Borodin was born in St. Petersburg, the illegitimate son of Prince Luka Gedianov and the wife of an army medical officer. He received the name "Borodin" from the Prince's valet whose wife was listed in the birth registry as Aleksandr's mother. Neither of his natural parents acknowledged him and, because his legal parents were serfs, Aleksandr was by law his natural father's serf. He did nevertheless come to live in his natural mother's apartment, with the understanding that she was always to be referred to as "Auntie". Borodin became interested in music at an early age (he could play flute, cello and piano) and wrote his first musical composition at the age of nine. At the same time he became interested in chemistry to the point that he set up laboratories in various corners of Auntie's apartment. He attended the St. Petersburg Medical-Surgical Academy and earned a medical degree. he was not to practice medicine however, since the sight of blood sickened him; rather, he turned his attention to chemical research and made many significant contributions to that field. Many of his major discoveries were overlooked by European workers (first atomic fluorine compound described 15 years prior to W. Lenz, and a general method for decreasing the length of a carbon chain by one atom 73 years before chemistry after he was appointed professor of chemistry ar St. Petersburg Academy.
 
Pursuing his musical interests, Borodin was a member of the group known as "the Russian Five" along with Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky, Cui, and Balakirev, all of whom were at one time or another military officers. Borodin was largely self-taught and is probably the least derivative of all Russian composers. He was truly inventive, combining wild Slavic ferocity with the sensuous and intoxicating flavor of the East. His melodies are so stirring that they have been constantly pirated by Tin Pan Alley tunesmiths so that those who hear Borodin's music for the first time never fail to recognize the familiar themes. Borodin is probably best remembered for his opera "Prince Igor" and his symphonic poem "In the Steppes of Central Asia". The quality and importance of Borodin's music are out of all proportion to the size of his oevre and he stands with Tchaikovsky in the first rank of 19th century Russian symphonists.
 
"Prince Igor" is seldom presented today and it is the stirring dances of the Polovtsi which close the close the second act by which the opera is remembered. The Polovtsi were a race of Tartars in Central Asia ruled by the Khan Konchak. Prince Igor, on a mission to distroy the Tartars, was captured by them along with his son. The celebrated dances were arranged by the Khan in their honor, starting out as a procession of captives, followed by an extremely sensual dance of young women, climaxed by a grand salute to the victorious Khan. Borodin was a Georgian and his music reflects an oriental style typified by these dances.
 
Program Notes by J. Palmer Saunders©