"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.
Für unsere schöne Wissenschaft eine Einigung anzubahnen
Kongresse sind auch im Zeitalter von Internet und E-Mail eine wichtige und beliebte Form der Kommunikation innerhalb einer wissenschaftlichen Disziplin. Die Chemie kann auf eine 150-jahrige Tradition zuruckblicken: Der erste internationale Chemikerkongress fand vom 3. bis 5. September 1860 in Karlsruhe statt.
[Our surgical heritage. Theodore Billroth and music].
Since his early youth Billroth had an extraordinary aptitude for music and actively practised music. Billroth developed to a piano player of high standing. Even as a young professor in ordinary for surgery he worked as a composer of music and wrote critical essays of concerts for journals of music. Later on, a lifelong friendship developed between him and the famous composer Johannes Brahms in Vienna.