Better Know a Composer - Cui

César Cui ( Jan. 18, 1835 – March 13, 1918)

        

  Cui was another member of the The Five, under the instruction of Balakirev. He is a Russian composer in the Romantic era, but came from French and Lithuanian families. He originates from a militaristic background, as Cui's father was in Napoleon's army that invaded Russia and lost. Cui was born in Vilnius, Lithuania --which was an area of Russia at the time-- and was born into a Roman Catholic family. Even though he may be the least known member of The Five, even less the Balakirev, his work greatly shaped the development of Russia music.

  Cui's accomplishments in music are probably best noted in the West. In his home country of Russia he is known for his achievements with the military engineering. At age 14 he was sent to St. Petersburg to begin studying engineering for the military. He continued this career throughout his life and had many noteworthy students that were in noble families. 

  Right now you might be asking, "So what? I thought this was supposed to talk about him as a composer..." Yes, but understanding that Cui never had the huge dedication to music that Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, or many other major composer had, sheds light to why he wasn't as famous and didn't produce such great works.

  Now for some background on Cui as a composer. He started piano when he was younger, and his father did make him play the violin. While at St. Petersburg he met up Balakirev and found they both had an interest in composing, but even more Russian nationalism. Thus he joined the The Five* and started composing more. He also became an important spokesman for Russia's Free School of Music* by publishing reviews for them quite often.

*More info on the history of The Five and the Free School of Music can be found in the third section of Balakirev's bio.

  Cui composed in almost every genre of music, except symphonies and symphonic poems. He was particularly fond of operas and actually managed to write 14 operas in his lifetime. Besides these he also wrote several hundred shorter songs, in addition to some orchestral pieces and some string quartets.

  One composer that was very fond of Cui's works was Lizst. He gave very high regards to Cui's opera, William Ratcliff. Later in life Cui would dedicate a couple of his books to Lizst, and Lizst would even use Tarantelle for the basis of his final piano transcription. Below is the video for Cui's Trio for Harp, Flute, and Violin. Enjoy!

The Five - 

Balakirev

Cui

Borodin

Mussorgsky

Rimsky-Korsakov: Part I - II