Polovtsian Dances (Prince Igor), Gliding Dance of the Maidens, piano arrangement

Alexandre Borodine · Level 4 (Intermediate) · Romantic · Piano

The most famous theme of the Polovtsian Dances from the opera Prince Igor: a languid, oriental melody, later reused in the musical Kismet (“Stranger in Paradise”). A piece by Alexander Borodin, chemist and composer, a member of the Russian “Five”. A major, 4/4, 45 bars (about 2 minutes), complete score.

▶ Play this piece with the interactive score

How to practise it

• Listen first: the site plays it while the score scrolls.
• Wait mode: the score waits for you at every note, at your own pace.
• Tempo challenge: play in time, with a score and a map of the bars you got right.
• Let the melody sing very legato and supple; the grace notes of the original are omitted: add them once you know the theme well. One hand sometimes plays two voices: hold the long notes for their full value and let the main line sing louder than the accompaniment. Triplets and other tuplets must be perfectly even: count them aloud with the metronome. For chords, shape the hand in the air before landing, all notes together.

Source : PDMX / MuseScore · CC0 1.0