Alexander Borodin

Alexander Borodin (1833–1887) was a Russian composer and organic chemist. His music includes the opera Prince Igor and two completed symphonies.

The Five: A group of nineteenth-century Russian composers who sought to create a national musical style. Borodin belonged to this circle, which shaped his ambitions as a Russian composer.
Prince Igor: An unfinished opera by Borodin, based on a medieval Russian epic and first staged in 1890. It is Borodin’s best-known opera and includes the celebrated Polovtsian dances.
Nikolay Zinin: A Russian organic chemist who taught at the Imperial Medical-Surgical Academy in Saint Petersburg. Zinin supervised Borodin’s early chemical training and helped launch his research career.
Borodin–Hunsdiecker reaction: A decarboxylation reaction converting silver carboxylates into alkyl halides, associated with Borodin and later Hunsdiecker work. It represents Borodin’s lasting contribution to organic chemistry.
Russian nationalism in music: A movement using Russian folk, historical, and literary material to shape a distinct national art music. It frames Borodin’s use of Russian subjects and musical idioms.
Polovtsian Dances: Orchestral and choral dances from Borodin’s opera Prince Igor. These dances became the opera’s most widely performed music.
Sofia Kovalevskaya: A Russian mathematician who studied in Germany and became a professor at Stockholm University. She and Borodin helped establish the Bestuzhev Courses for women in Saint Petersburg.
Bestuzhev Courses: Higher education courses for women established in Saint Petersburg in 1878. Borodin helped found them, extending his public work beyond music and chemistry.
Romantic music: A broad nineteenth-century tradition emphasizing expressive individuality, expanded forms, and vivid musical color. Borodin’s orchestral works belong to this wider musical era.
Symphony No. 2 (Borodin): Borodin’s 1870s symphony in B minor, a major work in the Russian orchestral repertory. It is his most substantial completed symphony.

Linked from 4 pages