César Cui was born in Vilna, Russia, on January 18, 1835. He was
graduated as an engineer from the St. Petersburg Engineering Academy in
1857; following that he served for many years as a topographer, as an
authority on fortifications, and as an engineering professor. All the
while his principal avocation was music, which he had studied from
childhood on. Between 1864 and 1900 he was active as music critic for
various Russian newspapers and journals. As a composer, he belonged to
the nationalist group known as the “Russian Five” or “Mighty Five,” but
unlike his distinguished colleagues (Balakirev, Rimsky-Korsakov,
Mussorgsky and Borodin) his influence proved far greater than his music.
He wrote many operas and large orchestral works, but none have remained
alive in the repertory. He was probably at his best in miniature for the
piano, and in his songs. He died in St. Petersburg on March 24, 1918.
It is with one of his miniatures that his name is still remembered. This
piece is the _Orientale_, a composition originally for violin and piano,
the ninth number in a suite of twenty-four pieces collectively entitled
_Kaleidoscope_, op. 50. The principal melody is in oriental style,
introduced and then accompanied by a persistent rhythm (which in the
original version is produced by plucked strings, while the melody itself
is first given by the piano. This melody is soon taken over by the
violin.) Transcriptions for orchestra have made this a salon favorite.