Alexandre Borodine (1833–1887)
A chemist by profession and a “Sunday composer”, member of the Russian Five, author of Prince Igor and its Polovtsian Dances.
Born in Saint Petersburg in 1833, the illegitimate son of a Georgian prince, Alexander Borodin had a brilliant career as a chemist: a professor at the Medical-Surgical Academy, he discovered several chemical reactions and helped set up medical courses for women.
A passionate musician since childhood, he composed in his spare time. He joined “The Five” around Balakirev, with Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Cui, who wanted to create a truly Russian music.
He worked for nearly twenty years on his opera Prince Igor without finishing it: after his death in 1887, Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov completed it, and it was premiered in 1890. He also wrote two symphonies, two string quartets and the symphonic poem In the Steppes of Central Asia.