Leader, Philip Whiteway
Conductor, E. GODFREY BROWN
HOOTON MITCHELL (baritone)
Borodin's most important orchestral work after his two fine symphonies is the ' symphonic sketch ',- ' In the Steppes of Central Asia '. It was originally written as a musical background to one of a series of historical tableaux vivants shown during the celebrations of the silver jubilee of the Czar Alexander II in 1880. The music illustrates the following scene : ' The silence of the sandy steppes of Central Asia is interrupted by the first sounds of a peaceful Russian song. Then the melancholy refrain of an Oriental song is heard, and with it the tramp of horses and camels. A caravan escorted by Russian soldiers is crossing the immense desert, fearlessly continuing its long journey under the protection of the Russian troops. The caravan proceeds on its way. The songs of the Russians and those of the Asiatics gradually blend together in the same harmony ; their refrains are heard for some time and finally die away in the distance.'