Lancette Arts Journal |
CD Reviews From our Archives |
January 2004 |
By Alidė Kohlhaas
There is at times a tender sweetness to Alexander Porfirevich Borodin's music that surely arises from his easygoing manner. The casual tone of this esteemed professor of chemistry's home allowed that his apartment on the grounds of the Academy of Medicine in St. Petersburg became a perpetual meeting place for students, relatives, and innumerable friends, the latter invariably musicians. Borodin, a practical man, considered his compositional life simply a Sunday job, and we must marvel that he managed to compose anything at all that is of consequence. Yet, he did. His only operatic work, Prince Igor, on which he worked for 15 years, in the end had to be completed by his friends Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Glazunov after Borodin died unexpectedly from a burst artery in the heart on February 2, 1887, just a little over 53 years old.
In a new recording by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, directed by Bramwell Tovey, we get a chance to hear the genius of Borodin. He was probably the most gifted, next to Modest Musorgsky, of that group of Russian composers known as the "Kuchka" (The Mighty Handful). The other three members were Rimsky-Korsakov, Cesar Cui, and Mily Balakirev, the group's figurehead. Musically they were Russian nationalists, and so employed the sounds of their vast native country, composed of Europeans as well as Asians. It made for some very mighty and compelling music.
The CD, produced by CBC Records, features the Overture to Prince Igor that Glazunov, a student of Rimsky-Korsakov, completed from the composer's sketches and themes from the opera. It sounds very fine in this reading by Tovey, who has the right touch to bring out the light side of the overture, as well as the dark moments.
While Borodin's Symphony No. 2 is perhaps his most unquestioned masterpiece, this CD opts instead for the Symphony No. 3, which also had to be completed by Glazunov. He once again used the composer's sketches and employed his own phenomenal memory to complete the first movement, Moderato assai. He then fashioned the second movement, Scherzo, from an 1882 string quartet that Borodin had planned to recycle into the symphony. The third and fourth movements of this symphony are lost, although it was known that Borodin had conceived them. But, no matter, these two remaining movements are mighty on their own, and very satisfying to the ear.
The Nocturne - Andante, from Borodin's String Quartet No. 2, is probably his most familiar work because it was borrowed by Robert Wright and George Forrest for their 1953 musical, Kismet. Some of you might remember Vic Damon singing "And this is my beloved" in the film version. The arrangement featured on the current Borodin CD is by Sir Malcolm Sargent, which he published in 1949.
The final work on this Borodin CD is his Symphony No.1 in E-flat Major. It begins with a somber Adagio, but soon expands to embrace the lilting sounds that so clearly identify Borodin's music, and have the power to charm us. There is a great deal of change of mood throughout this work's four movements, which makes one realize what a great gift for composition rested in the professor of chemistry.
The Vancouver Symphony gives a fine performance throughout this CD, which was recorded live at the Vancouver Orpheum Theatre. This theatre has excellent acoustics. If you are ever in Vancouver, try to catch a concert there. You will find it rewarding.
[BORODIN, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Bramwell
Tovey, conductor, CBC Records,
SMCD 5231, 69:33 minutes]
Copyright © 2004-8 CamKohl Arts Productions