HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Apollinaire de Kontski (2 July 182429 June 1879) was a Polish violinist, teacher, and composer.


Early life

He was born in
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
(some sources say incorrectly
Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
) as Apolinary Kątski, the youngest of five musical siblings who all used the name ''de Kontski'' professionally, and the only one who was not a pianist.Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed, 1954, Vol. IV, p. 821 Their father tried to have them all recognised as " wunderkinder".Словари и энциклопедии на Академике
/ref> He studied with his elder brother Charles de Kontski and appeared in public at the age of four, playing a concerto by
Pierre Rode Jacques Pierre Joseph Rode (; 16 February 1774 – 25 November 1830) was a French violinist and composer. Life and career Born in Bordeaux, Aquitaine, France, Pierre Rode traveled in 1787 to Paris and soon became a favourite pupil of the great Gi ...
. He appeared in St Petersburg, France, Germany and England, making an extraordinary impression. He was praised by the likes of
Hector Berlioz Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'' ...
and
Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Meyer Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart and Richard Wa ...
. De Kontski was befriended by
Niccolò Paganini Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (; ; 27 October 178227 May 1840) was an Italian violinist and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His 24 Caprices ...
in Paris, had some lessons with him, and it was said that he was even bequeathed Paganini's violins and manuscripts. This last claim appears to be without foundation, however, Paganini did give him a signed testimonial, which was published in the ''Musical World'' of 21 June 1838:
Having heard M. de Kontski, aged eleven years, perform several pieces of music on the violin, and having found him worthy of being ranked among the most celebrated artists of the present day, permit me to say, that if he continues his studies in this fine art, he will, in course of time, surpass the most distinguished performers of the age.
(Signed) PAGANINI."


Career

Apollinaire de Kontski had a flair for showmanship like his brother Anton de Kontski (1817-1899) - and several other virtuosos among his contemporaries. At one concert in France in 1850, he combined
pizzicato Pizzicato (, ; translated as 'pinched', and sometimes roughly as 'plucked') is a playing technique that involves plucking the strings of a string instrument. The exact technique varies somewhat depending on the type of instrument: * On bowe ...
and arco in the same piece, then removed all but one string of his violin to play an aria from Meyerbeer's ''
Robert le diable ''Robert le diable'' (''Robert the Devil'') is an opera in five acts composed by Giacomo Meyerbeer between 1827 and 1831, to a libretto written in French by Eugène Scribe and Germain Delavigne. ''Robert le diable'' is regarded as one of the first ...
''... He also wrote some pieces for violin with only one string, and with five strings (which he called "pentakords"). He also concertised with
Theodor Leschetizky Theodor Leschetizky (sometimes spelled Leschetitzky; ; 22 June 1830 – 14 November 1915) was a Polish pianist, professor, and composer active in Austria-Hungary. He was born in Landshut in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, then a crown land ...
,
Anton Rubinstein Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein (; ) was a Russian pianist, composer and conductor who founded the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. He was the elder brother of Nikolai Rubinstein, who founded the Moscow Conservatory. As a pianist, Rubinstein ran ...
and
Alexander Dargomyzhsky Alexander Sergeyevich Dargomyzhsky ( rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич Даргомыжский, Aleksandr Sergeyevich Dargomyzhskiy, ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪdʑ dərɡɐˈmɨʂskʲɪj, Ru-Aleksandr-Sergeevich- ...
. He founded a string quartet, with which ensemble his pianist daughter Wanda played throughout Poland and Russia. In 1853 he was appointed violinist to the
Tsar of Russia The Tsar of all Russia, formally the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, was the title of the Russian monarch from 1547 to 1721. During this period, the state was a tsardom. The first Russian monarch to be crowned as tsar was Ivan ...
. In 1861 he became the inaugural Director of the revived Institute of Music. On one occasion he introduced the violinist
Leopold Auer Leopold von Auer (; June 7, 1845July 15, 1930) was a Hungarian violinist, academic, conductor, composer, and instructor. Many of his students went on to become prominent concert performers and teachers. Early life and career Auer was born in ...
to
Ignacy Jan Paderewski Ignacy Jan Paderewski (;  
r 1859 R, or r, is the eighteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ar'' (pronounced ), plural ''ars''. The lette ...
– 29 June 1941) was a Polish pianist, composer and statesman who was a spokesman for Polish independence. In 1919, he was the nation's Prime Minister of Poland, prime minister and foreign minister durin ...
. The then unknown young pianist was chosen to accompany Auer at a recital at the Institute. His students included Stanisław Barcewicz, Zygmunt Noskowski,
Stanisław Taborowski Stanislav and variants may refer to: People *Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.) Places * Stanislav, Kherson Oblast, a coastal village in Ukraine * Stanislaus County, ...
and Konstanty Gorski. In 1878 he performed at the Paris International Exhibition along with
Henryk Wieniawski Henryk Wieniawski (; 10 July 183531 March 1880) was a Polish virtuoso violinist, composer, and pedagogue, who is regarded amongst the most distinguished violinists in history. His younger brother Józef Wieniawski and nephew :pl:Adam Tadeusz Wien ...
. Apollinaire de Kontski composed a violin concerto, a quartet for four violins, 24 Études-Caprices for violin and flute, transcriptions, variations, opera fantaisies (his "Fantasia on Motives from ''
Lucia di Lammermoor ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel '' The Bride of Lammermoor''. ...
''" was famous in his day)Генеалогическая база знаний: персоны, фамилии, хроника
/ref> and numerous other virtuoso pieces, all now forgotten.


Death

He died in his home city in 1879, aged 53.


References


External links


Scores by Apollinaire de Kontski
in digital library
Polona Polona is a Polish digital library, which provides digitized books, magazines, graphics, maps, music, fliers and manuscripts from collections of the National Library of Poland and co-operating institutions. It began its operation in 2006. Colle ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kontski, Apollinaire de 1824 births 1879 deaths Child classical musicians Academic staff of the Chopin University of Music Musicians from Warsaw Polish classical violinists Polish composers Violin educators 19th-century Polish composers 19th-century classical violinists Polish male classical violinists 19th-century Polish musicians Polish male composers 19th-century Polish male musicians