View source for Alexander Borodin

{{short description|Russian Romantic composer and chemist (1833–1887)}}
{{Redirect|Borodin|other uses|Borodin (surname)|and|Borodin (disambiguation)}}
{{family name hatnote|Porfiryevich|Borodin|lang=Eastern Slavic}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
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[[File:Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin.jpg|thumb|upright|Alexander Borodin]]

'''Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin'''{{efn|1={{langx|ru|link=no|text=Александр Порфирьевич Бородин|translit=Aleksandr Porfiryevich Borodin}} The BGN/PCGN [[Romanization of Russian|transliteration of Russian]] is used for his name here. ALA-LC system: Aleksandr Porfirʹevich Borodin, ISO 9 system: Aleksandr Porfirʹevič Borodin.<ref>{{cite web |title=Russian – BGN/PCGN transliteration system |url=https://www.translitteration.com/transliteration/en/russian/bgn-pcgn/ |website=transliteration.com |access-date=2 December 2020}}</ref> {{langx|la|Alexander Porphirii filius Borodin|link=no}} {{IPA|ru|ɐlʲɪkˈsandr pɐrˈfʲi rʲjɪvʲɪtɕ bərɐˈdʲin|pron|RU-Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin.ogg}};<ref>English approximation of the surname: {{IPAc-en|UK|ˈ|b|ɒr|ə|d|ɪ|n}}, {{IPAc-en|US|-|d|iː|n}} ({{citation |last=Wells |first=John C. |year=2008 |title=Longman Pronunciation Dictionary |edition=3rd |publisher=Longman |isbn=978-1-4058-8118-0}})</ref>}} (12 November 1833{{snd}}27 February 1887){{efn|1=[[Adoption of the Gregorian calendar#Adoption in Eastern Europe|Old Style dates]] 31 October 1833{{snd}}15 February 1887.}} was a Russian [[Romantic music|Romantic]] composer and [[chemist]] of Georgian–Russian parentage.<ref>{{cite web |title=Aleksandr Borodin |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aleksandr-Borodin |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Kennedy |first1=Michael |last2=Kennedy |first2=Joyce |title=The Oxford Dictionary of Music |date=15 August 2013 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-957854-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XX2sAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA103 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Everett |first1=Nicholas |title=The Cambridge Companion to the Musical |date=9 December 2002 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-79639-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0dkmJazu298C&pg=PA150 |language=en}}</ref> He was one of the prominent 19th-century composers known as "[[The Five (composers)|The Five]]", a group dedicated to producing a "uniquely Russian" kind of [[Russian classical music|classical music]].<ref name=Abraham>[[Gerald Abraham|Abraham, Gerald]]. ''Borodin: the Composer and his Music''. London, 1927.{{page needed|date=September 2021}}</ref>{{sfn|Dianin|1963|pages=13, 329}}<ref name=Oldani /> Borodin is known best for his [[symphony|symphonies]], his two [[string quartet]]s, the [[symphonic poem]] ''[[In the Steppes of Central Asia]]'' and his opera ''[[Prince Igor]]''.

A [[physician|doctor]] and chemist by profession and training, Borodin made important early contributions to [[organic chemistry]]. Although he is presently known better as a composer, he regarded medicine and science as his primary occupations, only practising music and composition in his spare time or when he was ill.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Podlech |first=Joachim |date=2010-08-16 |title="Try and Fall Sick ..." – The Composer, Chemist, and Surgeon Aleksandr Borodin |journal=Angewandte Chemie International Edition |language=en |volume=49 |issue=37 |pages=6490–6495 |doi=10.1002/anie.201002023 |pmid=20715236 |issn=1433-7851|doi-access=free }}</ref> As a chemist, Borodin is known best for his work concerning [[organic synthesis]], including being among the first chemists to demonstrate [[nucleophilic substitution]], as well as being the co-discoverer of the [[aldol reaction]]. Borodin was a promoter of education in Russia and founded the [[First Pavlov State Medical University of St. Petersburg|School of Medicine for Women]] in Saint Petersburg, where he taught until 1885.

In the 1880s pressures of work and ill health left him little time for composition. He died suddenly in 1887 while at a ball.

==Early life==

===Family===
[[File:Бородин Александр Порфирьевич.jpg|thumb|upright|Borodin at the age of 14]]
Borodin was born in [[Saint Petersburg]] as an illegitimate son of a 62-year-old [[Georgians|Georgian]] nobleman, Luka Stepanovich Gedevanishvili, and a married 25-year-old Russian woman, Evdokia Konstantinovna Antonova. Due to the circumstances of Alexander's birth, the nobleman had him registered as the son of one of his Russian [[serfdom in Russia|serfs]], Porfiry Borodin, hence the composer's Russian last name. As a result of this registration, both Alexander and his nominal Russian father Porfiry were officially serfs of Alexander's biological father Luka. The Georgian father emancipated Alexander from serfdom when he was 7 years old and provided housing and money for him and his mother. Despite this, Alexander was never publicly recognized by his mother, who was referred to by young Borodin as his "aunt".<ref name=Lewis>Lewis, David E. ''Early Russian Organic Chemists and Their Legacy.'' [[Springer Science+Business Media|Springer Science & Business Media]], 3 April 2012, p. 61</ref><ref>Cooper, David K. C. ''Doctors of Another Calling: Physicians Who Are Known Best in Fields Other than Medicine.'' [[Rowman & Littlefield]], 26 November 2013, p. 163</ref>

Despite his status as a commoner, Borodin was well provided for by his Georgian father and grew up in a large four-storey house, which was gifted to Alexander and his "aunt" by the nobleman.{{sfn|Dianin|1963|p=9}} Although his registration prevented enrollment in a proper [[Gymnasium (school)|gymnasium]], Borodin received good education in all of the subjects through private tutors at home. During 1850 he enrolled in the Medical–Surgical Academy in Saint Petersburg, which was later the workplace of [[Ivan Pavlov]], 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.{{Cn|date=June 2024}}

During 1862, Borodin returned to Saint Petersburg to begin a professorship of chemistry at the Imperial Medical-Surgical Academy<ref name=Lewis /> and spent the remainder of his scientific career in research, lecturing and overseeing the education of others. Eventually, he established medical courses for women in 1872.<ref name=Oldani>{{Cite Grove|last=Oldani|first=Robert William|date=20 January 2001|title=Borodin, Aleksandr Porfir′yevich|id=40687}}{{subscription required}}</ref>

He began taking lessons in composition from [[Mily Balakirev]] during 1862. Music remained a secondary vocation for Borodin besides his main career as a chemist and physician.

==Career==
===Career as a chemist===
[[File:RR5009-0011R BU 160-летие со дня рождения А.П.Бородина.png|thumb|180px|[[List of commemorative coins of Russia (1993)|1993 Russian 1 ruble coin]] commemorating the 160th anniversary of Borodin's birth]]
In his profession Borodin gained great respect, being particularly noted for his work on [[aldehyde]]s.<ref>{{cite journal|title = Facing the Music: How Original Was Borodin's Chemistry?|first = M. D.|last = Gordin|journal = [[Journal of Chemical Education]]|year = 1996|volume = 83|issue = 4|pages = 561–566|doi = 10.1021/ed083p561}}</ref> Between 1859 and 1862 Borodin had a postdoctoral position at [[Heidelberg University]]. He worked in the laboratory of [[Emil Erlenmeyer]] working on benzene derivatives. He also spent time in [[University of Pisa|Pisa]], working on [[halocarbon]]s. One experiment published during 1862 described the first [[Nucleophilic substitution|nucleophilic displacement]] of [[chlorine]] by [[fluorine]] in [[benzoyl chloride]].<ref>{{cite journal|title = Borodin|first = E. J.|last = Behrman|journal = [[Journal of Chemical Education]]|year = 2006|volume = 83|issue = 8|page = 1138|doi = 10.1021/ed083p1138.1|bibcode = 2006JChEd..83.1138B|doi-access =free }}</ref> The radical halodecarboxylation of aliphatic carboxylic acids was first demonstrated by Borodin during 1861 by his synthesis of [[methyl bromide]] from [[silver acetate]].<ref>{{cite journal|first = A.|last={{not a typo|Borodine}}|journal = [[Annalen der Chemie und Pharmacie]]|year = 1861|volume = 119|pages = 121–123|doi = 10.1002/jlac.18611190113|title = Über Bromvaleriansäure und Brombuttersäure|language = de|trans-title = About bromovaleric acid and bromobutyric acid|url = https://zenodo.org/record/1427169}}</ref><ref name = JJL>{{cite book|title = Name Reactions: A Collection of Detailed Mechanisms and Synthetic Applications|edition = 5th|publisher = [[Springer Science & Business Media]]|pages = 327–328|first = J. J.|last = Li|chapter = Hunsdiecker&ndash;Borodin Reaction|chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=HoXBBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA327|isbn = 978-3-319-03979-4|date = 2014-01-30}}</ref> It was [[Heinz Hunsdiecker]] and his wife [[Cläre Hunsdiecker|Cläre]], however, who developed Borodin's work into a general method, for which they were granted a [[US patent]] during 1939,<ref>{{cite patent|title = Method of manufacturing organic chlorine and bromine derivatives|country = US|number = 2176181|status = patent|pubdate = 1939-10-17|fdate = 1936-04-02|pridate = 1935-04-08|inventorlink1 = Cläre Hunsdiecker|inventor1-last = Hunsdiecker|inventor1-first = C.|inventor2-last = Vogt|inventor2-first = E.|inventorlink3 = Heinz Hunsdiecker|inventor3-last = Hunsdiecker|inventor3-first = H.|url = https://www.google.com/patents/US2176181|assign1 = Hunsdiecker, C.; Vogt, E.; Hunsdiecker, H.}}</ref> and which they published in the journal ''[[Chemische Berichte]]'' during 1942.<ref>{{cite journal|first1 = H.|last1 = Hunsdiecker|author-link1 = Heinz Hunsdiecker|first2 = C.|last2 = Hunsdiecker|author-link2 = Cläre Hunsdiecker|journal = [[Chemische Berichte]]|year = 1942|volume = 75|issue = 3|pages = 291–297|doi = 10.1002/cber.19420750309|title = Über den Abbau der Salze aliphatischer Säuren durch Brom|language = de|trans-title = About the degradation of salts of aliphatic acids by bromine}}</ref> The method is generally known as either the [[Hunsdiecker reaction]] or the Hunsdiecker&ndash;Borodin reaction.<ref name = JJL />

During 1862, Borodin returned to the Medical–Surgical Academy (now known as the [[S. M. Kirov Military Medical Academy]]), and accepted a professorship of chemistry. He worked on self-[[condensation reaction|condensation]] of small aldehydes in a process now known as the [[aldol reaction]], the discovery of which is jointly credited to Borodin and [[Charles Adolphe Wurtz]].<ref>{{cite book|author-link = Clayton Heathcock|last = Heathcock|first = C. H.|editor1-last = Trost|editor1-first = B. M.|editor-link1 = Barry Trost|editor2-last = Fleming|editor2-first = I.|editor-link2 = Ian Fleming (chemist)|chapter = The Aldol Reaction: Acid and General Base Catalysis|title = Comprehensive Organic Synthesis|volume = 2|publisher = [[Elsevier Science]]|year = 1991|pages = 133–179|isbn = 978-0-08-052349-1|doi = 10.1016/B978-0-08-052349-1.00027-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|chapter = The Directed Aldol Reaction|last = Mukaiyama|first = T.|title=[[Organic Reactions]]|author-link=Teruaki Mukaiyama|year = 1982|volume = 28|pages = 203–331|doi = 10.1002/0471264180.or028.03|isbn = 978-0-471-26418-7}}</ref> Borodin investigated the condensation of [[pentanal|valerian aldehyde]] and [[heptanal|oenanth aldehyde]], which was reported by von Richter during 1869.<ref>{{cite journal|last = von Richter|first = V.|year = 1869|url = https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.cl1hyq;view=1up;seq=600|title = Aus St. Petersburg am 17. October 1869|trans-title = From St. Petersburg on 17 October 1869|journal = [[Berichte der deutschen chemischen Gesellschaft]]|language = de|volume = 2|pages = 552–554|doi=10.1002/cber.186900201222|url-access = subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=e1dKAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA286|year = 1869|title = Chemical notices from foreign sources: Berichte der Deutschen Chemischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin, no. 16, 1869|journal = [[Chemical News]]|volume = 20|pages = 285–286}}</ref> During 1873, he described his work to the Russian Chemical Society<ref>{{cite journal|last = Borodin|first = A.|date=July–December 1873|title={{not a typo|Ueber}} einen neuen Abkömmling des Valerals|language = de|trans-title = On a new derivative of valerian aldehyde|journal = [[Berichte der deutschen chemischen Gesellschaft]]|volume = 6|issue = 2|pages = 982–985|doi=10.1002/cber.18730060232| url=https://zenodo.org/record/1425050 }}</ref> and noted similarities with compounds recently reported by Wurtz.<ref>{{cite journal|last = Wurtz|first = C. A.|author-link = Charles Adolphe Wurtz|journal = [[Bulletin de la Société Chimique de Paris]]|year =1872|title = Sur un aldéhyde-alcool|trans-title = On an aldehyde alcohol|language = fr|series = 2nd series|volume = 17|pages = 436–442|url = https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=iau.31858003147356;view=1up;seq=446}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last = Wurtz|first = C. A.|author-link = Charles Adolphe Wurtz|journal = [[Journal für Praktische Chemie]]|year = 1872|title = Ueber einen Aldehyd-Alkohol|language = de|trans-title = About an aldehyde alcohol|volume = 5|issue = 1|pages = 457–464|url = https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101076786381;view=1up;seq=471|doi = 10.1002/prac.18720050148}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last = Wurtz|first = C. A.|author-link = Charles Adolphe Wurtz|journal = [[Comptes rendus de l'Académie des sciences]]|year = 1872|title = Sur un aldéhyde-alcool|trans-title = On an aldehyde alcohol|volume = 74|pages = 1361–1367|language = fr|url = http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k3031q/f1361.table}}</ref>

He published his last full article during 1875 on reactions of [[amide]]s and his last publication concerned a method for the identification of [[urea]] in animal urine.

His successor as chemistry professor of the Medical-Surgical academy was his son-in-law and fellow chemist, [[Aleksandr Dianin]].

===Musical avocation===
====Opera and orchestral works====
{{Listen|type=music
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|title=''In the Steppes of Central Asia''
|description=
|filename2=Aria_of_Galitsky_from_Prince_Igor.ogg
|title2=Aria of Galitsky from the 1890 opera ''Prince Igor''
|description2=Recorded during a live performance in 1970; performed by Georgi Petrov (bass-baritone)}}
[[File:Borodin by Repin.jpg|thumb|upright|Portrait of Borodin by [[Ilya Repin]], 1888]]
Borodin met [[Mily Balakirev]] during 1862. While under Balakirev's tutelage in composition he began his Symphony No. 1 in E-flat major; it was first performed during 1869, with Balakirev conducting. During that same year Borodin started on his [[Symphony No. 2 (Borodin)|Symphony No. 2]] in B minor, which was not particularly successful at its premiere during 1877 under [[Eduard Nápravník]], but with some minor re-orchestration received a successful performance during 1879 by the Free Music School under [[Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov]]'s direction. During 1880 he composed the popular [[symphonic poem]] ''[[In the Steppes of Central Asia]]''. Two years later he began composing a third symphony, but left it unfinished at his death; two movements of it were later completed and orchestrated by [[Alexander Glazunov]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Borodin, A.P.: Symphonies Nos. 1-3 (Seattle Sympho.. - 8.572786 {{!}} Discover more releases from Naxos |url=https://www.naxos.com/CatalogueDetail/?id=8.572786 |access-date=2024-06-20 |website=www.naxos.com}}</ref>

During 1868, Borodin became distracted from initial work on the second symphony by preoccupation with the [[opera]] ''[[Prince Igor]]'', which is considered by some to be his most significant work and one of the most important historical Russian operas. It contains the ''[[Polovtsian Dances]]'', often performed as a stand-alone concert work forming what is probably Borodin's best-known composition. Borodin left the opera (and a few other works) incomplete at his death.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alexander Borodin: Prince Igor |url=https://www.classicfm.com/composers/borodin/music/alexander-borodin-prince-igor/ |access-date=2024-06-20 |website=Classic FM |language=en}}</ref>

''[[Prince Igor]]'' was completed posthumously by Rimsky-Korsakov and [[Alexander Glazunov]]. It is set in the 12th century, when the Russians, commanded by Prince Igor of Seversk, determined to conquer the barbarous [[Kipchaks|Polovtsians]] by travelling eastward across the Steppes. The Polovtsians were apparently a nomadic tribe originally of Turkic origin who habitually attacked southern Russia. A full [[solar eclipse]] early during the first act foreshadows an ominous outcome to the invasion. Prince Igor's troops are defeated. The story tells of the capture of Prince Igor, and his son, Vladimir, of Russia by Polovtsian chief Khan Konchak, who entertains his prisoners lavishly and orders his slaves to perform the famous 'Polovtsian Dances', which provide a thrilling climax to the second act. The second half of the opera finds Prince Igor returning to his homeland, but rather than finding himself in disgrace, he is welcomed home by the townspeople and by his wife, Yaroslavna. Although for a while rarely performed in its entirety outside of Russia, this opera has received two notable new productions recently, one at the Bolshoi State Opera and Ballet Company in Russia during 2013, and one at the Metropolitan Opera Company of New York City during 2014.<ref>''New Penguin Opera Guide'', [[Amanda Holden (writer)|Amanda Holden]], 1993; Penguin Books Ltd.</ref><ref name=Abraham />

====Chamber music====
No other member of the Balakirev circle identified himself so much with [[absolute music]] as did Borodin in his two string quartets, in addition to his many earlier chamber compositions. As a cellist, he was an enthusiastic chamber music player, an interest that increased during his chemical studies in Heidelberg between 1859 and 1861. This early period yielded, among other chamber works, a string sextet and a piano quintet. Borodin based the thematic structure and instrumental texture of his pieces on those of [[Felix Mendelssohn]].{{sfn|Maes|2002|p=72}}

During 1875 Borodin started his First String Quartet, much to the displeasure of [[Modest Mussorgsky|Mussorgsky]] and [[Vladimir Stasov]]; the other members of [[The Five (composers)|The Five]] were known to be hostile to chamber music. The First Quartet demonstrates mastery of the string quartet form. Borodin's [[String Quartet No. 2 (Borodin)|Second Quartet]], written in 1881, displays strong lyricism, as in the third movement's popular "[[Nocturne]]." While the First Quartet is richer in changes of mood, the Second Quartet has a more uniform atmosphere and expression.{{sfn|Maes|2002|p=72}}

==Personal life and death==
He married Ekaterina Protopopova, a pianist, during 1863, with whom he adopted several daughters.{{sfn|Dianin|1963|pages=42,104}} Music remained a secondary vocation for Borodin besides his main career as a chemist and physician. He suffered poor health, having overcome [[cholera]] and several minor [[Myocardial infarction|heart failures]]. He died suddenly during a ball<ref>{{Cite web |title=Aleksandr Borodin {{!}} Russian Composer, Chemist & Romantic Nationalist {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aleksandr-Borodin |access-date=2024-06-20 |website=[[Britannica.com|www.britannica.com]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Borodin: Polovtsian Dances – musical thrills from the chemist who composed too little |url=https://www.classicfm.com/composers/borodin/guides/polovtsian-dances-anne-marie-minhall/ |access-date=2024-06-20 |website=[[Classic FM (UK)|Classic FM]] |language=en}}</ref> at the academy, and was interred in [[Tikhvin Cemetery]] at the [[Alexander Nevsky Monastery]] in Saint Petersburg.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alexander Nevsky Monastery cemeteries and tombs in St. Petersburg, Russia |url=http://www.saint-petersburg.com/cemeteries/cemetery-and-tombs-of-the-alexander-nevsky-monastery/ |access-date=2024-06-20 |website=www.saint-petersburg.com}}</ref>

==Musical legacy==
{{unreferenced section|date=November 2022}}
{{Main|List of compositions by Alexander Borodin}}
[[File:Alexander Borodin tomb full view, Tikhvin Cemetery St. Petersburg.jpg|thumb|upright|Tomb of Borodin in [[Tikhvin Cemetery]]. The musical notation in the background shows themes from Symphony No. 2, the "Gliding Dance of the Maidens" from ''[[Polovtsian Dances]]''; "Song of the Dark Forest"; and the "Scherzo" theme from Symphony No. 3.]]
Borodin's fame outside the [[Russian Empire]] was made possible during his lifetime by [[Franz Liszt]], who arranged a performance of the Symphony No. 1 in Germany during 1880, and by the [[Louisa de Mercy-Argenteau|Comtesse de Mercy-Argenteau]] in Belgium and France. His music is noted for its strong lyricism and rich harmonies. Along with some influences from Western composers, as a member of The Five, his music is also characteristic of the [[Russian classical music|Russian style]]. His passionate music and unusual harmonies proved to have a lasting influence on the younger French composers [[Claude Debussy|Debussy]] and [[Maurice Ravel|Ravel]] (in homage, the latter composed during 1913 a piano piece entitled "À la manière de Borodine").

The evocative characteristics of Borodin's music—specifically ''In the Steppes of Central Asia'', his [[Symphony No. 2 (Borodin)|Symphony No. 2]], ''Prince Igor'' – made possible the adaptation of his compositions in the 1953 [[Musical theatre|musical]] ''[[Kismet (musical)|Kismet]]'', by [[Robert Wright (musical writer)|Robert Wright]] and [[George Forrest (author)|George Forrest]], notably in the songs "[[Stranger in Paradise (song)|Stranger in Paradise]]", "[[And This Is My Beloved]]" and "[[Baubles, Bangles, & Beads]]". In 1954, Borodin was posthumously awarded a [[Tony Award]] for this show.

==See also==
* [[Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov]]
* [[Modest Mussorgsky]]

==Subsequent references==
*The [[Borodin Quartet]] was named in his honour.
*The chemist [[Alexander Shulgin]] uses the name "Alexander Borodin" as a fictional persona in the books ''[[PiHKAL]]'' and ''[[TiHKAL]]''.
*In his book ''Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame'' (1974) [[Charles Bukowski]] wrote a poem about the composer entitled "The Life of Borodin".
*The asteroid previously known by its provisional designation 1990 ES3 was assigned the permanent name (6780) Borodin, in honor of Alexander Borodin. (6780) Borodin is a main-belt asteroid with an estimated diameter of 4&nbsp;km and an orbital period of 3.37 years.<ref>[https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=6780 "6780 Borodin (1990 ES3)"], [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]]</ref>
*The score of the 1953 musical ''[[Kismet (musical)|Kismet]]'' and the subsequent ''[[Kismet (1955 film)|film version]]'' was based extensively on compositions by Borodin, such as the second string quartet, second symphony and piano works.<ref>[https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/36580870 Worldcat entry for film soundtrack of ''Kismet'', 1955]; accessed 21 March 2020.</ref>
*On 12 November 2018, [[Google]] recognized him with a [[Google Doodle|doodle]].<ref>{{Cite web | url = https://doodles.google/doodle/alexander-borodins-185th-birthday/ | title= Alexander Borodin's 185th Birthday | language=en | access-date=12 November 2018}}</ref>
<!-- {{clear|right}} -->
==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}
'''Sources'''
* {{Cite book|last=Dianin|first=Sergei|url=https://archive.org/details/borodin0000dian|url-access=registration|title=Borodin|translator=Robert Lord|location=London|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1963}}
*{{cite book|last=Maes|first=Francis|translator1=[[Arnold Pomerans|Pomerans, Arnold J.]]|translator2=Erica Pomerans|title=A History of Russian Music: From ''Kamarinskaya'' to ''Babi Yar''|location=Berkeley, Los Angeles and London|publisher=University of California Press|year=2002|isbn=978-0-520-21815-4|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofrussian0000maes}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite journal|title=A Study of Borodin: I. The Man|author=A. J. B. Hutchings|journal=[[The Musical Times]]|year=1936|volume=77|issue=1124|pages=881–883|doi=10.2307/920565|jstor=920565|ref=none}}
*{{cite journal|title=An Apparent Conflict between Art and Science: The Case of Aleksandr Porfir'evich Borodin (1833–1887)|author=George B. Kauffman, Kathryn Bumpass|journal=Leonardo|volume=21|issue=4|year=1988|pages=429–436|doi=10.2307/1578707|jstor=1578707|s2cid=191376702|ref=none}}
*{{cite journal|title=Borodin (1833–87)|author=George Sarton|journal=[[Osiris (journal)|Osiris]]|year=1939|volume=7|pages=224–260|doi=10.1086/368505|jstor=301543|s2cid=144423605|ref=none}}
* Willem G. Vijvers, ''Alexander Borodin; Composer, Scientist, Educator'' (Amsterdam: The American Book Center, 2013). {{ISBN|978-90-812269-0-5}}.

==External links==
{{commons category}}
{{Wikiquote}}
*{{IMSLP|id=Borodin, Aleksandr }}
*{{Musopen|alexander-borodin}}
*{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Borodin, Alexander Porfyrievich|volume=4|page=266|ref=none}}
*{{YouTube|EPgbIK002us|''In the Steppes of Central Asia''}}, in the film ''[[Moscow Clad in Snow]]''
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20170222105224/http://tikhvinskoe.ru/borodin/ Borodin's tomb]

{{Alexander Borodin}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Borodin, Alexander}}
[[Category:Alexander Borodin| ]]
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