In the Steppes of Central Asia

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In the Steppes of Central Asia is the common English title for a "musical tableau" (or symphonic poem) by Alexander Borodin. The Russian title is В средней Азии, literally In Central Asia. 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 Rimsky-Korsakov. ^[1]. The work is dedicated to Franz Liszt.

This orchestral work idyllically depicts an interaction of Russians and Easterners 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 Easterners. 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.

[edit] In Popular Culture

This piece of music was used in the 1921 silent film The Sheik, along with the Bacchanale from Camille Saint-Saens'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.

[edit] References

^ 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.