Alexander Borodin, Russian Chemist and Composer

Alexander Borodin, Russian Chemist and Composer

Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin (November 12, 1833 - February 27, 1887) was a Russian Romantic composer, doctor and chemist. He was a member of the group of composers called The Five (or The Mighty Handful), who were dedicated to producing a specifically Russian kind of art music. In 1850 he entered the Medical-Surgical Academy in St Petersburg and pursued a career in chemistry. On graduation he spent a year as surgeon in a military hospital, followed by three years of advanced scientific study in western Europe. In his profession, Borodin gained great respect, being particularly noted for his work on aldehydes. He is co-credited with the discovery of the Aldol reaction, with Charles-Adolphe Wurtz. Music remained a secondary vocation for Borodin outside his main career as a chemist and physician. He is best known for his symphonies, his two string quartets, In the Steppes of Central Asia and his opera Prince Igor. Music from Prince Igor and his string quartets was later adapted for the US musical Kismet. He suffered poor health, having overcome cholera and several minor heart attacks. He died suddenly during a ball at the Academy in 1887 at the age of 53.

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