LUDWIG MINKUS

March 23, 1826 – December 7, 1917

Ludwig Fyodorovich Minkus, a Czech violinist, conductor and composer, was born in Vienna on this day. Although of Czech origin, and born in Vienna, the place where he received his musical education and spent a good part of his life, was in Russia. His first recognized compositional work, now forgotten, was the ballet Paquita, which had its premiere in Paris.

A turning point in his life, but also in his artistic work, is the invitation of Prince Yusupov to St. Petersburg, where he worked from 1872 to 1896 as an imperial ballet composer. Apart from St. Petersburg, he developed his artistic career in Moscow as a soloist in the Bolshoi Theater, where he was also the supervisor of all musical theaters, and in 1866 he became a professor at the Moscow Conservatory. Of the sixteen ballets written, the most famous are Don Quixote and La Bayadère, whose performances can still be seen on ballet stages all around the world.

Betsi Jane, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Translation: Jelena Čolović