Karl Davydov

Karl Yulievich Davydov was a Russian cellist, described by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky as the "czar of cellists". He was also a composer, mainly for the cello. His name also appears in various different spellings: Davydov, Davidoff, Davidov, and more, with his first name sometimes written as Charles or Carl. Biography Davydov was the son of a Jewish physician and amateur violinist, Yuly Petrovich Davidhoff from Courland Governorate. His elder brother August Davidov was a noted mathematician and educator, and his nephew Alexei Davidov also became cellist and composer and also a businessman. In his youth Davydov studied mathematics at St. Petersburg University, and then pursued a career as a composer, studying with Moritz Hauptmann at the Leipzig Conservatory. He became a full-time cello soloist in 1850 while continuing to compose. He took a post as a professor of cello at the St Petersburg Conservatory in 1863, and subsequently became director in 1878. In 1886 scandal forced him from his position, and Anton Rubinstein took the helm. He had many students, including Aleksandr Verzhbilovich. He intended to write an opera on the subject of Mazeppa. Viktor Burenin wrote a libretto for this purpose in 1880, but when Davydov proved unable to find the time to compose, Burenin offered the libretto to Tchaikovsky. Although closely associated with Tchaikovsky, Karl Davydov was not related to the Princes Davydov, Russian Orthodox, into which Tchaikovsky's sister Alexandra married.