Symphony no. 1 in E-flat major

Borodin began his First Symphony in 1862, the year he met Balakirev, and finished it five years later — slow progress dictated by his other life as a professor of chemistry, in which composing was what he called Sunday work. Balakirev supervised the score closely and conducted the premiere in St Petersburg in January 1869 at a Free Music School concert. The reception was warmer than the group expected, and Liszt later arranged a performance at Weimar, telling Borodin not to listen to advice about correcting it.