Chamber music was considered a "poor relation" in the output of "The Mighty Handful" (Balakirev, Borodin, César Cui, Musorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov), who were the nationalist faction in mid-19th century Russian music.
Performer Biography
Piers Lane, the pianist on this album, has been made an Officer in the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished services to the arts.
Composition History
The Cello Sonata in B minor was reconstructed by Ukrainian-Jewish composer-musicologist Mikhail Goldstein, who noted that "a third of the whole sonata is by me."
Composer Biography
Alexander Borodin, the composer, was the illegitimate son of a Georgian aristocrat, Prince Luka Gedianishvili, and was given the surname of one of his father's serfs.
Composition History
Borodin's earliest compositions, written before he came under Balakirev's supervision in 1862, were all chamber music intended for himself and his friends to play.
Composer Biography
Borodin achieved considerable renown as a doctor and professor of chemistry, in addition to his musical pursuits.
Cultural Impact
Themes from Borodin's String Quartet No 2 were appropriated for the 1953 musical 'Kismet', including the famous lyrics 'Baubles, bangles and beads' and the song 'And this is my beloved'.
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Alexander Borodin: String Quartet No. 2, Cello Sonata & Piano Quintet
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Borodin: Piano Quintet / String Quintet
Korngold: String Sextet, Op. 10 & Piano Quintet, Op. 15
Saint-Saëns: Piano Quintet & String Quartet No. 1
Weinberg: Sonata for Violincello and Piano No. 2, Op. 63 & Piano Quintet Op. 18
