Notes by Farouk Rojas

The answer is Alexander Borodin.  Yes, ANOTHER Russian composer I like.  It turns out that Johnny Mathis sings Stranger in Paradise, quite the famous song  based on a fragment of Borodin's Polovtsian Dances. And the link to Pavlov? (no pun intended)  According to Wikipedia, Borodin earned a doctorate in medicine at the "Medico–Surgical Academy, the later home to Ivan Pavlov".

For you see, Borodin was a prominent chemist, uncommonly enough, and also, won a posthumous Tony Award in 1954 for Stranger in Paradise.  

Try the Johnny Mathis song, and then get the Polovtsian Dances.  It'll be fun to compare the experience of the full piece to that of the popularized version.  Make sure to get the full set of dances.  You will find that you've probably heard some of them before somewhere.  If you still are up for it, go for the full opera (Polovtsian Dances is part of a larger composition), Prince Igor, which had to be completed by Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov, as Borodin died before completing it.   

It was 1996 and I was in New York City for the first time.  At the hotel lobby I used my very limited French to help a lady communicate with the manager, and in return I received a night out with her son, who was more lost in the city than I was.  We randomly ended up in The Blue Note, a legendary jazz music club in Greenwich Village. 

Frenchman had very little to say, but we ended up sitting in a table with a japanese couple who had bought their tickets months in advance, and had flown from Tokyo with great anticipation to see Toots Thielemans.  I had no idea then who he was, but would soon find out why he's considered one of the greatest harmonica players alive.

Indeed, Mr. Thielemans seemed consumed by a great passion for his music, and the night was quickly difficult to forget.   As a result, I own his album, Chez Toots, and often listen to his rendition of Old Friend.  

Wikipedia says about Mr. Thielemans:

"...Apart from his popularity as an accomplished musician, he is well liked for his modesty and kind demeanor... "

His official website features the quote "I feel best in that little space between a smile and a tear."  Indeed, he will take you there.

As always, I owe Isao Tomita much of my affinity for classical music.  Gustav Mahler's 5th movement of the 3rd symphony is one of those pieces which, without Tomita, I may have never discovered or liked. 

Described as Lustig im Tempo und keck im Ausdruck (Cheerful in tempo and bold in expression), the 5th movement combines vocal, choral and symphonic work to create a unique atmosphere, at moments even christmasy (at least for me), if you would, but at all times different to most of what's out there.  The piece seems to march on like an army of giant, joyful alien ants, (if ever that could make any sense).  

I-tunes is giving away the piece for free right now.  A great way to try Mahler, and if you like the aesthetics of his music, taste the whole symphony.   

Ever since I heard Isao Tomita's interpretation of it (in my early teens), Modest Mussorgsky's Great Gate of Kiev has been one of my favorite musical compositions.  Scintillating, reflective and majestic, it is a wonderful expression of a kind of musical temperament that I, unimaginatively, describe as "very Russian."

The Great Gate of Kiev has a deep and rich history, worth reading about in Wikipedia, as it belongs to the suite Pictures at an Exhibition, written by Mussorgsky for the piano and inspired by the pictorial work of his friend Viktor Hartmann. 

The suite went on to become popularized through a series of orchestral arrangements, the best known of which, and illustriously so, was created by Maurice Ravel.  

My favorite recording of Pictures is conducted by musical powerhouse Valery Gergiev and puts together a strong selection of music with a superb orchestra (Vienna Philarmonic) and conductor, captured with modern-day recording technology.  

This album includes a recording of Night on the Bare Mountain.  This piece is a complete whirlwind of emotion, and I have NPR to thank for helping me rediscover it.  The announcer's interpretation of the piece was very engaging and enriching, and I walked away with a greatly deepened appreciation for it.