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First name: Eduard F.
Last name: Napravnik
Dates: 1839-1916
Category: Quartet
Nationality: Czech
Opus name: Opus 42 in a (1882)
Publisher: Merton
Peculiarities: RCG; imslp Petrucci; Merton 4768
Information: Eduard Francevi Napravnik (24 August 1839 - 23 November 1916) was a Czech conductor and composer, who settled in Russia and is best known for his leading role in Russian musical life as the principal conductor of the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg for many decades. In that capacity, he conducted the premieres of many operas by Russian composers, including those by Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov. NapravnÃik was born in Bohemia in 1839. His studies of music were precariously uneven as a child, being the son of a poor teacher.i Being orphaned in 1853 at age of 14, to earn a living Napravi­k started his career by playing the organ in a local church. In 1854 he entered the Prague Organ School, where he studied under Jan Bedich Kittl and others, and became an assistant teacher. The generosity of his teacher allowed him to continue studies. In 1861 he received an offer from Russia: the post of conductor of the private orchestra of prince Yusupov in St. Petersburg. Napravnik became organist and assistant conductor at the Imperial theatres in 1863, second conductor in 1867, and chief conductor, succeeding Liadov, in 1869, holding the post until his death. He gave the first performances of Boris Godunov in 1874, five operas by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and five by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. He also conducted concerts of the Russian Music Society. In 1914, after a productive career in the service of Russian opera, he was forced to discontinue further work due to ill health. Of Napravni­k's own four operas the most successful was Dubrovsky (1894, staged 1895) written to a Russian libretto by Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky after the story by Alexander Pushkin. He died in Petrograd in 1916. In May 1917, his family went abroad and eventually settled in Belgium.