Julius Conus
Encyclopedia
Julius Conus was a Russia
n violin
ist and composer
.
Conus was born in Moscow
on to a distinguished musical family of French
extraction who had migrated to Russia at the time of the Napoleonic Wars
. His father was the piano
teacher Eduard Conus, and his brothers were the composer and music teacher Georgi Conus
and pianist Lev Conus
. All three studied at Moscow Conservatory
under Sergei Taneyev
and Anton Arensky
, and all three stayed on to teach there.
In 1888 he won the Gold Medal at the Moscow Conservatory
. He then studied in Paris
, where he played the violin
in the Opera orchestra
and was a virtuoso
in his own right for several years. In 1891, he became a concertmaster
in New York City
. From 1893 to 1901, he taught violin at the Moscow Conservatory and formed a close friendship with Sergei Rachmaninoff
. One of his notable students was violinist, composer, and conductor Alexander Chuhaldin
. He also gave concerts, both as a soloist and as a chamber musician, appearing sometimes in a Trio or other ensemble with Rachmaninoff to play the latter's works. (Rachmaninoff dedicated his Two Pieces for Violin and Piano, op. 6, to Julius, and the two men remained close friends throughout their lives.)
Conus had two sons, Serge
and Boris. (Boris married Rachmaninoff's daughter Tatiana in 1932, and together they had a son the following year.) After the October Revolution
, Conus moved to Paris in 1919 with his brother Lev, and began to teach at the Russian Conservatory there in 1921. However as the Nazi threat spread across Europe, Lev emigrated to the US in 1935, and in 1939 Julius returned to Russia. Julius Conus died in Moscow
, at Melenki
on 3 January 1942.
Besides pedagogical works, Conus was known for his adeptness at long-lined melody, as shown particularly in his Violin Concerto
in E minor
which he premiered in Moscow in 1898 when he was 29 years old. An effective showpiece, it became a repertoire staple in Russia and was long popular with audiences, although it was dismissed by critics. Conus, a violinist himself, wrote no other major work, although he did produce several shorter pieces for violin, which are mostly all unplayed today.
In the early 1900s Fritz Kreisler
championed the concerto, giving its first performance in London (1904). However it was Jascha Heifetz
who was to become the Concerto's true champion. He included it in his worldwide concert repertoire, and from 1920 played it many times in Carnegie Hall
. He also recorded it with the RCA Symphony Orchestra under Izler Solomon
in 1952.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
.
Conus was born in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
on to a distinguished musical family of French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
extraction who had migrated to Russia at the time of the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
. His father was the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
teacher Eduard Conus, and his brothers were the composer and music teacher Georgi Conus
Georgi Conus
Georgi Eduardovich Conus was a Russian composer. He was the eldest of the three Conus brothers, of whom the others were Julius and Lev.He had a marked influence upon such students as Alexander Scriabin and Reinhold Glière. For a time, much was expected of Georgi as a composer...
and pianist Lev Conus
Lev Conus
Lev Eduardovich Conus was a Russian pianist, music educator, and composer. A brother of the composers Georgi Conus and Julius Conus, he studied together with Sergei Rachmaninoff in Anton Arensky's advanced composition class and served as chief professor of piano at the Moscow Conservatory until...
. All three studied at Moscow Conservatory
Moscow Conservatory
The Moscow Conservatory is a higher musical education institution in Moscow, and the second oldest conservatory in Russia after St. Petersburg Conservatory. Along with the St...
under Sergei Taneyev
Sergei Taneyev
Sergei Ivanovich Taneyev , was a Russian composer, pianist, teacher of composition, music theorist and author.-Life:...
and Anton Arensky
Anton Arensky
Anton Stepanovich Arensky -Biography:Arensky was born in Novgorod, Russia. He was musically precocious and had composed a number of songs and piano pieces by the age of nine...
, and all three stayed on to teach there.
In 1888 he won the Gold Medal at the Moscow Conservatory
Moscow Conservatory
The Moscow Conservatory is a higher musical education institution in Moscow, and the second oldest conservatory in Russia after St. Petersburg Conservatory. Along with the St...
. He then studied in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where he played the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
in the Opera orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
and was a virtuoso
Virtuoso
A virtuoso is an individual who possesses outstanding technical ability in the fine arts, at singing or playing a musical instrument. The plural form is either virtuosi or the Anglicisation, virtuosos, and the feminine form sometimes used is virtuosa...
in his own right for several years. In 1891, he became a concertmaster
Concertmaster
The concertmaster/mistress is the spalla or leader, of the first violin section of an orchestra. In the UK, the term commonly used is leader...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. From 1893 to 1901, he taught violin at the Moscow Conservatory and formed a close friendship with Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
. One of his notable students was violinist, composer, and conductor Alexander Chuhaldin
Alexander Chuhaldin
Alexander Gregorovitch Chuhaldin was a Russian violinist, conductor, composer, and music educator. He spent his early career working in his native country but after 1927 he was active in Canada. His compositional output includes over 30 works for string orchestra; many of which were published by...
. He also gave concerts, both as a soloist and as a chamber musician, appearing sometimes in a Trio or other ensemble with Rachmaninoff to play the latter's works. (Rachmaninoff dedicated his Two Pieces for Violin and Piano, op. 6, to Julius, and the two men remained close friends throughout their lives.)
Conus had two sons, Serge
Serge Conus
Serge Conus was a Russian pianist and composer who performed in the United States and Europe.- Early life :Conus was born in Moscow to an expatriate Russian father living in France and a Russian mother...
and Boris. (Boris married Rachmaninoff's daughter Tatiana in 1932, and together they had a son the following year.) After the October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
, Conus moved to Paris in 1919 with his brother Lev, and began to teach at the Russian Conservatory there in 1921. However as the Nazi threat spread across Europe, Lev emigrated to the US in 1935, and in 1939 Julius returned to Russia. Julius Conus died in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, at Melenki
Melenki
Melenki may refer to:*Melenki, Vladimir Oblast, a town in Vladimir Oblast, Russia*Melenki, Kostroma Oblast, a village in Kostroma Oblast*Melenki, name of several other rural localities in Russia...
on 3 January 1942.
Besides pedagogical works, Conus was known for his adeptness at long-lined melody, as shown particularly in his Violin Concerto
Violin concerto
A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin and instrumental ensemble, customarily orchestra. Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up through the present day...
in E minor
E minor
E minor is a minor scale based on the note E. The E natural minor scale consists of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. The E harmonic minor scale contains the natural 7, D, rather than the flatted 7, D – to align with the major dominant chord, B7 .Its key signature has one sharp, F .Its...
which he premiered in Moscow in 1898 when he was 29 years old. An effective showpiece, it became a repertoire staple in Russia and was long popular with audiences, although it was dismissed by critics. Conus, a violinist himself, wrote no other major work, although he did produce several shorter pieces for violin, which are mostly all unplayed today.
In the early 1900s Fritz Kreisler
Fritz Kreisler
Friedrich "Fritz" Kreisler was an Austrian-born violinist and composer. One of the most famous violin masters of his or any other day, he was known for his sweet tone and expressive phrasing. Like many great violinists of his generation, he produced a characteristic sound which was immediately...
championed the concerto, giving its first performance in London (1904). However it was Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz was a violinist, born in Vilnius, then Russian Empire, now Lithuania. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time.- Early life :...
who was to become the Concerto's true champion. He included it in his worldwide concert repertoire, and from 1920 played it many times in Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
. He also recorded it with the RCA Symphony Orchestra under Izler Solomon
Izler Solomon
Izler Solomon was an American orchestra conductor, active mostly in the Midwest....
in 1952.