Symphony No. 2 in B Minor

Borodin’s Second has long been recognised as the first great Russian symphony. Composed 1869-76 and revised several times up to the composer’s sudden death in 1887, it was inspired by the old Slavic epic poem The Lay of Igor’s Campaign (which also inspired Borodin’s opera Prince Igor). The work concerns the medieval Prince Igor Svyatoslavich the Brave and his failed campaign of 1185 against the Polovtsy, a nomadic tribe of warriors. Accordingly, Borodin’s Second includes a belligerent first movement, and several Asian-style themes—some of them baleful (notably the opening motto theme), others more beguiling, such as the trio theme in the second movement, “Scherzo”. The third movement, “Andante”, opens and closes with a rising motif played by a solo clarinet and harp, depicting the opening and closing flourish of a minstrel accompanying himself on a guzli (a stringed instrument described in the epic poem The Lay of Igor’s Campaign) as he relates an old tale. This introduces a horn solo playing one of Borodin’s noblest melodies and an episode involving impassioned strings; this finally climaxes with a richly scored restatement of the opening horn theme. The movement then segues into one of the most rousing and effective finales of all symphonic literature. The addition of tambourine and cymbals is merely icing on the cake: the themes are lively, dance-like yet utterly unpredictable, including stretches in which beats of two alternate with beats of three.