In the Steppes of Central Asia

Three main themes from the composition

On the Steppes of Central Asia (Russian: В средней Азии, V srednyeĭ Azii, literally In Central Asia) is the common English title for a "musical tableau" (or symphonic poem) by Alexander Borodin, composed in 1880.

The work was originally intended to be presented as one of several tableaux vivants to celebrate the silver anniversary of the reign of Alexander II of Russia, who had done much to expand the Russian Empire eastward. The intended production never occurred, due to Alexander II's assassination that year, but the work itself became, and has remained, a concert favorite ever since its first concert performance, on 8 April 1880 (Old style) in St. Petersburg by the orchestra of the Russian Opera under the conductorship of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.^[1] The work is dedicated to Franz Liszt.

This orchestral work idyllically depicts an interaction of Russians and Asians in the steppe lands of the Caucasus. A caravan of Central Asians is crossing the desert under the protection of Russian troops. The opening theme, representing the Russians, is heard first (see chart of themes below); then we hear the haunting strains of an ornamented eastern melody on English horn, representing the Asians. These two melodies eventually are combined contrapuntally. Amidst these two ethnic melodies is heard a "traveling" theme in pizzicato that represents the plodding hoofs of the horses and camels. At the end only the Russian theme is heard.

In popular culture

• This piece of music was used in the 1921 silent film The Sheik, along with the Bacchanale from Camille Saint-Saëns's Samson et Delilah in order to depict the Arabic nature of the film.
• In the Ladybird Books cassette tape of The Secret Garden, In the Steppes of Central Asia is used as a musical theme, presumably to evoke the Indian birthplace of the protagonist.
• The melody from "The Eastern Theme" was later used for "The Sands of Time", the first song in the 1953 Broadway Musical, "Kismet", which was based on Borodin's music.
• This piece of music was also used as the theme music to the extremely popular TV show "RPA" in Australia. This TV show was about Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Camperdown, NSW, where a myriad of medical staff performed miracles on patients and viewers were invited to watch the progression from their initial illness through to their recovery. Probably some of the most famous episodes were surrounding Professor Chris O'Brien (RIP). Also starring was the prominent Dr. Farrager from the Conference and Business Centre.

References

1. ^ Dianin, Serge. Borodin. Trans. from the Russian by Robert Lord. Oxford Univ. Press, 1967; rpt. Westport, Conn.: Greenwoood Press, 1980, pp. 113-114, 225-228.

External links

• In the Steppes of Central Asia: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.
• Music in film «Moscow clad in snow», 00:07:22, 1908 on YouTube

This article about a classical composition is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Symphonic poems Compositions by Alexander Borodin 1880 compositions Classical composition stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР? Glossary of North American railroad terminology Jim Grabowski Look at other dictionaries: Central Asia — Area 4,003,400 km2 (1,545,721 sq mi)[1] Population 61,551,945 …   Wikipedia Central Asia, history of — Introduction       history of the area from prehistoric and ancient times to the present.       In its historical application the term Central Asia designates an area that is considerably larger than the heartland of the Asian continent. Were it… …   Universalium Central Asia —       central region of Asia, extending from the Caspian Sea in the west to the border of western China in the east. It is bounded on the north by Russia and on the south by Iran, Afghanistan, and China. The region consists of the former Soviet… …   Universalium History of Central Asia — The history of Central Asia has been determined primarily by the area s climate and geography. The aridity of the region makes agriculture difficult, and its distance from the sea cut it off from much trade. Thus, few major cities developed in… …   Wikipedia Governor-Generalship of the Steppes — The Governor Generalship of the Steppes was a portion of Russian Central Asia which included both much of modern Kazakhstan (formerly known as the Kirghiz Steppe), and the region around Omsk, which was formerly part of western Siberia. It… …   Wikipedia Asia — /ay zheuh, ay sheuh/, n. a continent bounded by Europe and the Arctic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. 2,896,700,000; ab. 16,000,000 sq. mi. (41,440,000 sq. km). * * * I Largest continent on Earth. It is bounded by the Arctic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean …   Universalium Central Asian arts — Literary, performing, and visual arts of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Tibet, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and parts of China and Russia. The term usually denotes only those traditions not influenced by the… …   Universalium Asia — For other uses, see Asia (disambiguation). Asia …   Wikipedia Culture of Asia — The culture of Asia is human civilization in [Asia]. It features different kinds of cultural heritage of many nationalities, societies, and ethnic groups in the region, traditionally called a continen from a Western centric perspective, of Asia.… …   Wikipedia Asia Minor — • The peninsular mass that the Asiatic continent projects westward of an imaginary line running from the Gulf of Alexandretta (Issus) on the Mediterranean to the vicinity of Trebizond (Trapezus) on the Black Sea Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin… …   Catholic encyclopedia 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”