Men of the Time, eleventh edition/Rubinstein, Anthony

​RUBINSTEIN, Anthony, a Russian pianist and composer, born at Wechwotynetz, on the frontier of Roumania, Nov. 30, 1829, was taken to Moscow while quite a child, and studied the piano under Alexis Villoing, after having received preliminary instruction from his mother. He made his first appearance in public when only eight years old, and at the age of ten went with his teacher to Paris, where he resided two years, performing at several concerts with a success which won for him the encouragement and the advice of Liszt. Next he visited England, Sweden, and Germany. At Berlin, where his relatives had determined to settle for some time, he studied composition under Dehn. On the completion of his course of instruction he devoted himself for some time to teaching, first at Berlin and afterwards at Vienna. He then returned to his native country, where he was appointed pianist to the Grand-Duchess Helena, and subsequently director of the concerts of the Russian Musical Society. In the spring of 1868 he again visited Paris, and he next came to London, achieving, in both capitals, a brilliant success as a pianist and dramatic composer. Among his operas are "Dimitri Donskoi," "Les Chasseurs Sibériens," "La Vengeance," "Tom le Fou," "Les Enfants des Bruyères," and "Lalla Roukh," most of them represented in St. Petersburg, Berlin, and Vienna, and some of them in London; "Nero," represented at Covent Garden Theatre in 1877. His oratorio, "Paradise Lost," has been often performed with great success: notably in the Salle de la Noblesse at St. Petersburg, on Dec. 17, 1876. His sacred drama, "The Maccabees," was produced at the Imperial Opera House, Vienna, in 1878; and he is now engaged in the composition of a new opera, entitled "Ivan Kalashorikoff." M. Rubinstein has composed a large number of "Studies" for the pianoforte, sonatas, romances, trios, overtures, and symphonies.