Borodin: Polovtsian Dances // Herbert Kegel

The Polovtsian Dances, or Polovetsian Dances (Russian: Половецкие пляски, tr. Polovetskie plyaski from the Russian "Polovtsy"—the name given to the Kipchaks and Cumans by the Rus' people) form an exotic scene at the end of act 2 of Alexander Borodin's opera Prince Igor.

The work remained unfinished when the composer died in 1887, although he had worked on it for more than a decade. A performing version was prepared by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Glazunov in 1890. Several other versions, or "completions", of the opera have been made. The dances are performed with chorus and last between 11 and 14 minutes. They occur in act 1 or act 2, depending on which version of the opera is being used. Their music is popular and often given in concert as an orchestral showpiece. At such performances the choral parts are often omitted. The opera also has a "Polovtsian March" which opens act 3, and an overture at the start. When the dances are given in concert, a suite may be formed: Overture – Polovtsian Dances and March from Prince Igor.
Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polovtsian_Dances

A 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. 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 School of Medicine for Women in Saint Petersburg, where he taught until 1885.
wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Borodin

Choir: Leipzig Radio Chorus
Conductor: Herbert Kegel
Orchestra: Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra

Видео Borodin: Polovtsian Dances // Herbert Kegel канала PianoCzarX