"Try and fall sick .."-the composer, chemist, and surgeon Aleksandr Borodin.
Although Aleksandr Porfir’evič Borodin is considered one of the outstanding Russian composers of the 19th century, he left only a very small volume of musical work. He is particularly renowned for the world-famous “Polovtsian Dances” from the opera “Prince Igor” and for his membership in “The Mighty Handful”. Also noteworthy, aside from the forementioned opera “Prince Igor”, are his three symphonies, two string quartets, and a symphonic poem “In the Steppes of Central Asia”. The reason for his small œuvre is that he considered himself a sunday composer, composing for fun and only in his rare spare time or when he was ill. In fact, he was a professor of chemistry, and chemistry was avowedly his first passion. There were also other fields, besides chemistry, to which he was more committed than composition. Despite this declared priority for chemistry, Aleksandr Borodin is mostly unknown as a chemist to chemists of today, and—much to my regret—even as composer. This surely is not justified, since he is the discoverer of outstanding reactions, although unfortunately at a time when it was uncommon to name reactions after their inventors. This Essay is intended to shed light on all the various facets of Borodin, with a special focus on his chemical work.
Facile Thermal W–W Bond Homolysis in the N-Heterocyclic Carbene Containing Tungsten Dimer [CpW(CO)2(IMe)]2
The thermal W–W bond homolysis in [CpW(CO)2(IMe)]2 (IMe = 1,3-dimethylimidazol-2-ylidene) was investigated and was found to occur to a large extent in comparison to other tungsten dimers such as [CpW(CO)3]2. CpW(CO)2(IMe)H was prepared by heating a solution of [IMeH]+[CpW(CO)2(PMe3)]−, and it exists in solution as a mixture of interconverting cis and trans isomers. The carbene rotation in CpW(CO)2(IMe)H was explored by DFT calculations, and low enthalpic barriers (<3.5 kcal mol–1) are predicted. CpW(CO)2(IMe)H has pKaMeCN = 31.5(3), and deprotonation with KH gives K+[CpW(CO)2(IMe)]− (·MeCN). Hydride abstraction from CpW(CO)2(IMe)H with Ph3C+PF6– in the presence of a coordinating ligand L (MeCN or THF) gives [CpW(CO)2(IMe)(L)]+PF6–. Electrochemical measurements on the anion [CpW(CO)2(IMe)]− in MeCN, together with digital simulations, give an E1/2 value of −1.54(2) V vs Cp2Fe+/0 for the [CpW(CO)2(IMe)]•/– couple. A thermochemical cycle provides the solution bond dissociation free energy of the W–H bond of C...
My Musical Life
Nikolay Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was probably one of the most significant composers in Russia in the 19th century. Largely self taught - he trained as a naval officer - he is best known for three orchestra works: "Sheherazade", the "Spanish Capriccio" and "Russian Easter". He has influenced subsequent generations of composers, and his own pupils included Glazunov, Stravinsky and Prokofiev. This is an account of the growth of a Russian national musical idiom that followed the pioneer work of Glinka, and culminated in the ballets of Stravinsky. As a member of "The Five" - the foremost young composers of his generation - Rimsky presents us with a unique insight into the daily lives and work of Balakirev (their implacable leader), Cesar Cui, Modest Mussorgsky and Alexander Borodin. There are imtimate portraits of these and other colleagues, including Tchaikovsky, Rubinstein, Glazunov, and Liadov. The lively musical scene in Petersburg is also evoked. A major part of the book describes Rimsky-Korsakov's own musical career, from unpromising amateur beginnings to final unofficial ascendancy as the father of Russian music.