A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Asantschewsky, Michel von

by Edward Dannreuther

ASANTSCHEWSKY, Michel Von, born 1839 at Moscow, since 1863 director of the Conservatoire de Musique at St. Petersburg, one of the most cultivated of living Russian musicians, is remarkable for the delicate finish of diction and form which characterises his compositions, as well as for the extensive range of his knowledge in musical matters generally. He completed his education in counterpoint and composition under Hauptmann and Richter at Leipsic between the years 1861 and 1864, and lived during some years subsequently, alternately at Paris and at St. Petersburg. He has acquired a reputation among book-collectors as the possessor of one of the finest private libraries of works upon music in Europe. Among his printed compositions the following should be noted: op. 2, Sonata in B minor for pianoforte and violoncello; op. 10, Trio in F sharp minor for piano and strings; op. 12, Fest-Polonaise for two pianofortes; Passatempo for piano à quatre mains. [App. p.524 "See also ii. 735 b."]

[ E. D. ]