Cesar cui biography

Cui lambasted Tchaikovsky's second performed opera, The Oprichnikfor instance; [ 36 ] and his stinging remarks about Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. Fortunately for posterity, both works have survived their unfavorable premieres. Of Western composers, Cui favored Berlioz and Liszt as progressives. Late in life Cui's presumed progressiveness as espoused in the s and '70s faded, and he showed firm hostility towards the younger "modernists" such as Richard Strauss and Vincent d'Indy.

Cui composed in almost all genres of his time, with the distinct exceptions of the symphony and the symphonic poem unlike his compatriots Balakirev, Borodin, Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov. By far art songs constitute the greatest number of works by Cui; these include a few vocal duets and many songs for children. Several of his songs are available also in versions with orchestral accompaniment, including his BoleroOp.

In addition, Cui wrote many works for piano and for chamber groups including three string quartetsnumerous choruses, and several orchestral worksbut his most significant efforts are reflected in the operas, of which he composed fifteen of varying proportions. Besides children's music which includes four fairytale operas as well as the aforementioned songsthree other special categories of compositions stand out among his works: 1 pieces inspired by and dedicated to the Comtesse de Mercy-Argenteau whom the composer knew from to her death in ; 2 works associated with the Circle of Russian Music Lovers the "Kerzin Circle" ; and 3 cesars cui biography inspired by the Russo-Japanese War and World War I.

As to the current status of Cui the composer, in the last few decades one of his children's operas of which he composed cesar cui biography entitled Puss-in-Boots from Perrault has had wide appeal in Germany. The received wisdom that he is not a particularly talented composer, at least for large genres, has been cited as a cause for this state of affairs; his strongest talent is said to lie in the crystallization of mood at an instant as captured in his art songs and instrumental miniatures.

Cui's works are not so nationalistic as those of the other members of The Five ; with the exception of Pushkin, his operas do not display a strong attraction to Russian sources. In the area of art songhowever, the vast majority of Cui's vocal music is based on Russian texts. Overt attempts at Russian "folk" musical style can be detected in passages from his first act of the collaborative MladaThe Captain's Daughtera couple of the children's operas, and a few songs; many other passages in his music reflect the stylistic curiosities associated with Russian art music of the 19th century, such as whole tone scales and certain harmonic devices.

Nevertheless, his style is more often compared to Robert Schumann [ 47 ] and to French composers such as Gounod [ 48 ] than to Mikhail Glinka or to Cui's Russian contemporaries. Login Register. Retrieved Oxford Music Online. Kuhn,p. In andevents were held in honor of Cui's 50th anniversary as a composer. He had met her at the home of Alexander Dargomyzhsky, from whom she was taking singing lessons.

Among the musical works Cui dedicated to her is the early Scherzo, Op. Lidiya, an amateur singer, married a gentleman by the name of Amoretti; in the period before the October Revolution Aleksandr was a member of the Russian Senate. Inthe composer went blind, although he was able to compose small pieces by dictation. Cui died on March 13, from cerebral apoplexy and was buried next to his wife Mal'vina who had died in at the Smolensk Lutheran Cemetery in Saint Petersburg.

Petersburg, to lie beside the other members of The Five. As a writer on music, Cui contributed almost articles between and to various newspapers and other publications in Russia and Europe. He "retired" from regular music criticism in His wide coverage included concerts, recitals, musical life, new publications of music, and personalities. A significant number of his articles ca.

Several of his themed sets of articles were reissued as monographs; these covered topics as varied as the original production of Wagner 's Der Ring des Nibelungen in Bayreuth, the development of the Russian romance art songmusic in Russia, and Anton Rubinstein's seminal lectures on the history of piano music of Not incidentally, of course, as part of his profession, Cui also published many books and articles about military fortifications.

Cesar cui biography: César Antonovich Cui was a

His musical reviews began in the St. Petersburg Vedomostiexpressing disdain for music before Beethoven such as Mozart and his advocacy of originality in music. Sarcasm was a regular feature of his feuilletons. Cui's primary goal as a critic was to promote the music of contemporary Russian composers, especially the works of his now better-known co-members of The Five.

Even they, however, were not spared negative reactions from him here and there, especially in his blistering review of the first production of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov in Russian composers outside of The Five, however, were often more likely to produce a negative reaction. This derived at least partly from distrust of the western-style conservatory system in favor of the autodidactic approach that The Five had practiced.

Cui lambasted Tchaikovsky's second performed opera, The Oprichnikfor instance; and his oft-cited stinging remarks about Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. This derived at least partly from distrust of the Western-style conservatory system in favor of the autodidactic approach that The Five had practiced. For instance, Cui lambasted Tchaikovsky's second performed opera, The Oprichnik[ 39 ] and his stinging remarks about Rachmaninoff's Symphony No.

Of Western composers, Cui favored Berlioz and Liszt as progressives. Late in life, Cui's presumed progressiveness as espoused in the s and '70s faded, and he showed firm hostility towards the younger "modernists" such as Richard Strauss and Vincent d'Indy. Cui composed in almost all genres of his time, with the distinct exceptions of the symphonysymphonic poem and the solo concerto unlike his compatriots Balakirev, Borodin, Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov.

Art songsincluding many children's songs and some vocal duetshave a prominent place in Cui's catalogue.

Cesar cui biography: César Cui was a

Several of his songs are available also in versions with orchestral accompaniment, including his BoleroOp. In addition, Cui wrote many works for piano and for chamber groups including three string quartetsnumerous choruses, and several orchestral worksbut his most significant efforts are reflected in the operas, of which he composed fifteen of varying proportions.

Besides children's music which includes four fairytale operas as cesar cui biography as the aforementioned songsthree other special categories of compositions stand out among his works: pieces inspired by and dedicated to the Comtesse de Mercy-Argenteau whom the composer knew from to her death inworks associated with the Circle of Russian Music Lovers the "Kerzin Circle"and pieces inspired by the Russo-Japanese War and World War I.

In the last few decades, Puss in Boots from Perraultone of the four children's operas he composed, has gained wide appeal in Germany. His abilities as an orchestrator have been disparaged, notably by his compatriot Rimsky-Korsakov. Cui's works are not so nationalistic as those of the other members of The Five ; with the exception of Pushkin, his operas do not display a strong attraction to Russian sources.

In the area of art songhowever, the vast majority of Cui's vocal music is based on Russian texts. Overt attempts at Russian "folk" musical style can be detected in passages from his first act of the collaborative MladaThe Captain's Daughtera couple of his children's operas, and a few songs; many other passages in his music reflect the stylistic curiosities associated with Russian art music of the 19th century, such as whole-tone scales and certain harmonic devices.

Nevertheless, his style is more often compared to Robert Schumann [ 49 ] and to French composers such as Gounod [ 50 ] than to Mikhail Glinka or to Cui's Russian contemporaries. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools.

Cesar cui biography: César Antonovich Cui was

In the first public performance of an opera by Cui took place; this was his William Ratcliff based on the tragedy by Heinrich Heine ; but it did not have success after eight performances, partially because of the harshness of his own writings in the music press. All but one of his operas were composed to Russian texts; the one exception, Le Flibustier on a play by Jean Richepinpremiered at the Opera-Comique in Paris inbut was not a success, either, primarily because of the vogue for Richard Wagner.

Cui's more successful stage works during his lifetime were the one-act comic opera The Mandarin's Son publically premiered inthe three-act Prisoner of the Caucasusbased on Pushkinand the one-act Mademoiselle Fifibased on Maupassant. As a writer on music, Cui contributed almost articles between and mostly during to various newspapers and other publications in Russia and Europe.

As to Cui's current status, in the last few decades one of his children's opera of which he composed four entitled Puss-in-Boots from Perrault has had wide appeal in Germany. Nevertheless, despite the fact that more and more of Cui's music is being made available in recent years in recordings including his short opera Feast in Time of Plaguefrom Pushkinhis status today in the repertoire is considerably small, based in the West primarily on some of his piano and chamber music such as the violin and piano piece called Orientale op.