La Bayadere Don Quixote Jardin Anime Minkus Pas de Trois Paquita |
Ludwig Minkus, the ballet
composer and violinist, was
born in Vienna in
1826.
Minkus made his appearance
as a composer in Paris in
April, 1846, with
Paquita, which was
written jointly with
Edward Deldevez and
choreographed by Joseph
Mazilier. La
Fiammetta, with
choreography by Saint-Leon
(February 13, 1864) and
Nemea (July 14,
1864) followed. He next
collaborated with Delibes
on La Source and
composed music for two
more ballets with
Saint-Leon as the
choreographer -- Le
Poisson d'Or and Le
Lys -- in
Paris.
In 1853 he went to Russia
as the conductor of Prince
N. B. Yussupov's serf
orchestra in St.
Petersburg and was a
soloist in the Moscow
Bolshoi Orchestra from
1861-1872. He also taught
at the Moscow Conservatory
(1866-1872).
From 1864-1871 Minkus was
the official ballet
composer at the Bolshoi
Theatre in Moscow. In 1871
he was transferred to St.
Petersburg, where he
worked until 1891 when his
position was eliminated
and he was
retired.
Discontent with his small
pension (the equivalent of
about $285.00 a year), the
composer left Russia for
Austria, where he died, in
1917, at the age of
91.
The composer of over
twenty ballets, among them
Don Quixote, Roxanna,
Camargo, Papillons, The
Bandits, The Adventures of
Peleas, La
Bayadère, The
Daughter of the Snows, The
Magic Pills, Mlada,
Kalkabrino, and Day
and Night, Minkus was
an excellent craftsman in
the style of ballet music
of his day. His music is
melodic and distinguished
by clear dance
rhythms. |
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