Borodin, In the Steppes of Central Asia, Polovtsian dances (Svetlanov)

Alexander Borodin,
1) In the Steppes of Central Asia 1:00 - 9:20 (9:25 - 18:45)
2) Polovtsian dances with Chorus 18:50
Orchestral Pictures from Russia, USSR Symphony Orchestra - Evgeny Svetlanov
1998 Musical Heritage Society

[@christinakiki75]

Russia has so much to offer, composers, scientists, rich history

[@WlodzimierzSkonieczny-sy4iz]

And these atlantic motherf.ckers want to destroy Russia. I despise them.

[@fredericklee4821]

Too bad about Ukraine however.

[@chuckbuckbobuck]

If we could just get rid of Putin lots of people would be happy. Too many Russian and Ukrainian War widows out there-how sad!

[@LecherousLizard]

@@fredericklee4821 Russia's been like that since it was founded by the Mongols.

[@user-sx3wy7mh9g]

@@LecherousLizard This is a new word in historiography. It turns out that Russia was founded by the Mongols!!!?? lol. An interesting hypothesis, but it has nothing to do with the true story.

[@davidbloss9134]

I learned about Borodin as a chemist long before I learned he was a composer. In undergrad school my research professor suggested I continue his work with aldol chemistry for my senior project. Read up on him and his work and decided that my interests lay elsewhere, so chose another project , Cut forward for about 20 years. When my career gave me a lot more time in my office than in my lab, I kept a radio tuned to a local NPR classical music station. One afternoon the announcer said "next up is In The Steppes Of Central Asia by Alexander Borodin". The music was glorious, and my brain said "you've heard than name before" so I looked him up as a composer. Cut forward another 20 years. After retirement from my chemistry job, I returned to playing euphonium in concert bands. Had a blast recovering my musical roots. I'm still definitely amateur, but I'm blessed by being surrounded by people who ARE talented and music educators. About 4 years ago, the music director for one of my bands chose Borodin's 2nd symphony for a concert. Knowing that I was a retired chemist, he asked me to give the introduction ... talk about all the fascinating aspects of his life. Unfortunately for me, I was allotted no more than 5 minutes. How can you tell the story of such an accomplished man in that short of a time? Chemist, college professor, physician, surgeon (and as someone else mentioned, he and his wife founded the first medical college in Russia that admitted women). Borodin and his wife never had children of their own, but they mentored and took in a LOT of kids who were what we'd call "underprivileged" today. Died at the age of 53 while hosting a party. I get the impression that everyone who knew him thought he was a genius in all the fields he worked in.

[@davidfloren5339]

Love your story. Saxophone and piano player here. Eternal returning happens. As do door-opening discoveries.

[@marcoduduch9457]

Dear David. Amazing review. Thanks for sharing your precious knowledge!

[@944tim]

thank you Mr Bloss. for the interesting information. This musuc is my favorite classical piece.

[@TonusFabri2024]

Another chemist here, I came at Borodin from the music first...but also was delighted to know that he had a "day job". It encouraged me to write a few pieces of my own.

[@marcowen1506]

I knew him as both composer and scientist (whose reactions tended to yield uncrystallisable molasses in undergrad labs). He's my favourite to bring out a parties "Borodin did it, you can do both art & science". It sounds like he's been your constant companion in life and you probably couldn't have chosen better.

[@wardyyo]

Borodin provided the following description in a note to the score to the Steppes: "In the silence of the monotonous steppes of Central Asia is heard the unfamiliar sound of a peaceful Russian song. From the distance we hear the approach of horses and camels and the bizarre and melancholy notes of an oriental melody. A caravan approaches, escorted by Russian soldiers, and continues safely on its way through the immense desert. It disappears slowly. The notes of the Russian and Asiatic melodies join in a common harmony, which dies away as the caravan disappears in the distance" It's colorful programatic music imbued with character and of course Rimsky Korsakov style orchestration and I vividly recall listening to this piece with awe as a youngster. From a performer's point of view, whilst not technically challenging nor emotionally difficult, it is a deeply satisfying work and should perhaps be performed more often. Despite all the politics, economics and wars in the world today what we need is hear each other and understand we're in this together. Music has the power to cross these borders and open our hearts.

[@vanjastanishic3426]

Thank you very much for your comment with such a message!

[@carola6o]

❤

[@cevdetaygun5969]

You must transmit these quite lovely and peaceful statements to the ear of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.

[@tia904]

@@cevdetaygun5969 and you did an excellent job of ruining it.. Take your pol to your place and leave our ears free to listen to music... You don't belong here... Go back to your tv.

[@WlodzimierzSkonieczny-sy4iz]

Who of fu*king globalists is able to listen to music???

[@elizabethschaeffer9543]

A Russian PhD in Chemistry can write music that speaks directly to my soul. Miracles still exist.

[@avian8338]

That's just what's ghastly about our modern age. We think that specialisation is the only possible way, and refuse to accept the fact that men can be good at totally disparate things without any inner contradiction. Totally the opposite of the renaissance spirit - and we're all the poorer for it.

[@elizabethschaeffer9543]

@@avian8338 I hadn't thought about the fact that you point out--that we are living in the exact opposite of the Renaissance. You are right. And you are right that we are the worse for it. Thanks for the thought.

[@ClassicalPower]

@@avian8338 great observations...

[@iivin4233]

Everyone has to have a hobby after all.

[@user-sx3wy7mh9g]

@@elizabethschaeffer9543 Borodin held the position of deputy professor at the Medical and Surgical Academy. In the field of organic synthesis research, he made two discoveries. One of the chemical reactions is named after him. He fought for the rights of women to receive higher education and was one of the organizers of Higher Women's Medical Courses, where he taught chemistry for free since 1872.

[@ivanfigueres1161]

because of this music i went on a trip to Uzbekistan

[@LordFloofTM]

How was it?

[@incubator6916]

Uzbekistan is not Russia.

[@lorenzolamacchia9944]

Questa è una melodia che parla al cuore,alla mente e all'anima. Dolce malinconica triste eppure è un momento esaltante per il nostro sentire tutti i sensi e tutto il corpo vibrano per questa melodia antica e giovane insieme. Ci ricorda che siamo nati per essere liberi e per aiutarci l'un l'altro. Non dobbiamo essere Bruti ma esseri umani capaci di amare e di fare il bene.

[@WlodzimierzSkonieczny-sy4iz]

Amen

[@lawrencetaylor4101]

I worked outdoors in the Steppes of Wyoming for 5 years and this music captures the mood of the weather perfectly.

[@richarddelanet]

Outer Range ?!

[@girlfriday1299]

I have always felt this! Hi from Nebraska! I drove through Wyoming and took my time in 2015! That place held onto me like a jealous lover, though I was on my way to Oregon! 🥰

[@xxxxxxxx3476]

I suppose great music is universal , that shouldn't be constrained by continents , or languages. But I can certainly see what you mean . Thank goodness , I had a music teacher back in the early sixties , who introduced the class to all the great Russian composers . I don't know what the others in my class thought about that , but from the very first time of hearing , I fell in love with everything I heard . And after all these years I still feel that same way , only more so I suppose . Glorious music never ages , and will live on for years to come , unlike all of us .

[@afinespormx7633]

This music has like a healing power.

[@parimalsantiago]

Borodin's music makes my heart sing.

[@Sagebrushed1]

It is so lame and bad that KZbin interrupts classical music with commercials that is meant to be heard unbroken!

[@CarloTenore]

We are all broken, lost in an unpredictable world, in need of compassion and hope. This music gives us this hope, that somehow through all the mayhem, misinformation and hate, there is also beauty and love. Close your eyes when you listen to this piece. You will experience it as never before.

[@theyaregone]

Well said, thank you from somewhere in Central Asia!

[@robhall4678]

I was lying in bed a couple of nights ago, a bit feverish with Covid - not too seriously, thankfully - and with the pain and sorrow of those around me and of the world going around in my mind. This piece - I hadn't heard in decades - came recommended so I thought I'd listen to it while looking at texts and emails. Then I read your comment and instead shut my eyes and listened. And felt something hopeful, beautiful, peaceful I was in danger of forgetting. It was an unexpected lovely moment. So just to say, from a complete stranger, in England: thank you for your wisdom. We humans could be so much more than greed, indifference, prejudice (and mayhem, misinformation and hate) allow us to be. Cheers and bless you.

[@carola6o]

Grazie!!!! Bellissime le tue parole❤

[@BGMRelaxingMusicStudio]

Listening to this just after being accepted to the college of my dream is the best feeling I ever had

[@oldedwardian1778]

This is one of Borodins finest compositions, just the name alone sends shivers down my spine. As I listen I see in my mind the millions of square miles of empty land that has existed since time immemorial. I have tears in my eyes right now, tears of emotion that humanity can produce such a genius. I am English and for me Vaughan Williams composed emotional music like this about a very different landscape, his Fantasia on Thomas Tallis and the Lark Ascending affects me is the exact same way. Despite our MANY FAULTS humanity has managed to produce genius’s like this that transcend our SINS and let us experience the beauty that is OUR MOTHER EARTH.

[@user-nn2ss9vm1s]

Thank you. I'll listen to Vaughan Williams.

[@user-nf3kz9ee2n]

You might also love Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloe as well! For me it’s the pinnacle of human creativity and experience, I always break into tears while listening to it

[@oldedwardian1778]

@@user-nf3kz9ee2n I completely agree, a WONDERFUL piece. This music does not need to be blasted out at high volume, sometimes I wait for everyone at home to go to bed and the house is quiet. Then I sit in a comfortable chair, turn the lights very low and play these pieces at a very low volume. The music will overwhelm you and take you to another place, how fortunate are we that we that such brilliant minds have evolved that can produce such beauty. Best wishes.

[@billlawlor4858]

It was moving for me to read your words. I share everything you said. Borodin's music, as well as the music of soooo many other greats will last forever, even beyond the grave. I just imagine my soul sailing through the universe listening to The New World Symphony, Scherazade, everything by Tchaikosky, and so many others. I imagine the universe alive with this music. Talk about crying! Sail on, my friend.

[@oldedwardian1778]

@@user-nf3kz9ee2n Oh yes, Ravel is also on my list of GENIUSES. I recently watched a documentary about Aaron Copland, another of my favorites, he talked about a visit to France where he met Ravel, can you imagine two such brilliant men talking about their music.

[@stephensottile1327]

This piece always breaks my heart for some reason....so moving.

[@manuelllamasbravo4589]

Prince igor

[@SkyDawg108]

I may be American by birth, but my parents were born in Russia (pre-Revolution), as were countless ancestors. How this music stirs my old soul and connects me to a magnificent past. Thank you.

[@jacquelinek2004]

When something touches our soul and gives us peace, it is very good to pay attention. It's telling us something about our true home.

[@davidfavre8296]

America is your land Europe is your soul :)

[@DenisBourveau]

Damn nihha you a thousand years old?

[@gutsfinky]

What a magnificent past it is! The Russians are a tough bunch, I have huge respect for them.

[@cminor3016]

@@jacquelinek2004 thank you

[@scuunjieng]

I am 64 and was introduced to this sublime and incomparably atmospheric work at 16 through this recording. Still my favorite one, Bravissimo

[@johnpirie4804]

Played that opening phrase as 1st clarinet in a community orchestra

[@eo4922]

There's just something about this music that teleports my mind to earth's natural wonders - Altai Mountains, Grand Canyon, Eurasian Steppes, Yarlung Tsangpo. This world is so vast, and there's so much more beauty than we'll ever know.

[@henrybrowne7248]

I agree wholeheartedly.

[@chuckbuckbobuck]

Add the Grand Tetons and the Colorado Rockies to that list.

[@claudekonqui7294]

Borodin's In the Steppes of Central Asia and Polovtsian dances were among the reasons I long ago took an interest in the history and ethnography of that region, which much later led me to study the local languages and register as a student of Central Asian studies. I am by now retired from my work at a museum and still going on studying these fascinating cultures of the steppe nomads. All this thanks to my mother who used to play some of Prince Igor's pieces at the piano, we children religiously listening to them.

[@luisrueda7672]

Hermoso, me dio un vuelco el corazón, me recordó mi niñez en casa de mis padres, la estancia, la paz, y la música que inundaba todo y yo observando y deleitandome con las imágenes que tenían la impresión de la cubierta del disco. La casa de mis padres, un espacio bello y perfecto, impecable, ordenado, cuantos recuerdos. Gracias mil. Desde el fondo de mi corazón. Gracias

[@johnHofweber]

beautiful music, an eternal gem that will inspire generations forever, it sure gives me goosebumps and recollections of a girlfriend long gone, bless her soul

[@vanallensattic4468]

This speaks greatly to my soul, although my genetics are western Europe and native American, but that's my body.I'm sure my soul has reincarnated in Russia and the steppes many times because i love it so.

[@michaelhearne3289]

The people of Western Europe and the natives of America both descend from the Siberians of long ago. Cousins separated by distance but still able to recognize the soul of a home from long ago.

[@peppertrout]

Sometimes greatness is just superlative. A Doctor of Chemistry and a word class composer. Maybe he would have been a gold medalist at the Olympic Games if they had existed then. Perhaps a Nobel a prize, too?

[@sfopera]

I encourage everyone who loves this gorgeous music to hear it in its real context, the great opera Prince Igor.

[@DAquingil]

That's a wonderful idea. In fact, KZbin has a upload of Prince Igor. I'll watch it tonight. Check the link below. kzbin.info/www/bejne/q5-Uo6eDn9mMsK8

[@BruceBoschek]

The second or third LP I bought when I was 12 years old had these two pieces. Almost 70 years later they still bring me comfort and pleasure. Thanks for sharing this here.

[@vanjastanishic3426]

You are welcome.

[@makyhsmakyhs6766]

God bless you

[@yoimiya_yoimiya6783]

For me, about 35 years ago on a late drive in LA. KUSC. Theyhave a deacon of a DL there, Jim Svejda

[@RobertPaterson]

I had the same experience ah!

[@jimscheller8989]

I studied Russian in college forty-five years ago, and learned of Borodin then. It's not often, but every time I run across this piece of music, I enjoy it more. Glinka too.

[@chandrashekhara.k.1928]

Alexander Borodin's In the Steppes of Central Asia is a composition that takes his audience straight to the Steppes of Central Asia. The majesty of sweep of his music gels with the vastness of the Steppes and gently rolling hills. The Oriental tune adds to the atmosphere of pastoral calm and charm. Borodin must have loved the land to have composed this piece of enchanting beauty for all time.

[@paruhblgen4222]

In Central Asia there are no steppes (there are only deserts there). Steppes are Europe and non-Central Asia, and name Kazakhstan was invented only in 1930s. Putin rightly said that Nazarbayev (president) created a country where "there was not anything". In USSR it was customary to refer to the region as "Kazakhstan and Central Asia"

[@chandrashekhara.k.1928]

@@paruhblgen4222 The steppes like the Eurasian continent are contiguous and straddle over both Europe and Asia stretching from the Danube basin to Central Mongolia. Kirghizstan and Kazakhstan are largely grasslands extending to highlands of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Tibet and Chinese Xingiang, which are quite within Central Asia, Though Russia had conflicts and contacts with Asiatic people since the invasions of Genghiz Khan and his descendants following the 11th century, it was during the 19th century largely when Czarist Russia annexed most of the Asiatic Republics north of the plateaux of Iran, Afghanistan, Tibet and Chinese Xingiang. This phase of intense Russian imperialism and nationalism coincided with the European phase of colonialist expansion and nationalism as well giving birth to arts, particularly music, which assimilated dfferent ethnic cultures not only of their own nations but of their subject colonies and others as well. Brahms, Liszt, Dvorak, Bartok, etc were products of this phase in Europe as Tchaikovsky, Borodin, Glazunov, Rimsky Karsakov etc were in Russia. Borodin however chose the much earlier 11-12th century contacts of the Kievan Russians with the Turkic Polovtsians in the east Ukrainian Steppes, on which his world-famous compositions, "In the Steppes of Central Asia" and "The Polovtsian Dances" are based, though Borodin seldom travelled beyond St Petersburg where he spent most of his life as a doctor and chemist. However even today Ukraine and many other parts of European Russia have people speaking languages and adopting lifestyles of Turkic origin settled there though genetically they may be of mixed Mongolian, Turkic and Russian origins.

[@haroldhansen4745]

Did someone say "oriental" ?!!?

[@chandrashekhara.k.1928]

@@haroldhansen4745 Yes, I did in a loose sense to mean non-Western and Eastern or Asiatic. Borodin's Steppes composition is not in any case typically in a Western.idiom. The Russian steppes of Borodin's times had a vast middle stretch which was neither strictly Western nor strictly Eastern geographically, ethnically, linguistically, culturally and, most importantly, musically as well.This is more or less so even today.

[@zydrate5098]

@@paruhblgen4222 Lmao Russian propaganda gets weirder by the day doesnt it

[@davidjones3428]

Having driven many many miles across the steppes this music brings back the wonderful memories I have and the dear friends that share those memories with me and who will remain with me for the rest of my life.

[@anonymeanonyme4634]

Thé russian classical music remain certainly,After all thé marvellous music in thé World.

[@copinstar]

I think I haven't found yet a better music to listen to at work. This music not only brings mind clarity to me, but it sets me into a happy and peaceful state that no other music did.

[@studentaviator3756]

May I suggest Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. Its extremely mesmerising.

[@copinstar]

@@studentaviator3756 thankyou

[@studentaviator3756]

@@copinstar no problem

[@kenmarshall9907]

I have no Russian ancestors, but , strangely, I am linked to this music....and I recognize magic when I hear it !

[@tedtombling2770]

The picture reminds me of my month long stay in Mongolia. In particular the many days spent travelling across the plains, just as seen here. The mountains in the North formed a ridge dividing Russia which I knew was on the other side. The music reminds of the huge horizons and rolling hills that went on forever.

[@stephanegavignet1592]

I have listened to Borodin since I was a kid (I am 48). First time, I hear The Polovtsian Dances with choir... great !

[@paulziolo9241]

I sang the Polovtsian Dances at secondary school. I was 11 years old then, and from then on had a passionate love for Central Asia, for the music of Borodin and for ancient Russian history ‘Слово о Полку Игореве’).

[@donnavorce8856]

Borodin is one of those newly-discovered composers for me. It's a pleasure learning and listening after 50 years of not knowing. Some of the themes are familiar. Some make one cry. Beautiful.

[@denismunger9129]

When i was 10, in a music class, the teacher said to imagine a caravan slowing arriving, passing by, then vanishing in the horizon.

[@justinstrik7125]

did you imagine an egg on wheels towed by a vw beetle 🐞 or a caravan of camels....🐫🐫🐫🐫🐫

[@leonelvelasco6107]

Essa imagem se aplica tb ao Bolero de Ravel...

[@Marcel_Audubon]

she didn't do you any favors telling you what to imagine instead of letting your imagination do its own lifting ... and here you are a middle aged man still trapped in her tepid suggestion

[@TheBillFord]

As a self-confessed old rock 'n roller it surprises me to realise that I believe "In the steppes..." along with Vaughan William's English Folk song suite, to be the best music in the world

[@theosprey7111]

Vaughan Williams is great stuff too. The Lark Ascending” and “Variations on a theme by Thomas Tallis” are both pieces that paint a picture in your head like Borodin does with this.

[@texaslife5404]

So beautiful. First time to hear it. Thank you.

[@bettyboop3726]

J’adore les compositeurs russes! Borodin, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, Tchaikoswsky ❤️

[@vonPunki]

--- and Scriabin piano music

[@321abcable]

A few years ago I opened the Vancouver Theatre Under the Stars production of Kismet opening bars that the bassoon or oboe plays singing -"Princes come princess go-an hour of pomp and show and over the sands of time they know---- not then realizing where this beautiful melody originated. Borodin has become one of my favorite composers since then!

[@arkantim828]

When I first heard this melody as a child, it immediately took me to the steppe.I didn't know who the author was,what he called this topic.But neither the forest nor the sea, only the steppe instantly appeared in my head.Borodin painted a recognizable picture with notes, not colors.And Yes, I didn't know then,I didn't see the steppe live.This mastery.

[@user-sx3wy7mh9g]

An interesting fact: the composers Rimsky-Korsakov and Scriabin had a color perception of sounds - synopsy. They saw all the sound tonalities of major and minor painted in certain colors. Rimsky-Korsakov's music is often called "sound painting." The music of Russian composers can be called illustrative. They really drew pictures with notes, not colors. It is enough to recall "Pictures at an Exhibition " by Mussorgsky.

[@claudialessa6307]

Maravilhoso!!! E ouvir cantada por russos melhor ainda. Certa vez, eu estava indo para a faculdade de medicina, de ônibus e um grande engarrafamento. Ficamos parados ao lado de uma loja de discos e de lá veio, em alto e bom som, uma melodia maravilhosa! Era céu na Terra. Eu não a conhecia. Guardei na memória e no coração. Por muitos anos procurei essa música até que um dia uma colega me mostrou e me disse que música era. Muito grata por ouvir essa versão.

[@KolyaDickinson]

Olá minha xará! É brasileira de onde?!

[@KolyaDickinson]

Eu sou CaRIOca...

[@KolyaDickinson]

Priviet!

[@judycyg6912]

One of the most beautiful and haunting musical works ever. Who says that scientists have no poetic soul?

[@gideonros2705]

Science investigates life by destroying it. Art by imitating it.

[@alexandermenzies9954]

@@gideonros2705 What gibberish is that, Ros? You're out of your depth.

[@gideonros2705]

@@alexandermenzies9954 Here's another one; Quality is a dimension of Life, the only dimension of Science is Quantity. Science is a domain of death. Haha. Enoy your day. TOOTLES🤡

[@victorianreactionary1875]

@@gideonros2705 I’m going to take that. That is one of the single greatest traditionalist quotes I’ve ever heard. Thank you.

[@user-nf3kz9ee2n]

⁠​⁠@@gideonros2705 May I ask how science ‘destroys’ life?? Science is all about finding out the laws of the universe, and ways for humanity to benefit from them. Those musical instruments with beautiful timbres are also the product of scientific theories and craftsmanship… So yeah, plz give science some respect😅

[@marcioribeiro289]

I think if Saint Petersburg (Санкт-Петербург) is a city very very inspiring for Borodin and others, simple inexplicable, luck for culture and humankind, God blessed Saint Petersburg.

[@wendychen5779]

This portion of Borodin's description "in a note to the score to the Steppes" (see the wonderful comments provided by Wardyyo) stands out in particular for me every time I listen to the ending of this musical gem: "The notes of the Russian and Asiatic melodies join in a common harmony, which dies away as the caravan disappears in the distance." The two main melodies not just join but harmonically support each other, playing simultaneously. So, to me, the ending is a miniature drama of human harmony symbolizing universal brotherhood/sisterhood, as if to say we are all in this together, why the conflicts and wars that never seem to end. Thanks for the upload and all the comments sharing how this piece touched them.

[@vanjastanishic3426]

Dear Wendy Chen, thank you very much for such a comment. I fully agree with You.

[@WlodzimierzSkonieczny-sy4iz]

An excellent comment.

[@lukasst1214]

1:00 If I leave this world, and I know that it will be so, I hope to leave listening and feeling this music

[@philread386]

Absolutely beautiful piece of work. Still got my l.P. from nearly fifty years ago.

[@lorenzoparedes2306]

I have always been fascinated by the connection that exists between Asia and the peoples of Russia. Borodin's music embodies some of the beauty and enigma of Asian cultures, or a portion thereof.

[@nss4472]

I am impressed with the Choir. What a fantastic voices, what a discipline and high professionalism!

[@assylzhankhamit556]

If I am not mistake, this place my little village where I was born, near the atomic Semei polygon. It's amazing hear that song, I m taking great feelings

[@MegaCirse]

Majestic and serene. This music gives off an absolute confidence in the future. And that's exactly what we need right now !

[@stephenpowstinger733]

Philippe Cirse Excellent version - orchestra and engineering. Better than the one I have listened to for years. Brings it to life anew.

[@elizabethschaeffer9543]

Timeless. It catches the infinite horizons of the steppes.

[@margaritaschultz9586]

Right Philippe! Majestic and serene! To close ones eyes and be there, in the Steppes!

[@stpd1957]

How right you are

[@petershtefan8207]

Absolutely

[@stevesalzano942]

Great music and a great comment. Such is KZbin. Such is the internet.

[@keithsnyder7197]

I love this music! Alexander Borodin's In The Steppes of Central Asia tries to capture what Asia is all about in musical form!

[@sofi-fs2cm]

Как прекрасна и величава эта музыка, определенно, она лечит душу, и как прекрасно, что душа бессмертна...

[@carlosinsfran6112]

Impecable interpretación de la creación de Borodin que nos transporta al Asia Central con todo el sentimiento ruso del nacionalismo romántico con su nostálgico recuerdo de una travesía a caballo por la estepa en una tarde de otoño. No puedo menos que rendir mí modesto homenaje a su talento que renueva mí interés en conocer vuestra cultura y la enorme grandiosidad de vuestro dilatado territorio. Va mí aplauso desde Buenos Aires con agradecimiento por haber disfrutado de un momento inolvidable.

[@solmarvazquez]

Digno comentario e inspiración con sensibilidad de poeta de la vida y del amor.

[@robertoroctavio9379]

Mucho me gusto lo que scribio. Gracias.

[@carlastea8606]

Thank you David Borodin was the ultimate Renaissance Man His music is sublime unsurpassed!!!

[@joselopes2293]

Borodin gives us through the music the picture of the steppes in central Asia, its extent, colors and ambiance. This music is sublime and the author manages to involve the listener in this fantastic other world. Bravo!! The Polovtsian dances are amazing in choral interpretation with an flawless orchestration.Bravissimo!!

[@jer810]

C est d une très grande beauté musicale

[@Dylonely42]

En effet

[@brianthompson2089]

Much of classical music gets too busy, frenetic and over ornamented. This piece keeps music simple, digestable with beautiful melodies, harmonies and a feeling of tranquility. Kudos to Borodin and this fine orchestra!

[@davidfloren5339]

Symphonic scoring was a bit above his pay grade, although his attempts are both admirable and worth a listen. But his melodic suites hit home runs.

[@AtlantaMusicCritic]

I was in Kazakhstan for the Expo and drove to Burabai. Traveling through the Steppes was breathtaking and prairie dogs were everywhere. I enjoyed it immensely, and my mind just kept playing this music. It was a tremendous soundtrack to a glorious day.

[@rosemiller2075]

I'm going to Kashmir, Pakistan later this year. Iam listening to this as soon as I step foot off the plane.

[@steveegallo3384]

@@rosemiller2075 -- Don't miss Leh (Ladakh)

[@ronalddunne3413]

Sounds like they need some riflemen to clean up some of those dog-towns.. they destroy the land for grazing... We have a similar problem in parts of Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. But anymore the influx of rich Californians is messing up the landscape. But they won't let hunters take a bag or open a season on THEM...

[@stynway59]

The prairie dogs were there way before your introduced (yes, profitable to you) cattle. They and bison kept the soil permeable, renewed , and a storehouse of fertility until we thought we knew better. We brought dust bowls, mud-wallows, and the need for petroleum-derived fertilizers that barely supply the minimum requirements. Its home might break your horse's ankle, but the prairie dog is way smarter and better suited to this land than we are

[@stynway59]

@@ronalddunne3413 it's you who messed up the landscape. How short human memories are

[@sophiecavalli8907]

Alexandre Borodine est un génie,sa musique me transporteavec émotion depuismon plus jeune age....c'est magnifique.

[@americana3555]

I think it is pretty cool how even though I know little French, 80% of that text was still understandable. It really shows how similar English and French are to each other.

[@hlnbee]

This is one of my favorite pieces of music. It was used for the movie “Kismet.” We was fortunate to see “Prince Igor” in Russia years ago.

[@devoncarter1441]

I have the vinyl of the stage play KISMET.. One of my favorite shows.

[@ceferinoyustedesantos4602]

Dreaming with the music of BORODIN!!!. Wonderful!.

[@uberdru]

"As a chemist, Borodin is known best for his work concerning organic synthesis, including being among the first chemists to demonstrate nucleophilic substitution, as well as being the co-discoverer of the aldol reaction."

[@stephenpowstinger733]

uberdru Can you imagine someone so smart and talented in two completely different fields?

[@flaviamachado2794]

,

[@animalsarebeautifulpeople3094]

An Absolute genius through and through

[@arizonastrip73]

You took the words right out of my mouth.

[@hongkongball7101]

@@arizonastrip73 I'm studying chemistry and came across the aldol reaction while listening to this piece, having no idea they originate from the same person. What a coincidence.

[@macco4526]

Heard this for the first time in the classic fm hall of fame at Easter. And still listening! What a masterpiece by another genius of the classical culture.. ♥️

[@normanjwillis7045]

Truly lovely music. During my college years,, I listened to this most every day, oh what joy, what sweetness.

[@philmixer]

My God! This is so beautiful.

[@bowerdw]

"Take my hand, I'm a stranger in paradise . . . ." I don't know when I heard the real Borodin work the first time. It was on the old Time-Life: Story of Great Music Series (Slavic). It stirred me today as much as it did years ago. I also think I got to sing some of this music in the community chorus in Bradenton/Sarasota. That is very muddled now so I lack certainty on that.

[@igormikhailov8077]

What a pure voice and the music is simply divine.

[@draganrandjelovic926]

Congragtulate, beautiful, perfect for oll people, spririt and happines future! Честитке, прелепо, перфектно за све људе, духовна срећна будућност~

[@jackylen57]

J'écoute cette musique lancinante avec admiration : elle nous exhorte à la méditation , à la réflexion !!! Je suis enchantée !!!!

[@Amelia4144]

... et a rêver aussi ...

[@user-vg7dr1yj8b]

Musica divina !!!!! Grazie di ❤

[@DickPellek]

The music goes beyond stirring my soul...it enchants me.

[@GilbertoAndres2449]

Borodin fue un químico extraordinario. Algunos de sus procedimientos se estudian en las facultades de química de muchos países. Fue compositor por afición a la música su obra más importante es la ópera " El príncipe Igor", no la pudo terminar en vida y la acabó su amigo Rimsky Korsakow.

[@4c00h]

this music literally caresses my heart, i feel the sound waves brushing my soul as they penetrate me that ended in a strange manner it's your brain not mine

[@bekmansur9403]

Beautiful Borodin music!!! ❤❤❤ С любовью из Казахстана ) 👏👏👏

[@WlodzimierzSkonieczny-sy4iz]

Russian music composers are great. All of them.

[@agnieszkazebrowska5567]

Brawo! 👏 Dziękuję bardzo za udostępnienie:)

[@vanjastanishic3426]

Cieszę się. Dziękuję za komentarz.

[@WlodzimierzSkonieczny-sy4iz]

Niesamowicie piękna muzyka.

[@richardmasson7680]

Lire "La Steppe" d'Anton Tchekhov en écoutant "Dans les steppes d'Asie centrale" de Borodin est un de mes plus beaux voyages!!! Merci!!!

[@vanjastanishic3426]

Merci beaucoup.

[@saladin600]

Mikhail Glinka: Ruslan and Lyudmila, Overture (1842) Modest Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (1874) Alexander Borodin: In the Steppes of Central Asia (1880) Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade (1888) Alexander Glazunov: The Seasons (1899) Sergei Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No.2 in C minor (1901) Scriabin: Poem of Ecstasy (1905-1908) Igor Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring (1913) Sergei Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet (1935) Dmitri Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No.2 in F major (1957) Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture (1880)

[@alluneedisawill]

please let me make you add shostakovich's 5th to this list. it can even be a better finale than 1812 overture :) ps: thank you for this list, much love!

[@rudivandereep9611]

Definitely shall look up those ...and yes in comparrison to shostakovich whats your rating.

@@alluneedisawill anything Dmitri composed is worthwhile. His music, while obv distinctly Russian, is so much beyond its cultural influences. Like Mahler, Beethoven, Stravinski, even Wagner....

[@5610winston]

Let us not forget Borodin's masterful String Quartet no. 1 in A major, truly symphonic in its structure and scope.

[@williambunter3311]

Great list, Saladin! I would add Night on the Bare Mountain, and possibly put it at equal 1st with the 1812, or at equal 2nds, after Rach.2.

[@austin-chows4]

This is wonderful - love Borodin.

[@williamjueschke9960]

Such beautiful music.

[@laurebarlet]

Une merveille, une profonde émotion! Un cadeau de ciel! Merci beaucoup! God bless!

[@fe12rrps]

Thank god Borodin did not just do chemistry!

[@raymondgood2359]

borodin was a surgeon, research chemist and composer- a rare genius

[@elizabethschaeffer9543]

Amen

[@michaelfolker8810]

@@raymondgood2359 I've heard on one classical music station that Borodin also started the first medical college for women in Russia.

[@jamesharrington4752]

@@elizabethschaeffer9543 Amen to your Amen.

[@rivenoak]

afaik thank god he was sick; he composed when he was not able to do chemistry :)

[@EvaLapinska]

Supreme composition - all vast. wild and glorious steppe people and nature lives in this music!

[@jedkrantz7003]

Magnificent Borodin…..Thank you once again Evgeny Svetlanov.!

[@paulrasmont9707]

J'aime cette douce mélancolie qui porte à rêver à de vastes espaces paisibles et doux où chante le vent.

[@jewelscash8752]

Merci!

[@aragorn618]

Joliment dit ...

[@stephenpowstinger733]

I agree, based on my limited French.

[@giselequinquis3726]

calme seule rien autour le reve

[@americana3555]

Oui. J’aime le musique.

[@stanislavmilovanovic1732]

Bravo Vanja. Sve je to lepo "zakuvao" nenadmasni Jevgenij Svetlanov !!!

[@vanjastanishic3426]

Хвала. А изгледа и да се Римски-Корсаков био "мало потрудио" да хор Половаца испадне рмек-.дело

[@beatrizvaldebenito7639]

Y bellisima musiza que evoca los espacios y el viento.

[@nelliethursday1812]

Wow and double wow I have been searching for this all my life I last heard it when I was very young never knew who created it I don't know who or what brought me here but thank you. Russian classical music touches that part of the soul that touches the infinite.

[@drakekay6577]

The hardest thing to do is find a melody. You can't tell another person what it is. You can't repeat it. You can't examine the entire library to find it... I feel your pain. I have a list that I refuse to add more to, adopting an intentional reference check. But still that list is real.

[@warrenglover6633]

So much of Slavic music is a representation of humankind's tragedic experience of life. The Russians do it with such realism that one can sense the agony it generates. Their history resonates in every note.

[@warrenglover6633]

Sorry, my reply above is intended for Nellie Thursday

[@SmeagolTheBeagle]

How incredible - I am envious of your expirience where you were re-united with music of epic proportions over such time. The same thing happened to me with Bruckners 7th symphony, it lingered in my head for years untill finally hearing it appear on the radio in the car and astonishing me!

[@alexdahn5329]

Right !

[@williamhicks2299]

Such gorgeous music, gorgeously performed by a conductor who was a colorist and conjurer much like Leopold Stokowski.

[@jackturner3374]

There's a play/movie called Kizmet; the score is all Borodin. I've seen both and they're great.

[@ionidhunedoara1491]

The chorus reminds me of all the matrushkas I met in childhood standing in front of my Kruschev-era apartment building, gossiping and joking.

[@captebbtide]

A delightful pairing of these two Russian classics by Borodin. Love the vocals!

[@usertcl6893]

А. П. Бородин действительно не успел закончить свою единственную оперу. Но это сделал не Римский-Корсаков, а А. К.Глазунов, а Николай Андреевич инструментовал всю оперу по клариру, а это, согласитесь, тоже подвиг. Большое человеческое спасибо за ваш труд, столь нужный в наше переломное время, направленный на сохранение русского искусства!. А как исполняет Евгений Фёдорович Светланов эту удивительную музыку - это отдельная история. Е. Ф. С. сделал для русского искусства больше, чем остальные дирижёры вместе взятые! Светлая память гению русской музыки и нашему общему любимцу...

[@vanjastanishic3426]

Я вам очень благодарен за ценные замечания по поводу вклада Римского Корсакого и Глазунова в чудесную оперу Бородина. А что же касается вопроса сохранения русской культуры в актуальном мире, число комментариев и отзывов на данную музыку Бородина говорит само по себе.

[@user-sn3vv6zc5n]

Согласна полностью. Спасибо за ролик. Музыка эта у великого Е. Ф. Светланова звучит так, что ты видишь, как русские солдаты идут и как их встречает незнакомая, неведомая степь, или может быть и пустыня, но они все же идут вперед. Все сразу понятно. Торжественно и трогательно. Не знаю как передать, нет слов.

[@user-rk5vw8qo6r]

@@user-sn3vv6zc5n, не согласен. Сам Бородин описывает свое произведение как слияние русской и восточной музыки, которая по праву мелодична.

[@roselynemichel1414]

Sublime cela me rappelle le debut des années 70 ou une prof de musique soeur yves nous a fait decouvrir dans les steppes de l asie centrale je ne en lasse pas

[@robstimson4234]

Can't get enough of this!

[@janettalbot6463]

I just love this music! It is SOO beautiful and tranquil it makes me imagine I am traveling through the steppes of Central Asia on a train in Alexander"s time period or perhaps on yak or horseback!

[@ronalddunne3413]

I'd pass on the yak thing, my aging bones wouldnt take to it. I could get used to horseback again, but would probably prefer a 4wd vehicle. And no, I wouldnt herd goats again, done enuff of that in my life.. Still one wonders what life in a yurt would be like... much like an Amer-Indian teepee one supposes, but without the vast herds of buffalo.. the Tsars should have thought to introduce the American bison to the open steppes...

[@jonathanbirchley]

A magnificent composition, the first time I've heard it in full. One of the most evocative pieces of music I know. The scene picture fits the music perfectly, I keep looking to see the wagons in the distance, imagining them moving inexorably closer, passing right by, then away again to disappear over the horizon

[@carola6o]

Grazie per la bellissima descrizione delle steppe asia centrale......pura poesia ❤ Grazie per le tue profonde riflessioni.....è vero che la musica unisce al di là di divisioni guerre e quant altro che divide anziché unire......restiamo uniti nella musica ❤

[@WlodzimierzSkonieczny-sy4iz]

To piękne marzenie...

[@mareksmolik1609]

The greatest composer among chemists and the greatest chemist among composers,