b"Program NotesAlexander Borodin(b. 1833-1887)Polovtsian Dances from Prince IgorComposed 1890Science was the main focus of Alexander Borodins life. He taught at theSt. Petersburg Medico-Surgical Academy after studying medicine, chemistry, and pathology. Composition was somewhat of a side-job. He once said, I do not seek recognition as a composer for I am somehow ashamed of admitting to my compositional activities For me this is a relaxation, a pastime, an indulgence that distracts me from my principal work.The critic Vladimir Stasov suggested the 12th-century saga The Epic of Igor's Army for an opera to the composer, who started working on it in the autumn of 1869. Borodin died in 1887 before finishing the composition. As a result, composers Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Glazunov completed the opera, titled Prince Igor, and premiered the finished work at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg in 1890. The opera's Polovtsian Dances are performed in a ballet scene at the close of Act II, which follows a 12th-century Russian prince's defense against nomadic tribes. Khan Konchak imprisons Prince Igor and has his slaves perform for him. The 1953 Broadway musical Kismet popularized the opera's dances. Most notable is the theme from Gliding Dance of the Maidens, which was given lyrics and altered to become Stranger in Paradise.Instrumentationtwo flutes and piccolo, two oboes and English horn, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, percussion, harp and strings Duration14 minutescontinued"