Bayleys Great Classics: Christian Li Plays Programme
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Unsurprisingly, many of Borodin’s<br />
compositions were left unfinished at his<br />
sudden death in 1887, but his Second<br />
Symphony is one of the few he completed<br />
within his lifetime, and it brought him fame<br />
across Europe.<br />
The heroic theme that opens the<br />
symphony, evoking the bogatyri (warriors)<br />
of Russian epic poetry, is inscribed into<br />
Borodin’s tombstone, alongside the chemical<br />
formulas for compounds he discovered.<br />
Digging deeper into legend, the third<br />
movement of the symphony is said to refer to<br />
a bayan – a bard from The Lay of the Host<br />
of Igor, the 12th century epic that inspired<br />
Borodin’s other major work, the opera Prince<br />
Igor. The finale then explodes into colourful<br />
celebration as the bogatryi feast their victory.<br />
CHRISTIAN LI PLAYS<br />
COPYRIGHT © AMBER READ 2022<br />
APO.CO.NZ 17
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