Symphony No.3 in A minor "Unfinished" - Alexander Borodin
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- Опубліковано 10 лип 2024
- The USSR Symphony Orchestra conducted by Evgeny Svetlanov. [Completed and orchestrated by Alexander Glazunov].
I - Moderato assai - Animato - Tempo I. Moderato - Animato - Sostenuto e tranquillo: 0:00
II - Scherzo. Vivo - Sostenuto e pesante - Tempo I - Trio. Moderato - Tempo I: 9:15
The third symphony of Borodin was being written in the last years of life of the composer. During a celebration of a party in his house, Borodin played on the piano several fragments of the symphony, intended as a four movement work which was fully conceived in the mind of the composer, only having to put it on the paper. Unfortunately, Borodin suffered a rupture of the coronary artery during the party, dying that same day.
From the four movements idea, seems like only written parts of the first two movements were left, of course without any orchestration. The composer Alexander Glazunov completed the movements, which were originally conceived for a string quartet, and then he orchestrated them.
The first movement (Moderato assai) was reconstructed by Glazunov from Borodin's sketches written in 1884 and using his prodigious memory to write down what he heard from Borodin's played fragments on the piano in that party. The he orchestrated it
It opens with a lovely "Russian" sounding unaccompanied oboe solo that expands into a woodwind choir. Unison strings repeat this theme, of Russian popular character, that dominates the entire movement. Borodin was masterful at transforming and manipulating thematic material by altering the character and mood through changes in tempo, rhythm, and tonality. The nature of the opening theme is one of forward momentum, helped by Mr. Glazunov's imaginative use of instrumentation as he features thematic fragments throughout the orchestra. After the recapitulation, the movement ends sweetly.
The second movement is a scherzo. Glazunov completed and orchestrated it, adding a trio with music from the one written for the first act of "Prince Igor", later discarded by Borodin.
It is a fairly typical scherzo, quick and energetic with a contrasting middle section that is slower, more lyrical, and pastoral in character. Par for this particular ABA form, the opening material makes a triumphant return. Much of the movement is in the unusual meter of five. The use of this uneven meter is more common in the music of eastern European and Mediterranean countries, thus, distinguishing the style even further from the western tradition. In spite of the symphony's brevity, it distinctly captures Borodin's undeniably Russian voice.
Picture: "Three Babas" by the Russian painter Filipp Malyavin.
Sources: www.historiadelasinfonia.es/na... and www.allmusic.com/composition/...
Wunderbare Symphonie von Borodin! ❤
That Borodin is a great
symphony master !!!! ❤
Affascinante e deliziosa sinfonia, di matrice e caratteristica tipicamente 'russa'.Bellissimo inserimento.
Unfinished symphonies or other works have sometimes a famous career: 8th by Schubert, 9th by Bruckner, to a less extend 10th by Mahler and the operas "Moses and Aaron" by Schoenberg or "Lulu' by Berg. This is not obviously the case for this 3rd by Borodin. We have here a vision of what masterpiece it would have been. Thanks to the memory of Glazounov for his work and to Sergio Cánovas for having posted it.
Borodin is another of those hugely talented composers who passed away too soon. As most devotees know, he was a highly respected chemist for whom music primarily was an avocation.
Yes, you are fully right. I can certify that chemists know them for his findings as chemist.
@@gerardbegni2806 I neglected to mention that he also was a physician and surgeon.
A great day to get to
know Borodin and
his 3rd symphony. ❤
Amazing symphony writer.❤
A minor is considered as the key of sadness, yet this is happy music. The use of 5/8 time makes this mini symphony and alternating tunes in the second movement make this symphony deliciously complex.
I love minor key.
Lovely slavic masterpiece with that wistful.colorful.sadness that can only be Russian
I haven't heard this work in a very long time and have completely forgotten it's history. One can only imagine what it would have sounded like had the composer lived to finish it. Thank goodness for Glazounov's memory and thank you for the post.
Bob Hourigan Borodin & Glazunov must have spent time in the afterlife working on this. I cannot imagine why they would stop, even for death, to finish this off. I would be curious, say in about 50 years to hear its final form in Heaven.
@@claytonbenignus4688 lovely sentiment
Thank you not only for uploading this, which I hadn't heard before, but for also providing a detailed, sourced commentary. I've subscribed.
Perfect symphony
for a rainy day. ❤
A bubbly symphony
5/4 is not scherzo meter, for that has to be in triple meter, so it is mistitled. It would have been better titled as a five-step waltz, and at the time of first performance, in the late 19th century, would likely have been at a slower tempo that one could have danced the five-step waltz to.
r/PieceoftheDay featured this piece today, January 28th, 2022.
Thanks!
@@SergioCánovasCM You're welcome.
У меня сложился такой дуэт: симфонии Бородина и романы Достоевского. Они очень подходят друг другу.
Это самое русское произведение из всех написанных Бородиным. Здесь вся национальная идея, вся скорбь и радость. Очень жаль, что Александр Порфирьевич Бородин умер, так и не дописав эту симфонию... В моменты, когда русскую культуру ни с того ни с сего просто отменяют в мире, такое произведение поднимает патриотический дух!