Several Russian composers of the 19 th century started in professions other than music: Rimsky Korsakov started as a naval officer, while Tchaikovsky began his career as a lawyer. Only Borodin held a non-musical post for all his career. He was born the illegitimate son of a minor Russian prince, and was well cared for and educated by his mother. He was trained as a doctor and chemist, and was appointed a professor of chemistry in the St. Petersburg Medical School at the age of 31. While there he published important research papers on the group of organic chemicals called aldehydes, and helped found a medical school for women. He considered this his life's greatest achievement.

He was slow to write music, since he had to squeeze it into the gaps between his working schedule and looking after his family, which comprised an ill wife, several other relatives, and a large number of cats.

He wrote the symphonic sketch “In the Steppes of Central Asia” in 1880, for an event to mark the 25 th anniversary of the reign of Tsar Alexander II. It is one of his most popular works, giving a convincing picture of the approach and disappearance of a camel train in the empty desert wastes of central Asia . How he achieved this is a bit of a mystery, since despite being well-travelled, he never went within 1,000 miles of the region he depicted so well !