Symphony No. 2 in B minor

Program notes

About the Work

Borodin’s Second Symphony is his orchestral masterpiece: a broad, heroic, intensely Russian work that the critic Vladimir Stasov nicknamed the ‘Bogatyr’ or ‘Heroic’ Symphony, after the bogatyrs, the legendary warrior-knights of Russian epic. According to Stasov, Borodin meant the first movement to evoke a gathering of these ancient heroes, and the music has exactly that quality: massive, granite-hewn, full of primal strength. It was written in the years when his great opera Prince Igor lay set aside, and the two works share a sound-world of epic grandeur and broad-shouldered melody.

The symphony had a famously protracted birth. Borodin, a full-time chemist, could only compose in snatched moments, and the work occupied him on and off from 1869 to 1876. He even lost the full score in 1876 and had to reorchestrate parts of it while ill in bed. The premiere in 1877 was only a moderate success, partly because of its heavy brass writing; a revised version, premiered in 1879 under Rimsky-Korsakov, fared better and has remained a repertoire favourite. It is a tautly constructed, thrilling work, far shorter and more concentrated than most Romantic symphonies, that sends the all-orchestral programme out in a blaze of Russian colour.

What to Listen For

The first movement opens with one of the most arresting gestures in the symphonic repertoire: a fierce, hammered unison theme in the low strings (craggy, modal, unmistakably the ‘heroes’ motif’) that dominates the whole movement with its raw power. Listen for how it alternates with a warmer, more lyrical second theme, and for the sheer muscular drive of the writing.

The scherzo is brilliant and headlong: listen for the dizzyingly fast repeated notes and the whirling energy, with a contrasting, more languid ‘oriental’ middle section full of Borodin’s characteristic exotic colour. The slow movement (Andante) is the symphony’s lyrical jewel: listen for the gentle harp arpeggios and the glorious horn solo that sings the main theme, one of the great Romantic melodies, broad, nostalgic and warmly Russian, often heard as a depiction of an ancient bard singing of heroic deeds. The finale bursts in without pause: a festive, dancing celebration built on vigorous folk-like rhythms and brilliant orchestral colour, driving to a triumphant close. Listen throughout for Borodin’s gift for memorable melody and his rich, vivid orchestration: the sound of Russian musical nationalism at its most heroic and exuberant.