Mikhail Bukinik

Mykhailo Yevsiyovych Bukinik (Ukrainian: Михайло Євсійович Букінік) (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 2005.

Bukinik was born in 1872, in Dubno in the area of Rivne 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 Kharkiv, 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 Taneyev, Nikolai Medtner, Konstantin Igumnov, Alexander Goldenweiser, Alexander Goedicke and W. Lambowskaja. Among his fellow students were well-known musicians such as Ferruccio Busoni, Alexander Scriabin and Sergei Rachmaninoff. Bukinik finished his studies in 1895.

He then went on tour in Russia with a symphony orchestra led 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 virtuoso began working. At the same time, he was met with the famous painter Victor 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 Rachmaninoff's memoirs:

"... And there appears S. Rachmaninoff. He is tall and thin and his shoulders and give him a square shape. His long face is very expressive, he is like a Roman. His hair is always good cut. His friends did not avoid him He spoke to them using many jokes, though sometimes cynical and youthful, he behaves in a positive manner. He smokes a lot, speaks with a deep voice and although he is our age, he seems older. We have all heard of his successes in composition with Arensky. We knew about his abilities to form each piece quickly and be able to analyze and read the notes quickly. His absolute pitch as well as his brilliant hearing analyses of works by Tchaikovsky and Arensky amazed and inspired us. As a pianist he gave us even more."

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

References

• German Wikipedia article

External links

• Free scores by Mikhail Bukinik at the International Music Score Library Project

Persondata
Name	Bukinik, Mikhail Jewsejewitsch
Alternative names	Bukinik, Mikhail Yevseyevich; Bukinik, Mikhail Evseevich
Short description	Ukrainian cellist, composer, music educator and music critic
Date of birth	1872
Place of birth	Dubno
Date of death	1947
Place of death