. Around the same time, he began studying music with Mily Balakirev. While he became a respected chemist and physician, music remained a secondary interest in his life.

Career

Alexander Borodin was respected in his field for his work with aldehydes. From 1859 to 1862, he held a job after his doctorate at Heidelberg University. He worked in the laboratory of Emil Erlenmeyer, studying benzene derivatives. He also spent time in Pisa, researching halocarbons. In 1862, he described an experiment showing the first nucleophilic replacement of chlorine with fluorine in benzoyl chloride. In 1861, Borodin demonstrated the radical halodecarboxylation of aliphatic carboxylic acids by creating methyl bromide from silver acetate. Later, Heinz Hunsdiecker and his wife Cläre developed Borodin’s work into a general method, which they patented in 1939 and published in Chemische Berichte in 1942. This method is now known as the Hunsdiecker reaction or the Hunsdiecker–Borodin reaction.

In 1862, Borodin returned to the Medical–Surgical Academy (now the S. M. Kirov Military Medical Academy) and became a chemistry professor. He studied the self-condensation of small aldehydes, a process now called the aldol reaction, which he shared credit for with Charles Adolphe Wurtz. Borodin also investigated the condensation of valerian aldehyde and oenanth aldehyde, a study reported by von Richter in 1869. In 1873, he presented his findings to the Russian Chemical Society, noting similarities to compounds Wurtz had recently reported.

In 1875, Borodin published his last full article on reactions of amides. His final work described a method for identifying urea in animal urine. His successor as chemistry professor at the academy was his son-in-law, Aleksandr Dianin.

Borodin met Mily Balakirev in 1862. Under Balakirev’s guidance, he began composing his Symphony No. 1 in E-flat major, which premiered in 1869 with Balakirev conducting. In 1869, he also started work on his Symphony No. 2 in B minor. The symphony’s first performance in 1877 under Eduard Nápravník was not well received, but a revised version performed in 1879 by the Free Music School under Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov was successful. In 1880, Borodin composed the popular symphonic poem In the Steppes of Central Asia. He began a third symphony in 1882 but left it unfinished at his death. Two movements were later completed and orchestrated by Alexander Glazunov.

In 1868, Borodin paused work on his second symphony to focus on his opera Prince Igor, considered one of the most important Russian operas. The opera includes the famous Polovtsian Dances, often performed separately. Prince Igor was completed after Borodin’s death by Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov. The story is set in the 12th century and follows Prince Igor of Seversk, who leads a failed invasion of the Polovtsians, a nomadic Turkic tribe. A solar eclipse early in the opera foreshadows the defeat. Prince Igor and his son are captured by Khan Konchak, who entertains them with the Polovtsian Dances. Later, Prince Igor returns home and is welcomed by his people. The opera was rarely performed outside Russia until recent productions in 2013 and 2014.

Borodin’s two string quartets, along with earlier chamber music, reflect his interest in absolute music. As a cellist, he enjoyed playing chamber music, an interest he developed during his time in Heidelberg. His early works included a string sextet and a piano quintet, influenced by Felix Mendelssohn.

In 1875, Borodin began his First String Quartet, which some composers, like Mussorgsky and Vladimir Stasov, disliked. The quartet shows strong mastery of the string quartet form. His Second Quartet, written in 1881, features lyrical music, including the popular "Nocturne" in the third movement. While the First Quartet has varied moods, the Second Quartet has a more consistent tone and expression.

Personal life and death

He married Ekaterina Protopopova, a pianist, in 1863. They adopted several daughters together. Music was a secondary role for Borodin, as his main work was as a chemist and physician. He had health problems, including recovery from cholera and several minor heart issues. He died suddenly during a ball at the academy and was buried in Tikhvin Cemetery at the Alexander Nevsky Monastery in Saint Petersburg.

Musical legacy

During his lifetime, Borodin became well-known outside the Russian Empire because of Franz Liszt, who arranged a performance of his Symphony No. 1 in Germany in 1880. The Comtesse de Mercy-Argenteau also helped spread his music in Belgium and France. Borodin’s music is known for its emotional melodies and complex harmonies. As a member of The Five, his work shows both Russian musical traditions and influences from Western composers. His expressive style and unique harmonies inspired younger French composers like Debussy and Ravel. In 1913, Ravel honored Borodin by writing a piano piece called "À la manière de Borodine."

The qualities of Borodin’s music, especially in works like In the Steppes of Central Asia, his Symphony No. 2, and Prince Igor, were used in the 1953 musical Kismet, created by Robert Wright and George Forrest. Songs from Kismet, such as "Stranger in Paradise," "And This Is My Beloved," and "Baubles, Bangles, & Beads," were based on Borodin’s compositions. In 1954, Borodin received a Tony Award for this show after his death.

Subsequent references

• The Borodin Quartet was named in his honor.
• The chemist Alexander Shulgin uses the name "Alexander Borodin" as a character in his books PiHKAL and TiHKAL.
• In his book Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame (1974), Charles Bukowski wrote a poem about the composer titled "The Life of Borodin."
• The asteroid once called 1990 ES3 was given the permanent name (6780) Borodin, in honor of Alexander Borodin. (6780) Borodin is a main-belt asteroid with an estimated size of 4 kilometers and an orbital period of 3.37 years.
• The 1953 musical Kismet and its film version used many compositions by Borodin, including parts of his second string quartet, second symphony, and piano works.
• On November 12, 2018, Google honored him with a doodle.