Alexander Borodin

Though far from prolific as a composer -- by day he was a scientist noted for his research on aldehydes -- Alexander Borodin nevertheless earned a secure place in the history of Russian music. As a creative spirit, he was the most accomplished of the Russian nationalist composers. He had a particular gift for the distinctive stripe of exoticism so evident in his most frequently performed work, the "Polovtsian Dances" from the opera Prince Igor. The illegitimate son of a Georgian prince and a doctor's wife, Borodin enjoyed a comfortable upbringing. As a child he learned to p...