String Quartet No. 1 in A Major (parts) by Alexander Borodin
Published by International Edition
Though Alexander Borodin (1833-87) considered chemistry his primary vocation, only composing in his spare time, his compositional talent was such that he achieved great renown for his music during his life and beyond. He was member of ''The Mighty Five'', a small composer collective dedicated to creating distinctly Russian music. His music is richly lyrical, harmonically colorful, and shows a special gift for melody.
Borodin stood out from his ''Mighty Five'' counterparts in the attention he gave to chamber music, particularly in his String Quartet No. 1 in A Major (1879), subtitled ''On a theme by Beethoven'' and inspired by Beethoven's late quartet Op. 130. While his second quartet is more popular and lyrical, this first quartet is more complex, contrapuntal, colorful, and ambitious, while lacking none of the melodic appeal for which he is known. For advanced players. Parts only.
