Tchaikovsky and Anatoly Brandukov

Photographed by Charles Reutlinger in Paris on 6/18 March 1888

Anatoly Andreyevich Brandukov — Russian cellist and composer

Born: 25 December 1858 / 6 January 1859, Moscow

Died: 16 February 1930, Moscow

Born Anatoly Andreyevich Brandukov — Анатолий Андреевич Брандуков — he was one of the most distinguished Russian cellists of his generation, admired for his expressive tone and refined artistry.

Brandukov studied at the Moscow Conservatory, where he was a pupil in the cello class of Wilhelm Fitzenhagen and took harmony and instrumentation with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. After graduating in 1877, he spent several years living abroad, primarily in Switzerland and France, while maintaining an active concert career in Russia.

A close friend of Tchaikovsky, Brandukov was greatly esteemed by the composer, who admired both his virtuosity and his deep musical intelligence. Tchaikovsky wished for him to succeed Fitzenhagen as professor of cello at the Moscow Conservatory after the latter's death in 1890.

Brandukov became one of the foremost interpreters of Tchaikovsky's works for cello, and was the first performer of the Pezzo capriccioso, Op. 62, composed in 1887 and dedicated to him. During the late 1880s, Tchaikovsky also prepared special arrangements of the Andante cantabile from his String Quartet No. 1 and the Nocturne (No. 4 of the Six Pieces, Op. 19) specifically for Brandukov to perform at their joint concerts.

In 1906, Brandukov was appointed professor and director of the Moscow Philharmonic School of Music and Drama, a position that confirmed his stature within Russian musical life. Later, in 1921, he joined the Moscow Conservatory as professor, continuing to shape a new generation of Russian cellists.

As a composer, Brandukov wrote several original pieces for cello, many of which survive in manuscript form and are preserved at the Tchaikovsky State Memorial Musical Museum-Reserve in Klin.

Tchaikovsky dedicated his Pezzo capriccioso, Op. 62, composed in 1887, "à mon cher ami Anatole Brandukov."