“Musical, chemical:
Alex P. Borodin’s
Ideas, composed,
Address multiple goals.
Aldol reactions,
Symphonic protractions,
With staged reenactions
As kismet unfolds.”
The 28 April 2024 Twitter poem was a pseudo-double-dactyl that highlighted the career of Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin (1833-1887), famous in the worlds of both chemistry and music.
“Musical, chemical: /
Alex P. Borodin’s /
Ideas, composed, /
Address multiple goals…”
One of my common themes here is the unexpected difficulty in a typical chemistry curriculum of learning about the underlying stories of the scientists or concepts involved. This poem celebrates a case in point.
Alexander Borodin’s findings were foundational to much of the organic chemistry I learned as a student. He also composed several musical works. However, it was only years later, in listening to a classical music radio station, that I first heard Borodin’s name and the fact that he was also famous as a chemist.
“Aldol reactions, /
Symphonic protractions, /
With staged reenactions…”
The chemistry concept for which Borodin is most remembered is the aldol reaction, for which he is cited as an independent co-discoverer (along with Charles Aldophe Wurtz) in the late nineteenth century.
The aldol reaction forms a product that contains both ALDehyde and alcohOL functional groups. Since the aldol reaction also forms a new carbon-carbon bond, it can significantly expand the size of a molecule, a fact which is exceedingly useful to organic chemists working to build important compounds or replicate them in the lab. Many scientists have used this synthetic step towards various targets.
The musical works for which Borodin is most remembered are compositions of significant length, such as symphonies and operas (“symphonic protractions, with staged reenactions”).
“As kismet unfolds.”
The most unexpected detail I learned in brainstorming for this poem last year was that the musical Kismet, which won the 1954 Tony for Best Musical, is based on melodies from Borodin’s compositions. Just as the aldol reaction casts a long shadow in organic chemistry, Borodin’s musical legacy has inspired several subsequent generations.
Chemphasis 