Ludwig Minkus

Léon Minkus, Ludwig Alois actually Minkus ( born March 23, 1826 in Vienna, † December 7, 1917 in Vienna ) was an Austro- Hungarian ballet composer, conductor and teacher of Czech and Polish origin.

About his life little is known, and his biographical information - including birth and death place - are controversial. So are circulating about rumors that he was already dead in 1890.

From 1853 on Minkus was the orchestra director and violin soloist of the composite of serfs orchestra of Prince Nikolai Yusupov ( 1827-1891 ). Two years later he joined the orchestra of the Italian Opera Theatre in Saint Petersburg. He also taught violin. 1861 began his career at the Bolshoi Theatre, initially as a violin soloist and a year later as a conductor with the term " inspector of the orchestra ." In 1863 he composed the music for Saint- Léon Fiametta 1864 an abridged version was performed in Paris and Nemea. In the same year he was appointed to a ballet composer of the Bolshoi Theatre. Minkus used the entire time, his relations to Paris, where he 1866-20 years after its debut - the largest part of the ballet wrote the source. An act was devoted exclusively to the young Léo Délibes. Back in Russia Minkus began composing ballets to works of Petipa. 1868 Petipa was planning his Don Quixote for the Bolshoi Ballet with music by Minkus. The premiere in 1869 was a huge success and earned him the place of the official composer of the Russian Imperial Ballet, which was previously occupied by the Italian Cesare Pugni, who created more than 300 ballets. By 1886 Minkus took this position and has written numerous successful compositions such as 1877 La Bayadère.

Minkus wrote additions to existing ballet music, such as at the request of Petipa to the files one and two of Giselle. Dissatisfied with his pension from the Russian government, he retired to Vienna, where he died in 1917 of pneumonia.

Comparing Minkus ' work with his contemporaries Tchaikovsky, should take into account that Minkus ballet composer was more melodic and rhythmically appealing works. Missing his work sometimes demanding penetration with respect to the instrumentation, it lives but the emotional richness that gives the dancers ample opportunity for individual configuration, because the music does not force itself to the foreground, but accompanied the ballet. The audience learns just in his ballets often the desire to participate in the dance.