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Creativity and Our "Occupations"  (1 of 2)


A couple of weeks ago, as we were doing errands in the car we listened to the music of the Russian composer Alexander Borodin. The host of the show mentioned that Borodin had been a chemist, and from the other side of the car my husband said “Of course... the Borodin reaction!” (what a nerd)

It got me thinking about this 19th century scientist/composer. According to Wikipedia, "he regarded medicine and science as his primary occupations", and obviously his work has informed subsequent generations of scientists. But he was also a "prominent" composer and today he may be more widely remembered for his music. Borodin clearly loved both pursuits, devoting time and energy to developing a proficiency which allowed him to make significant lasting contributions.

If I could interview him today I would ask him how he balanced these interests. I’m curious about how he structured his day and how he accomplished so much. Was the creative outlet of music a welcomed distraction from his work in science? Did these interests fulfill certain needs for self- expression which were unique to their disciplines,- each providing something the other couldn’t ? Or were they interconnected, music inspiring his science and science inspiring his music? 

So many questions to ask... maybe you would have some too.

 (To hear a sampling of Borodin's work, here is a link to  In the Steppes of Central Asia, performed by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra: 
 https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=mcafee&p=borodin+in+the+steppes+of+central+asia#id=30&vid=06bc73390ebce0b134f7a2eb70addb03&action=view )

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