بورودین، متولد یازده نوامبر هزار و هشت‌صد و سی و سه، پسر نامشروع پرنسی روسی بود. به رعیتی به نام بورودین نسبت داده شد ولی مادرش تربیتِ او را عهده‌دار شد. بیشتر عمر خود را صرف علوم مختلف کرد، مخصوصاً به شیمی علاقه‌ی بسیار داشت. اما استعدادِ اصلی‌اش در موسیقی بود. آشنایی او با بالاکیرف، او را به عضویت گروه پنج درآورد. اما احتمالاً به علتِ ضعف در شکل‌گیری دانش موسیقی، آثار کمی از خود به جای گذاشت؛ با وجود این آثارش از کیفیتی درخشان برخوردارند، از جمله اپرای پرنس ایگور که هیجده سال وقت صرف نوشتن‌اش کرد و در نهایت هم توسط ریمسکی کورساکف و گلازونف به پایان رسید و در استپ‌های آسیای مرکزی.

به دروازه‌ی بزرگ کیف از این آهنگساز گوش کنید. دروازه‌ای که یادآور فرار تزار آلکساندر دوم از دستِ تروریست‌ها بوده است (احتمالاً اگر به جرج بوش گفته شود، آن را به ایران، سوریه یا القاعده نسبت خواهد داد!)

Russian music is somehow a follower of German style of classical music and pursues those principals. But by the time, fulfilled with nationalism in nineteenth century in Russia and having a great storage of national and folkloric music in Russia, they went a different way. This music influenced 20th century music a lot, both in number of glorious musicians and players. Musicians such as Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Rachmaninov, Khachaturian or players as Horowitz, Richter, Gilles, Ashkenazi and many more.
Besides Tchaikovsky as he has a unique, outstanding position in Russian music and among Russian nation, five other musicians, known as Five group, were among the beginners and leaders of this movement: Balakirev, Mussorgsky, Borodin, Rimsky Korsakov and Cui. And of course we should mention Glinka as the beginner of this movement.

Borodin, born on 11th of November, 1833, was illegitimate son of a Russian prince. His name and patronymic was taken from one of the prince’s serfs. But his mother educated him. He spent most of his life studying different sciences, especially chemistry which he liked a lot, but he was most talented in music, yet remained an amateur musician all of his life. His acquaintance with Balakirev brought him to Five. But probably due to his lack of education in music, he didn’t make many pieces, yet his pieces are very rich in quality; like ‘Prince Igor’, an opera he spent eighteen years writing it, and at last was finished by Korsakov and Glazunov after his death, and also ‘In the Steppes of Central Asia’.
Here you can listen to ‘The Great Gate of Kiev’ a monument to commemorate the escape of Tsar Alexander II from assassins (If George Bush is told of this, he’ll probably associate it to Iran, Syria or Al-Qaeda).