Symphony No. 2 (Borodin)
Encyclopedia
Alexander Borodin
Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin was a Russian Romantic composer and chemist of Georgian–Russian parentage. He was a member of the group of composers called The Five , who were dedicated to producing a specifically Russian kind of art music...
was composed intermittently between 1869 and 1876. It consists of four movements and is considered the most important large-scale work completed by the composer himself. It has many melodic resemblances to both Prince Igor
Prince Igor
Prince Igor is an opera in four acts with a prologue. It was composed by Alexander Borodin. The composer adapted the libretto from the East Slavic epic The Lay of Igor's Host, which recounts the campaign of Russian prince Igor Svyatoslavich against the invading Polovtsian tribes in 1185...
and Mlada
Mlada
Mlada was a project originally envisioned as a ballet to be composed by Alexander Serov and choreographed by Marius Petipa. The project was later revised in 1872 as an opera-ballet in four acts, with the composition of the score to be divided between César Cui, Léon Minkus, Modest Mussorgsky,...
, two theatre works that diverted Borodin's attention on and off during the six years of composition.
Composition
Although he had a keen interest in opera, Borodin's scientific research and teaching duties as an Adjunct professor of Chemistry in the Medico-Surgical Academy at St. Petersburg since 1874 interrupted his composition of the Second SymphonySymphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
. As a result, this symphony took several years to complete.
Immediately after the successful premiere of his first symphony in E-flat conducted by Mily Balakirev
Mily Balakirev
Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev ,Russia was still using old style dates in the 19th century, and information sources used in the article sometimes report dates as old style rather than new style. Dates in the article are taken verbatim from the source and therefore are in the same style as the source...
at the Imperial Russian Music concert in 1869, Borodin began writing the Second Symphony in B minor. That summer, he left off work on the piece in order to work on Prince Igor
Prince Igor
Prince Igor is an opera in four acts with a prologue. It was composed by Alexander Borodin. The composer adapted the libretto from the East Slavic epic The Lay of Igor's Host, which recounts the campaign of Russian prince Igor Svyatoslavich against the invading Polovtsian tribes in 1185...
(Knyaz Igor), an opera based on a 12th-century epic "the Story of Igor's Army," suggested by his friend and first biographer Vladimir Stasov. Borodin suddenly decided to abandon Prince Igor in March 1870, criticizing his own inability to write a libretto that would satisfy both musical and scenic requirement. He told his wife, "There is scarcely any drama or scenic movement… Anyhow, opera seems to me an unnatural thing… besides I am by nature a lyricist and symphonist; I am attracted by the symphonic forms."
Soon after setting Prince Igor aside, Borodin returned to the B minor Symphony, assuring Stasov that the "materials" created for the opera would be used in the newly revived symphony. According to Stasov in an article contributed to the "Vestnik Evropi" in 1883, Borodin told him more than once that in the first movement he wished to depict a gathering of Russian warrior-heroes, in the slow movement the figure of a bayan—a type of Russian accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, and in the finale a scene of heroes feasting to the sound of guslis—an ancient plucked instrument.
He composed most of the first movement in April 1870, and he wrote it out onto a piano score a year later, in spring 1871. In that same year he sketched the Scherzo and Andante. That summer he orchestrated the first movement, and in October he drafted the finale.
Borodin's work on the symphony was again interrupted when the Director of the Imperial Theatres, Stephan Gedenov, asked him to collaborate on an extravagant opera-ballet Mlada
Mlada
Mlada was a project originally envisioned as a ballet to be composed by Alexander Serov and choreographed by Marius Petipa. The project was later revised in 1872 as an opera-ballet in four acts, with the composition of the score to be divided between César Cui, Léon Minkus, Modest Mussorgsky,...
with other members of Vladimir Stasov's "mighty little heap," namely Cesar Cui
César Cui
César Antonovich Cui was a Russian of French and Lithuanian descent. His profession was as an army officer and a teacher of fortifications; his avocational life has particular significance in the history of music, in that he was a composer and music critic; in this sideline he is known as a...
, Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky, and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five.The Five, also known as The Mighty Handful or The Mighty Coterie, refers to a circle of composers who met in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the years 1856–1870: Mily Balakirev , César...
. In his usual fashion of composing, Borodin borrowed heavily from earlier works, in this case Prince Igor. The show was ultimately cancelled because of production costs, and Borodin once again turned to the B minor Symphony.
A new interest took his attention away from the composition once again in the fall of 1872 as the Tsar Alexander II's government passed legislation allowing women to take advanced medical courses. As an advocate of the new campaign, Borodin became the founder of a School of Medicine for women, where he taught several courses. Despite these distractions, Borodin finished the piano score in May 1873.
The following academic year (1873–74), more and more aggravated that he was not receiving support or recognition for his scientific work, he published his last paper on aldehydes and turned to teaching; it was at this time that he became director of the Medical-Surgical Academy's laboratory facilities. Meanwhile he also took up Prince Igor again and worked on orchestrating the final three movements of the symphony, although this work was not ultimately completed until 1875.
In the autumn of 1876, the Russian Musical Society
Russian Musical Society
The Russian Musical Society was an organisation founded in 1859 by the Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna and her protégé, pianist and composer Anton Rubinstein, with the intent of raising the standard of music in the country and disseminating musical education.Rubinstein and the Grand Duchess's...
showed an interest in performing the symphony; however, Borodin was disconcerted to find that he had lost the full score. Although the middle movements were eventually found, he had to reorchestrate the outer two movements while sick in bed. The work was premiered 10 March 1877 under the baton of Eduard Nápravník. This symphony fits in the debate over the merit of folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
elements and traditional western art music values, which was a central conflict of Romantic nationalism
Romantic nationalism
Romantic nationalism is the form of nationalism in which the state derives its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs...
. The work was popular, but according to Rimsky-Korsakov, only enjoyed "moderate success" because Borodin had written the brass part too thickly.
Borodin's relationship with Liszt
Liszt
Liszt is a Hungarian surname. Notable persons with that surname include:* Franz Liszt , Hungarian composer and pianist* Adam Liszt , father of Franz Liszt* Anna Liszt , mother of Franz Liszt...
also had impacted his symphonic writing. Later in 1877, Borodin traveled to Germany in order to enroll some of his chemistry pupils in Jena University. While in Germany, Borodin visited Liszt in Weimar
Weimar
Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
where the two played through both of Borodin's symphonies in four-hand piano arrangements. Liszt had been an admirer of Borodin's music and he arranged performances of Borodin's symphonies, making them the first Russian symphonies to be received abroad. Regarding Borodin's attempt to revise his score, Liszt said,
Instrumentation
The symphony is scored for the following orchestra:Woodwinds:
- piccoloPiccoloThe piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written...
- 2 fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s - 2 oboeOboeThe oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s (one doubling on cor anglaisCor anglaisThe cor anglais , or English horn , is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family....
) - 2 clarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s - 2 bassoonBassoonThe bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
s
Brass
Brass instrument
A brass instrument is a musical instrument whose sound is produced by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips...
:
- 4 hornHorn (instrument)The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
s - 2 trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s - 3 tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
s - tubaTubaThe tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
Percussion:
- 3 timpaniTimpaniTimpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
- triangleTriangle (instrument)The triangle is an idiophone type of musical instrument in the percussion family. It is a bar of metal, usually steel but sometimes other metals like beryllium copper, bent into a triangle shape. The instrument is usually held by a loop of some form of thread or wire at the top curve...
- tambourineTambourineThe tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
- bass drumBass drumBass drums are percussion instruments that can vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished. The type usually seen or heard in orchestral, ensemble or concert band music is the orchestral, or concert bass drum . It is the largest drum of...
- cymbalCymbalCymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
s (in the finale only)
Harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
Strings
String section
The string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...
Score and edition
In 1879 Borodin revised the orchestration of the symphony and thinned out the heavy brass parts. The premiere of this final version took place 4 March 1879 under the baton of Rimsky-Korsakov at a Free School Concert. Borodin became occupied with the symphony one last time in 1886, while preparing the manuscript full score for the printer. He made a few refinement changes suggested by Rimsky-Korsakov, who also provided the metronomeMetronome
A metronome is any device that produces regular, metrical ticks — settable in beats per minute. These ticks represent a fixed, regular aural pulse; some metronomes also include synchronized visual motion...
markings based on the successful second performance.
The Symphony
The B minor SymphonySymphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
is arguably the most important large-scale work completed by the composer himself, and is considered to be one of his greatest. It has many melodic resemblances to both Prince Igor and Mlada
Mlada
Mlada was a project originally envisioned as a ballet to be composed by Alexander Serov and choreographed by Marius Petipa. The project was later revised in 1872 as an opera-ballet in four acts, with the composition of the score to be divided between César Cui, Léon Minkus, Modest Mussorgsky,...
, which were two theatrical works that diverted Borodin's attention away from the B minor Symphony between 1869-75. According to the account of Borodin's friend Nikolay Kashkin, the symphony's striking and abrupt opening theme originated from the abandoned chorus of Polovtsians, and the Soviet biographer Serge Dianin notes that there is a common thread present in all three pieces. According to Dianin, "it is for this reason that we find certain similarities in the themes Borodin
Borodin
Borodin , or Borodina is a Russian last name and may refer to:*Alexander Borodin , Russian composer and chemist*Alexander Parfeniyevich Borodin, Russian scientist in the field of rail transport...
uses in these works." The relation to the heroic world of Prince Igor led Stasov to nickname the work Bogatirskaya simfoniya (Heroic symphony).
I. Allegro
Excluding the E natural, the opening theme is made up of an octatonic subcollection which consists of the major and minor 3rd above the tonic. The alternation between major and minor thirds is found throughout the symphony, and is based on this opening theme. The lyrical second theme in D major not only sets a contrast to the first theme, but also to present the cyclic elements evident in the whole work. This is very recognizable in the trio of the scherzoScherzo
A scherzo is a piece of music, often a movement from a larger piece such as a symphony or a sonata. The scherzo's precise definition has varied over the years, but it often refers to a movement which replaces the minuet as the third movement in a four-movement work, such as a symphony, sonata, or...
movement, and distantly echoed in the finale. Maes states that the second theme is a protyazhnaya stylization, which he defines as "a splendid form of melismatically decorated song set to poetry of great expressive power and lyrical intensity."
The second theme in the recapitulation is also in E-flat (a minor third away from the opening theme), making it an enharmonic
Enharmonic
In modern musical notation and tuning, an enharmonic equivalent is a note , interval , or key signature which is equivalent to some other note, interval, or key signature, but "spelled", or named, differently...
major third above B natural. This makes the interchange between the major and minor third not only melodic, but structural as well.
Renowned musicologist A. Peter Brown notes that the first movement is a sonata
Sonata
Sonata , in music, literally means a piece played as opposed to a cantata , a piece sung. The term, being vague, naturally evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms prior to the Classical era...
form, shaped by a somewhat unusual key scheme in the recapitulation, and provides the following analysis of the first movement.
| P | S K | P | S | K | |||
| Exposition: | B minor | D | Recapitulation: | B minor | E-flat | C | B minor |
| 1 | 78 93 | 224 | 263 | 283 |
While Borodin treats the exposition in a typical manner, S in the recapitulation
Recapitulation
Recapitulation may refer to:* Recapitulation , a section of musical sonata form where the exposition is repeated in an altered form and the development is concluded...
does not return to the tonic key or even to a closely related key. Instead, he uses two keys (E-flat and C) which are not only distant from B minor, but also unrelated to the tonic key of S in the exposition. Brown concludes with the following thoughts about the first movement:
In spite of the first movements sonata like form, according to Brown, musicologist Francis Maes states that because of a compulsive repetition of the motto – in sequences, diminutions, and augmentations – the orchestration – with intensive use of the low brass – and the peculiarity of tempo changes, "all this turns the first movement into a montage of contrasts rather than into a developing sonata form." Despite this apparent conflict, music critic David Fanning argues that Borodin's use of melodic material, and the heroic themes that result, are "virtually unprecedented in the history of the symphony."
II. Scherzo. Prestissimo-Allegretto
The second movement is unconventional in many ways, as it moves to the key of F major – a very remote key; which may have been Balakirev's idea originally. It breaks from the usual triple meter, and it groups together unusual lengths of phrases. Instead, Borodin opts for 1/1 time with a tempo marking of 108 – four quarter notes to a bar with a whole note receiving the beat – and alternates between four and five bar phrases, with an occasional one or two bar phrase. There is a great deal of rhythmic contrast between the two main ideas; the first is firmly on the beat, while the second is syncopated.After a four bar introduction, a majority of the Scherzo
Scherzo
A scherzo is a piece of music, often a movement from a larger piece such as a symphony or a sonata. The scherzo's precise definition has varied over the years, but it often refers to a movement which replaces the minuet as the third movement in a four-movement work, such as a symphony, sonata, or...
proper is a continuation of quarter note figures passed throughout the orchestra in a "kaleidoscope of color." Dianin notes that the second subject in this passage ends in an unusual fashion, marked by descending leaps of a fourth; while Maes points out the recollection of Glinka, particularly the oriental-sounding Trio (Allegretto). Following the transition to the Allegretto section in 6/4, we have the second main theme. Brown had the following thoughts of this portion of the second movement:
Following the Allegretto is a return of the Scherzo proper, which Rimsky-Korsakov found to be the weak link in the symphony.
III. Andante
According to Borodin's friend and chief biographer Vladimir Stasov, the third movement of the symphony was intended to depict the Slavic minstrel Boyan (bard)Boyan (bard)
Boyan is the name of a bard who was mentioned in the Rus' epic The Lay of Igor's Campaign as being active at the court of Yaroslav the Wise. He is apostrophized as Volos's grandson in the opening lines of The Lay...
accompanying himself on a gusli (a type of zither
Zither
The zither is a musical string instrument, most commonly found in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary citera, northwestern Croatia, the southern regions of Germany, alpine Europe and East Asian cultures, including China...
), represented by the harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
. While this movement is similar to the third movement of his first symphony, the structure differs being rondo
Rondo
Rondo, and its French equivalent rondeau, is a word that has been used in music in a number of ways, most often in reference to a musical form, but also to a character-type that is distinct from the form...
-like:
| O | A | B | A | C(A) | B | A | B | A | O |
| D-flat | E minor | A-flat | A | D-flat | |||||
| 1 | 5 | 23 | 46 | 80 | 87 | 91 | 101 | 113 | 121 |
The Andante begins with what Oldani calls "one of Borodin's most serene melodies," played by the clarinets and accompanied by the harp, and what follows is a horn solo with the ornamental grace notes that are quite typical of Borodin's lyrical melodies. This melody is heard from various instruments throughout the piece, while some of the material incorporates the interaction between minor and major thirds present in the Allegro (I).
The movement ends in a similar fashion to how it began, with clarinet solo followed by horn solo, accompanied by harp. Maes eloquently summarizes the mystique of the third movement by pointing out how powerfully it refers to the "mythical, imaginary world of both Ruslan and Prince Igor."
IV. Finale. Allegro
According to Oldani the finale is in sonata form, but more free than the first movement. However, Brown points out that there are at least three viable ways to interpret the formal structure of this movement: 1) in the standard western tradition of the symphony with the movement being either in sonata or rondo form; 2) as a collection of dances that mimic sonata form; 3) as a programmatic piece that follows the events laid out by Stasov. This section begins with a pentatonic theme in the violin and viola, with the development consisting of a whole-tone passage which is also used in both Mlada and the prologue of Prince Igor. Oldani, "Borodin, Aleksandr Porfir’yevich."| 0 | P T(O) | S | K(S) | P aug. P aug. | T(O) | P | 1N | 0 | P T(O) S/K | 2N | 1N | 1N1 | O/P |
| Intro. | Exposition | Development | Recapitulation | Coda | |||||||||
| 1 | 18 44 | 53 | 76 | 96 100 | 102 | 118 | 149 | 168 | 184 201 208 | 232 | 251 | 257 | 265 |
Stasov states that this movement is a scene of great celebration, which Borodin conveys by writing Slavic dances in mixed triple and duple meter, and syncopated downbeats. These elements, combined with the addition of cymbals, triangle, tambourine, and bass drum, give the music not only a Slavic dance feel, but also makes it "Turkish
Music of Turkey
The music of Turkey includes diverse elements ranging from Central Asian folk music and has many copies and references of Byzantine music, Greek music, Ottoman music, Persian music, Balkan music, as well as more modern European and American popular music influences...
" sounding to western ears. Each dance has its own bold rhythmic motion which is a result of the syncopation, as well as the resilient anacrustic formations; Dianin describes the tone of the movement as being "bright and jubilant."
Summary
According to Dianin, Stasov believed that Borodin had the knights and heroic figures of ancient Russia in mind with this piece. "The first movement depicts an assembly of Russian knights […] the Scherzo could be intended to suggest a headlong chase, but it could equally well be a festive scene […] the third movement was to have depicted Bayan, the legendary minstrel who appears in the Lay of Igor's Campaign […] and the finale is meant to depict ‘the knights’ feast, the sound of the gusli, and a jubilant throng of people."Dianin concludes by stating that the overall character of Borodin's Symphony No. 2 is patriotic, and that he is showing his sincere admiration for the strength and courage of the men of old, who "saved Russia from her enemies." Borodin not only admired these great heroes of Russian history, but was able to capture their essence in his music. In summing up the work, Brown had the following comment:
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: EMIEMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
. (1995) - Gothenburg Symphony OrchestraGothenburg Symphony OrchestraThe Göteborgs Symfoniker is an orchestra based in Gothenburg, Sweden. Founded in 1905, it was granted the title of the "National Orchestra of Sweden" in 1997...
– Neeme JärviNeeme JärviNeeme Järvi is an Estonian-born conductor.-Early life:Järvi studied music first in Tallinn, and later in Leningrad at the Leningrad Conservatory under Yevgeny Mravinsky, and Nikolai Rabinovich, among others...
: PolygramPolyGramPolyGram was the name of the major label recording company started by Philips from as a holding company for its music interests in 1945. In 1999 it was sold to Seagram and merged into Universal Music Group.-Hollandsche Decca Distributie , 1929-1950:...
. (1993)