Mikhail Jewsejewitsch Bukinik

Mikhail Jewsejewitsch Bukinik (Russian Михаил Евсеевич Букиник) (1872–1947) was a Ukrainian cellist, composer, music educator and music critic of classical music.

His four concert etudes for the solo violoncello are also suited for concert performances. These études were compulsory cello pieces at the prestigious International Cello Competition in Markneukirchen in May of 2005.

Bukinik was born in 1872, in Dubno in the area of Rovno which is in today's Ukraine (about 400 km west of the capital of Kiev). It just happens that a four of his family members, including his brother Isaac (violinist, teacher, music critic) and his two daughters for the decided that music would be their profession.From 1885 to 1890 Bukinik attended the music school in Kharkov, where he was also a member of the Society for Russian music. During these five years he studied with A. Glen at the Moscow Conservatory. In his solo performances and concerts as a member orchestra, he played together with musicians such as Sergei Tanejew, Nikolai Medtner, Konstantin Igumnow, Alexander Gold Weiser, Alexander Goedicke and W. Lambowskaja. Among his fellow students were well-known musicians such as Ferruccio Busoni, Alexander Skrjabin and Sergei Rachmaninoff. Bukinik finished his studies in 1895.

He then went on tour in Russia with a symphony orchestra lead by Dimitri Achscharumow. After a brief stay in Berlin, Bukinik came to Saratov in 1899, where he remained until 1904 as a teacher at the Institute of the Mariinsky where the young virtuouso began working. At the same time, he was met with the famous painter Viktor Borisov-Musatov, who became his close and dear friend throughout his long life. Pavel Kuznetsov was the second painter with whom Bukinik was very close. In 1901, he founded together with Borisov-Musatov, the field doctor and writers Vladimir Stanjukowitsch and his wife Nadezhda the so-called "English club of Saratov". 1902 also contributed to Jelena Alexandrowa, Musatows future wife.In the following two years (1904-1906) Bukinik lived in Germany, France and Switzerland.

From 1906, he had many appearances in Moscow. There he was also cello teacher at the prestigious Gnessin School of Music, which is still exists as the Gnessin Institute and has an extremely good reputation. After the revolution in October 1917 the school was temporarily closed.From 1919 to 1922 Bukinik was professor at the Conservatory of Kharkov.In 1922 Bukinik emigrated to the United States, where he worked with a Ukrainian string quartet and also played in a Ukrainian musical theater. 1944 he published his memoirs and died three years later (1947).

A great personality, who knew him since very early times, was his comrad Sergei Rachmaninoff, whose cello sonata he first performed in Paris and thus was known by the local public as a genius of a composer. He himself wrote, that Bukinik remained always in Rachmaninov memoirs:

Bukinik is the author of some cello works, children's schools and edited several works by Russian composers.