Zapis’s eyo slov Sergeia Dianina

As Recorded by Sergei Dianin

Elizaveta Dianina, née Balaneva (1862-1927), was one of Borodin’s many pupils.

. . .

In those years M[odest] P[etrovich] Musorgsky was a frequent visitor at the Borodins’,¹ where he performed his musical compositions. In particular, he quite often played the entire Boris Godunov; usually, after this performance one or sometimes several hammers on the piano would be broken. Once Borodin’s mother, generally not very sensitive to music, was so touched by the brilliant composer’s rendering of Boris, that she embraced him and began to kiss M[odest] P[etrovich] after he finished playing.