Alexei Augustovich Davidov () (1867-1940) was a Russian cellist and composer, and also a banker, industrialist, and businessman. Davidov was born in Moscow on August 23, 1867, the son of mathematician and educator

August Davidov August Yulevich Davidov () (December 15, 1823 – December 22, 1885) was a Russian mathematician and engineer, professor at Moscow University, and author of works on differential equations with partial derivatives, definite integrals, and the appl ...

originally from

Courland Courland is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. Courland's largest city is Liepāja, which is the third largest city in Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland as they were ...

. His uncle Karl Davidov was a cellist and composer, and head of the

Saint Petersburg Conservatory The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory () (formerly known as the Petrograd Conservatory and Leningrad Conservatory) is a school of music in Saint Petersburg, Russia. In 2004, the conservatory had around 275 faculty member ...

. In 1891 Davidov was graduated from the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of the

University of Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg State University (SPBGU; ) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the Great, the university from the be ...

and also from the Saint Petersburg Conservatory with a concentration in cello and composition. Davidov was a founder and member (from 1894) of the

Saint Petersburg Music Society In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Ortho ...

(), and in 1896 and 1897 its chairman. He participated in the staging of the operas ''

The Maid of Pskov ''The Maid of Pskov'' ( ), also known as ''Ivan the Terrible'', is an 1872 opera originally in three acts (six scenes) by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. The libretto is by the composer, after the play by Lev Mei. The storyline is fictitious, but set a ...

'' and ''

Boris Godunov Boris Feodorovich Godunov (; ; ) was the ''de facto'' regent of Russia from 1585 to 1598 and then tsar from 1598 to 1605 following the death of Feodor I, the last of the Rurik dynasty. After the end of Feodor's reign, Russia descended into t ...

''. Davidov served in the Special Office for Credit in the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

and from the late 1890s was a member of the board of trustees of the Saint Petersburg International Commercial Bank. He was head of the Commercial Bank of Saint Petersburg from 1909 to 1917, and was a member or chairman of boards of many companies with which the bank was involved, engaged in gold mining, coal mining, machinery manufacturing, and other industries. He was a board member of the Electric Lighting Company (formed in 1886) and that company's Electric Power Division, which built power plants in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

. As head of the Commercial Bank, and working jointly with the Russo-Asiatic Bank, Davidov participated in the creation of various monopolies. Davidov was a member of the board of the Saint Petersburg Stock Exchange and, from 1913, a

state councilor A State Councillor of the People's Republic of China () serves as a senior vice leader within the State Council and shares responsibilities with the Vice Premiers in assisting the Premier in the administration and coordination of governmental a ...

(a civilian rank equivalent to the military rank of brigadier general). After the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

s of 1917, Davidov fled to exile in Germany. He became a

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

on February 24, 1922, and died in Berlin on March 6, 1940. Davidov was married twice, first (in 1895) to the Georgian noblewoman Tamara Eristova. His second wife was the

Mariinsky Theatre The Mariinsky Theatre (, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic opera house in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th-century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces ...

ballerina Eugenie Platonovna Eduardova. He had three children, Yuri (born 1897), Cyrus (born 1900), and Tatiana (born 1902).

Works

*''The Sunken Bell'' (), opera (1900) *''5 Romances, Opus 3'' written for voice and piano using the lyrics of Mariya Davydova *''3 Romances, Opus 4'' *''Southern Night, Opus 7'' *''Asters, Opus 8'' piece for cello, voice, and piano (1903) *''Fantasia, Op.11'' dedicated to Alfred von Glehn *''Sister Beatrice'' (), opera *''Sextet for Strings, Opus 12'', dedicated to Davidov's brother Ivan

References

External links

Alexei Davidov
at the

International Music Score Library Project The International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP), also known as the Petrucci Music Library after publisher Ottaviano Petrucci, is a subscription-based digital library of public-domain music scores. The project uses MediaWiki software, and ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Davidov, Alexei 1867 births 1940 deaths Cellists from the Russian Empire Composers from the Russian Empire Bankers from the Russian Empire Businesspeople from Saint Petersburg Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Germany