Cesare Pugni

Cesare Pugni was an Italian composer of ballet music a pianist and a violinist. In his early career he composed operas symphonies and various other forms of orchestral music. Pugni is most noted for the ballets he composed for Her Majestys Theatre in London 18431850 and for the Imperial Theatres in St. Petersburg Russia 18501870. The majority of his ballet music was composed for the works of the ballet master Jules Perrot who mounted nearly every one of his ballets to scores by Pugni. In 1850 Perrot departed London for Russia having accepted the position of Premier matre de ballet of the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres at the behest of Carlotta Grisi who was engaged as Prima ballerina. Cesare Pugni followed Perrot and Grisi to Russia and remained in the imperial capital even after Grisis departure in 1853 and Perrots departure in 1858. Pugni went on the compose for Perrots successors Arthur SaintLon and Marius Petipa serving as the Imperial Theatres official composer of ballet music until his death in 1870. He was also the grandfather of Russian painter Ivan Puni also known as Iwan Puni and Jean Pougny. Cesare Pugni was one of the most prolific composers of ballet music having composed close to 100 known original scores for the ballet and adapting or supplementing many other works. He composed myriad incidental dances such as divertissements and variations many of which were added to countless other works. Of Pugnis original scores for the ballet he is best known today for Ondine ou La Naade also known as La Naade et le pcheur 1843 La Esmeralda 1844 Catarina ou La Fille du Bandit 1846 The Pharaohs Daughter 1862 and The Little Humpbacked Horse 1864. Of his incidental dances etc. he is most noted for the Pas de Six from La Vivandire also known as Markitenka 1844 the Pas de Quatre 1845 La Carnival de Venise pas de deux also known as Satanella pas de deux 1859 the Diane and Acton Pas de Deux 1868 and his additional music for the ballet Le Corsaire 1863 and 1868.