In the Steppes of Central Asia

• V sredney Azii (In Central Asia), a “Musical Picture” (we might call it a symphonic poem) was composed in 1880, and published in Hamburg in1882.¹
• In Central Asia was one of 12 pieces commissioned from various Russian composers to celebrate 25 years of the reign of Tsar Aleksandr II. The pieces were intended to accompany tableaux vivants or “grand scenic presentations” celebrating several of the Tsar’s achievements.²
  • A tableau vivant (Living picture) is a static staged scene in which actors and sets create the impression of a real-life painting.
• The celebration for which In Central Asia was composed was cancelled due to an assassination attempt on the Tsar. In Central Asia eventually premiered in April 1880 under the baton of Borodin’s friend Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov.³
• In Central Asia illustrates Tsar Aleksandr’s expansion of his empire into the Caucasus region. The music depicts the interaction of Russian troops and Asian culture with melodies of Russian and Asian flavors.⁴

“In the desert of Central Asia the melody of a peaceful Russian song is heard at first. The approaching tramp of horses and camels is heard, together with the doleful sounds of an oriental melody. A native caravan guarded by Russian soldiers crosses the boundless steppe. It completes its long journey trustingly and without fear under the protection of the victors’ awesome military strength. The caravan moves further and further away. The peaceful melodies of both vanquished and vanquisher merge into a single common harmony, whose echoes long resound in the steppe before eventually dying away in the distance.”

from Borodin’s programmatic description of In Central Asia⁵

1. Robert W. Oldani, “Borodin, Aleksandr Porfir′yevich,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed August 5, 2019, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000040687.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. James M. Keller, “Notes on the Program: In the Steppes of Central Asia, Op. 7), The New York Philharmonic (October 2018), accessed August 5, 2019, https://nyphil.org/~/media/pdfs/program-notes/1819/Borodin-In-the-Steppes-of-Central-Asia.pdf?la=en.
5. Ibid.