A.P. Borodin "Heroic Symphony": history, video, content

A.P. Borodin "Heroic Symphony"

The Bogatyr Symphony is the pinnacle of Borodin’s symphonic work. The work glorifies patriotism and the power of the Motherland and the Russian people. Clarity of sound, clear timbres and incredibly beautiful melodies make you see the richness of native lands. Melodies, one after another, seem to open the door to history for us, bringing us back to the sources, to epic creativity.

The symphony is named “The Bogatyrskaya” for a reason. Find out why the work has such a name, how the composition was created, as well as many other interesting facts on our page.

History of creation

Epic images, as well as symphonic forms, always attracted the composer's attention. In 1869, Borodin had a wonderful idea to create a symphony, personifying all the Russian power set forth in the epics. Despite the fact that the first part of the composition was completed in 1870 and was shown to friends in the Balakirev circle, the work progressed rather slowly. The main reason for the long breaks in musical activity was that Alexander Borodin was an outstanding chemist, and often his professional activities were his priority. Moreover, at the same time there was a composition of a larger-scale work, namely, the opera "Prince Igor" (hence the affinity of the two compositions stands out).

As a result, the entire second symphony was completed only seven years later, in 1876. The premiere was held in February of the following year under the auspices of the Russian Musical Society in St. Petersburg. The composition was conducted by the amazing 19th century conductor E.F. Handler. At the presentation was collected the whole world of St. Petersburg society. The hall exulted. The second symphony, of course, created a furor.

In the same year followed the equally successful Moscow premiere. Conducted incomparable Nikolai Grigorievich Rubinstein. It is noteworthy that during the audition, society was divided according to impressions on two sides: some recognized that the author managed to portray the power and invincibility of Russia in full force, while others tried to challenge the use of Russian folklore in secular music.

One of the listeners was the Hungarian composer and the magnificent pianist F. Liszt. After the speech, he decided to support Alexander Borodin and revealed to him his own respect, as a professional of the highest level.

At present, the Bogatyr Symphony is one of the works included in the permanent repertoire of many symphony orchestras of the world.

Interesting Facts

• When he first heard the piece, Modest Mussorgsky was pleasantly surprised. He proposed to call the work "Slavic heroic", but the name did not stick.
• Work on the symphony continued for seven whole years. The fact is that Borodin simply did not have time to compose music, since at the same time he led an active professorial activity, which obliged him to conduct "Women's medical courses."
• In the documentary film "Sergey Gerasimov. The Bogatyr Symphony", the work is a leitmotif permeating the entire life course of the great film director of the USSR.
• The first performance of the symphony was highly appreciated not only by compatriots of the composer, but also by famous foreign musicians. F. Liszt, after listening, was shocked to the core, after the premiere, he approached Borodin and advised him to follow his own feelings in music and not to listen to the exclamations of spiteful critics, since his music always has a clear logic and is executed skillfully.
• The third and fourth parts form a single mini loop, which results in being executed without interruption.
• It is worth noting that Russian composers wrote little in the “symphony” genre at that time, so Alexander Borodin, along with Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky, are considered the founders of the Russian classical symphony.
• In many ways, the Second Symphony is similar to the opera Prince Igor. The fact that the essay went in parallel. Often the composer borrowed themes from the opera, inserting them into a symphony, or vice versa, he originally composed for a symphony and used it in an opera. So the main theme in the symphony was intended for the exposition of the image of Russians in the opera Prince Igor.
• The first theme is based on the intonation of the well-known burlatz labor song “Hey, let's go!”.
• Few people know, but initially Stasov proposed to call the symphonic work "The Lioness". But after, when he really rethought the idea of ​​Alexander Borodin, the great critic suggested calling it “Bogatyrskaya”. The idea came to him after the composer's story about the software of music.
• The work was seriously edited by two masters of composition and arrangement, namely Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Glazunov. To date, this edition is performed more often than the author.
• The main theme of the final is a folk song "I will go under Tsargrad".

Content

The work of Alexander Borodin is mainly based on the epic Russian images, appealing to the audience pride in the Fatherland.

The composition consists of four classical parts, the only difference is that the author changed the second and third parts in places in order to realize his own compositional idea.

The symphony genre is epic, which determines the presence of images corresponding to the subject, to which the powerful hero who defends the Motherland and the Bayan-narrator belong.

It is noteworthy that the piece does not have a clear program idea (since there is no literary source at the heart of the symphony), but the features of the program are highlighted. In connection with this fact, each part may have conditional names:

• Part I - Sonata allegro. "Meeting of heroes".
• Part II - Scherzo. "Game of heroes".
• Part III - Andante. "Song of Bayan".
• Part IV - Final. "Heroic feast".

Alexander Borodin told about Stasov about the similar name of parts. It should be noted that the composer did not insist on the introduction of a specific program, allowing the listener to invent the images himself. This feature is in many respects characteristic of the creativity of the participants of the “Mighty Handful”, and is manifested only in the programmatic situation.

The dramatic development is based on the contrasting dynamization that is typical for the epic symphonism, in order to better understand the whole meaning, laid down by the author, it is necessary to examine each part in more detail.

Sonata allegro is built on two contrasting parties: the first part has a harsh, courageous character and is performed in unison, personifies the heroic power and strength, the second theme is filled with vital energy, demonstrates valiant prowess and quickness of mind. The part is actively developing, already in the development a new musical material, showing the scene of the battle of the heroes, dominates, the action is set. Completion is a crushing sound of the main “heroic” theme.

The scherzo is contrasting in character with the previous part. We can assume that in dramatic terms it represents an emotional discharge.

The third and fourth parts should be understood as a whole. Andante is the tale of Bayan, which determines the corresponding set of figurative and instrumental techniques, such as imitating the sound of the gusli by means of harp use, the presence of a variable size characteristic of the tale. The internal development of the part is based on the solemn proclamation of the “heroic” theme in the reprise, which thus prepares for the beginning of a new part, marked as the “feast of the heroes”. The finale is characterized by the use of timbres that are bright for the Russian culture - pipes, gusli, and balalaika. The symphony ends with a fantastic riot of musical colors, reflecting the prowess and vigor of the Russian people.

The change of brightly contrasting each other large-scale musical pictures connected with this intonational unity is the main principle of Borodin’s symphony, manifested in many of his works.

The Bogatyr Symphony is the chronicle of Ancient Russia in music. Thanks to the talent of Alexander Borodin and his boundless love for Russian history, the epic trend became widespread and actively developed in the works of composers such as Taneyev, Glazunov and Rachmaninoff. The second symphony is a special symbol of Russia, its culture and originality, which will not fade over the years, but will gain strength every year.