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Thứ Hai, 30 tháng 7, 2007
Thứ Bảy, 21 tháng 7, 2007
BORODIN
Trong CHAT VỚI MOZART, Mỹ Linh đã hát một tác phẩm tiêu biểu của A. BORODIN. Bài này trước đây đã được TONY BENNET hát với tựa đề STRANGER IN PARADISE.
Nhưng BORODIN còn có những tác phẩm tiêu biểu khác như IN THE STEPPES OF CENTRAL ASIA. Bài này là một tác phẩm kinh điển cho những bạn muốn tìm hiểu về ĐỐI ÂM. Hay bài NOCTURN in D.
Dưới đây là tiểu sử của BORODIN
, he was the illegitimate son of t Alexander Porfir'yevich Borodin B orodin was born in St. Petersburg (Russia), 31 Oct. 1833 (OS; 12 Nov.) and he died in St. Petersburg, on 17 Feb. 1887 (OS; 27 Feb.) A lexander Borodin, composer of 'Prince Igor', one of the greatest of all Russian operas, once said that for him 'music was a pastime, a relaxation from more serious occupations'. Those 'more serious occupations' were the disciplines of science and medicine, in which he also achieved international fame. W ith his friend and fellow student Mikhail Shchiglev he would perform arrangements for four hands of music by Haydn, Beethoven and Mendelssohn. But even in those student days, his enduring passion was for experimental chemistry. He wrote a piano duet at the age of nine. I n 1850 at the age of 17, he entered the Medico-Surgical Academy at St. Petersburg, where he studied anatomy, botany, chemistry, crystallography and zoology. On graduation he spent a year as house surgeon in a military hospital, followed by three years of more advanced scientific studies in Western Europe. In his spare time absorbed the musical styles of Schumann, Mendelssohn, and Chopin. Thereafter his life as a musician was always secondary to a distinguished scientific career and some of his finest compositions were written sporadically over long periods of time. In 1862 he succeeded to the professorship at the Academy, and ten years later played a leading role in establishing medical courses for women. He then spent the rest of his life lecturing and supervising student work. How Borodin managed to find time for music remains a mystery, but in 1864 he met Balakirev, and through him César Cui, Modest Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov. In this way he became a member of 'The Five' who were also sometimes called 'The Mighty Handful' and… who took over and developed the ideas and methods of the two founders of Russian music, Glinka and Dargomïzhsky. They started the Free Music Academy, advocating music education for everyone, in opposition to the "official" Academy of Music in St. Petersburg, founded by Anton Rubenstein and supported by the imperial government. As nationalism swept across the European continent and elsewhere, the Mighty Five, along with artists and musicians all over Russia, wanted to create art and music that was distinctly Russian, turning away from the influences of Western Europe. While many composers at the time, like Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov, drew on Russian folk melodies for inspiration, Borodin did not; but he related his music to images of Russian places and themes. M usically speaking, he was the least committed, but the most gifted of the five composers. As a group they were opposed to the academicians and to the music of Richard Wagner. They saw themselves as Russian patriots, standing for spontaneity and 'truth in music'. This group aimed at a synthesis of the technical achievements of European music and the melodic characteristics of Russian and Asian folk music. In 1863 Borodin married Ekaterina Protopopova, a brilliant young pianist. They met in Germany and their friendship blossomed into love on a trip to Baden-Baden where they were engaged. Their home life was chaotic; their apartment often full of uninvited guests, and there were no proper meal times. But Borodin was a happy husband, devoted to Ekaterina, and never complained. A nd although he was the last member of 'The Five', and acknowledged himself as a dilettante, he was in the first rank as a scientist. As well as being a professor at the academy of medicine in St. Petersburg, he was a frequent speaker at seminars and conferences all over Europe. C omposition was a hobby, carried on joyously and chaotically among the friends and family who constantly invaded his home on the grounds of the academy. His greatest work, the opera 'Prince Igor' remained unfinished at his death in 1887, after eighteen years on the drawing board. It was finally completed and orchestrated by Glazunov and Rimsky-Korsakov. 'Prince Igor' is set in the 12th century, when a barbarous and nomadic people known as the Polovtsians invaded southern Russia. The story concerns the capture of Prince Igor and son Vladimir of Russia by the Polovtsian leader, Khan Konchak. He entertains his prisoners lavishly and calls on his slaves to perform the famous Polovtsian dances, which provide a thrilling climax to the second act. T he first dance is introduced by the percussion and, by contrast, is much slower. Its strong, heavy rhythm wonderfully depicts the barbarous character of the Polovtsian people. This is followed by a quicker, bouncier dance. Four descending notes on strings provide an atmosphere of intrigue, which then dissolves into the gentle and lyrical 'Maidens' Dance' from which came the lovely melody we know as 'A Stranger in Paradise'. And finally, brief echoes from preceding sections bring the set to a momentous climax. B orodin began this string quartet in 1881, soon after the death of fellow composer Modest Mussorgsky, and this heart-felt 'nocturne' or 'night piece' may have been prompted by the loss. The cello glides straight in with one of the loveliest of all melodies, which I soon recognized as 'And this is my Beloved', and then soared heavenwards on the first violin. The bittersweet tone presently gives way to a passionate climax, subsides, and proceeds to the tenderest of endings. A lexander Borodin was a much loved and greatly respected figure, but heart attacks and a bout of cholera seriously undermined his health. However it was entirely in character that early in 1887 he returned from an important academic engagement to attend a fancy dress ball at the Academy. Wearing a red shirt and high boots, Russia's national costume, he joined the dancing in great good humor and high spirits. Then, at midnight, as the festivities reached a climax, he fell back, and within a few seconds died from heart failure. General Characteristics The general mood of Borodin's music is optimistic and his compositions show a love of life. He had a talent for lyrical and descriptive writing which he used to express his Russian patriotism and to portray his reactions to the scenery and history of his native land. Borodin's music does not express the feelings of a personal soul but those of a national one as he wanted to write music that spoke to all Russians. As a nationalist, Borodin consistently used Russian folk music in his compositions. He used folk songs throughout his works yet he never quoted whole folk tunes. He constructed his own themes from an assortment of motifs taken from the folk music of different regions. He generally used melodic themes rather than brief motifs as he liked extended melodies over which he could linger and brood, approaching them from different angles and varying them in new ways. Borodin also had a gift for rhythm and an extensive knowledge of folk rhythms. His harmony contains innovations and does not always follow traditional rules for resolution of dissonances however he generally remained within the bounds of established tonality. He was generally traditional when it came to matters of form and often used sonata form. B orodin did not dramatically increase the size of the orchestra yet many of his compositions achieve dramatic and acoustical effects of tremendous power. Borodin's music is full of romantic charm and enticing melody and much of it also rings with the pageantry and landscape of old Russia; of onion-domed churches, richly decorated icons, and the vastness of the land. B ecause he chose to devote most of his energies to his full time career as an experimental chemist and running a scientific institute in St. Petersburg, Borodin's reputation as a major composer rests on a remarkably small number of works, but they are of such originality and high quality that his place in the annals of Russian music is assured Specific Works B orodin's 'In the Steppes of Central Asia' is a symphonic sketch which describes the peaceful confrontation of Russian and Asiatic cultures. The form of the piece is modeled after the symphonic poems of Liszt, and is in fact dedicated to Liszt. The piece portrays a caravan escorted across the desert by Russian troops and an outline of the program of the piece may be given as follows: T he music begins with high sustained harmonics in the first violins giving a sense of the open space of the desert. The quiet of the desert is interrupted by the sounds of a Russian song heard first on a clarinet and then repeated by a solo horn. The strings begin softly playing pizzicato chromatic intervals representing the sound of the camels and horses of the caravan. Now an Asian theme is heard on the cor anglais and this is the song of the camel drivers. The pizzicato begins to crescendo and the Russian theme is heard in the woodwinds and then in the horns. 'The music builds up to an orchestral tutti and the Russian theme is played twice fortissimo which represents the chorus of the Russian soldiers who are escorting the caravan. The pizzicato is heard again and the Asian theme is played in the low strings and then in the high strings. Next the Asian theme and the Russian theme are heard simultaneously; the two themes are woven together in a contrapuntal passage in various orchestrations. The music fades slowly away and the Russian theme is heard for the last time on the flute. This work is nationalist yet it resists any feelings of imperialism. The Russian theme does not override the Asian theme and instead joins it in counterpoint and the listener is given the impression of a peaceful blending of the two national elements. L ong after Borodin's death in 1887, his music was used for a Broadway show, Kismet. Kismet had been a play, written in 1911, and had been made into a movie twice. Charles Lederer and Luther Davis adapted it for Broadway, and Borodin's music was reworked by Robert Wright and George Forrest to fit the story of a poet-thief who becomes the Emir of Baghdad in a magical day. T he best known melody of Borodin's was also used in Kismet, where it was the major popular hit song from 1953, "Stranger in Paradise," popularized by Tony Bennett. It came from the Polovtsian Dances, which were orchestral pieces in Borodin's opera Prince Igor. The dances, like much of Borodin's other work, have a noticeable Asian flavor to them. The sound clip below is the first appearance of this musical theme in the 8th Polovtsian dance. Important Works Orchestral Works Chamber Music Operas Songs
Born in 1833 in St. Petersburg, he was the illegitimate son of the Russian (Georgian) Prince Gedianov and his 24 year old mistress Madame Antonova, He was registered at birth as the son of one of the prince's servants, Porphyry Borodin and although a very talented child, he was not, it seems a musical prodigy. By his teens he could speak German, French, Italian and English, as well as play the piano, flute and cello.
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