Talk:Polovtsian Dances

Suite from Prince Igor

 * Since User:165.189.91.148 brought up the category a few edits ago, and since there is this informal "suite" from the opera (made up of the overture, dances, and march), is there a way to make the Polovetsian Dances article show up in Category:Suites as "Polovetsian Dances (Suite from Prince Igor)"? (Sorry in advance for my ignorance of this.)  Mademoiselle Fifi 21:57, 12 April 2006 (UTC)
 * Sorry, this reply is probably a bit late. :-) To change an article's name, you can move it to the new title by clicking the "move" tab, which should be to the right of the "edit" tab at the top. However, I think the article is fine where it is; the section is most commonly known as Polovetsian Dances, and the article provides the information that it is from the opera. Thanks! Flcelloguy (A note? ) 01:32, 6 June 2006 (UTC)

Suite revisited
Since the PDs are just one element of the (informal) suite, they do not in themselves constitute a suite, and should not be categorised as a suite, imo.

Now, leaving that issue aside and just considering the PDs as a work in its own right, which is how they mostly exist: Any group of related pieces can be thought of as a "suite", and on that basis, this group of dances could be regarded as a suite. Except it is never so described, in my experience. It's just the "Polovtsian Dances", not a "suite of Polovtsian Dances" or the "Polovtsian Dances Suite" or anything like that. So again, we have no reason to place this in Category:Suites, and it ought to be removed.

Comments? --  Jack of Oz   [your turn]  11:33, 21 December 2011 (UTC)

Polovetsian/Polovtsian Dances
"There was no end of waiting for the orchestration of the Polovtsian Dances, and yet they had been announced and rehearsed by me with the chorus. It was high time to copy out the parts. In despair I heaped reproaches on Borodin. He, too, was none too happy. At last, giving up all hope, I offered to help him with the orchestration. Thereupon he came to my house in the evening, bringing with him the hardly touched score of the Polovtsian Dances; and the three of us — he, Anatoly Lyadov, and I — took it apart and began to score it in hot haste. To gain time, we wrote in pencil and not in ink. Thus we sat at work until late at night. The finished sheets of the score Borodin covered with liquid gelatine, to keep our pencil marks intact; and in order to have the sheets dry the sooner, he hung them out like washing on lines in my study. Thus the number was ready and passed on to the copyist. The orchestration of the closing chorus I did almost single-handed..."[9] —Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, Chronicle of My Musical Life, 1909"67.11.191.237 (talk) 21:37, 1 October 2009 (UTC)anne
 * This article describes the ballet and melodies well, but all the credit for this music remains with Borodin. Not so.  Four men worked on it, as noted in the article "Prince Igor".  Could this (or part of this) portion of that article be copied into this article about the Polovetsian Dances?
 * "Borodin's primary occupation was chemistry, including research and teaching. However, he also spent much time in support of women's causes, much to the consternation of his fellow composers, who felt he should devote his time and talent to music.[7] In 1876, a frustrated Stasov gave up hope that Borodin would ever finish Prince Igor, and offered his scenario to Rimsky-Korsakov. [8] Rimsky-Korsakov instead assisted Borodin in orchestrating important numbers in preparation for concert performance—for example, the Polovtsian Dances in 1879:

spelling

 * Also, there is some comment on the Discussion page about the use of Polovtsian vs Polovetsian, w.r.t.when each spelling was used. I have been listening to this music since the 1950's and it was also spelled Polovetsian back then.  I'm not arguing correctness, I'm discussing popular usage only (United States).67.11.191.237 (talk) 21:37, 1 October 2009 (UTC)anne

Use in TV series

 * Hi. I don't think it's necessary to mention every use as mere background music in TV series, especially if it appears only once in the show. Of the series currently mentioned, only the RahXephon mentions the melody in its main article. How significant was the use of the melody in other shows listed? --GunnarRene 19:41, 3 October 2006 (UTC)
 * In the others listed, an arrangement of the melody appears as background music, but I couldn't say that it's very prominent. It is a popular melody, and perhaps some mentioned of its use in general is worth it, but not necessarily every series.

It appears several times as background music in The Simpsons (I can recall some 3 episodes, though the prominence and length of the melody varies). It wouldn't hurt to show just how popular it is in such series.KelilanK (talk) 23:28, 17 April 2012 (UTC)

Use in TV Commercial
"And who can forget the Polovtsian Dances by Borodin?" That dialoge was part of a TV commercial (selling classical music) back in the 1960s. Who can forget it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.57.251.251 (talk) 14:16, 5 November 2010 (UTC)


 * It was a commercial in the 1970s for a classical music record and during stranger in Paradise the old announcer said, ‘and did you know that the original is from the polovtsian dance number two’ 2603:6011:4DF0:8780:81C7:47AF:8967:E2F7 (talk) 02:56, 25 January 2024 (UTC)

Is this the proper spelling?

 * FWIW, Google gives almost 4:1 in favor of "Polovtsian Dances"--and, IIRC, that's closer to the original Russian than "Polovetsian." Samer 15:34, 1 September 2007 (UTC)
 * I agree. In my experience, it was always spelled and pronounced "Polovtsian" until about a decade ago when someone decided to change it.  I guess we have to reflect the name by which it is actually known these days, despite that.  But in my private life, I will be continuing to enjoy the "Polovtsian Dances" and I will totally ignore the "Polovetsian Dances".  --  JackofOz (talk) 10:53, 24 February 2008 (UTC)
 * A fill-vowel seems to be part of the confusion here. The word половцы (polovtsy) is the plural Russian noun for the people of that ethnic group; половецкий (polovetskij) is the adjective from that name.  The Russian ending "-(s)kij" is equivalent to English "-(i)an" in this situation.  Therefore, unless we want to say "Polovetskij Dances" (which would be grammatically inaccurate because of the plural noun), the title "Polovetsian" (with the fill-vowel "e") would make more sense. Mademoiselle Fifi (talk) 20:04, 24 February 2008 (UTC)

Requested move

 * I've put in a request with the administrators to make this the 'home' page (or whatever term is used around here) for the article, since this uses the spelling accepted by authoritative sources such as New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians Alfietucker (talk) 09:11, 21 March 2010 (UTC)

In Film
User:DERoss DERoss (talk) 01:22, 10 December 2017 (UTC)
 * I recall seeing a film on television about 60 years ago that featured the Polovtsian Dances. It was actually an older theatrical film in black an white.  I do not recall the title or any of the actors.  The plot involve a symphony conductor who was a child prodigy.  He has a nervous breakdown while conducting Polovtsian Dances, possibly caused by an aggressive parent or mentor forcing him to pursue his musical career.  I think the film was a British production, but I am not sure.