Profile of César Cui

Born:

January 6, [or January 18] 1835

Birthplace:

Vilnius, Lithuania, Russian Empire

Died:

March 24, 1918 in St. Petersburg, Russia

Also Known As:

His full name was César Antonovich Cui, one of the members of "The Mighty Five". He was a composer and music critic for the St. Peterburgskiye vedomosti or St. Petersburg News. He was also a professor at a military academy with a rank of lieutenant general.

Type of Compositions:

He wrote chamber and choral works, operas, piano pieces and songs.

Influence:

Cui was influenced by the works of Frederic Chopin. His interest in music began as a young boy when he started composing. However, in 1851 he entered an engineering school in St. Petersburg and proceeded to pursue military engineering in 1855. He later became a professor of fortifications at the said academy. His friendship with nationalist composers Mily Balakirev and Aleksandr Dargomyzhsky greatly influenced him as a composer.

Notable Works:

His works include: "La Musique en Russie," "The Prisoner of the Caucasus," "The Captain's Daughter" and "Feast in the Time of the Plague."

Interesting Facts::

César Cui was also influenced by the works of notable writers such as the Russian writer Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, German poet Heinrich Heine and French novelist/short story writer Guy de Maupassant.

Cui didn't come from a Russian ancestry; his father, Antoine, was French and his mother, Julia, was Lithuanian. Nevertheless, Cui became a strong supporter of Russian nationalist music.

Music Sample:

Listen to samples of Cesar Cui's music from Naxos.