Eduard Nápravník

Eduard Francevič Nápravník (Russian: Эдуард Францевич Направник, 24 August 1839 – 23 November [O.S. 10 November] 1916) was a Czech conductor and composer, who settled in Russia and is best known for his leading role in Russian musical life as the principal conductor of the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg for many decades. In that capacity, he conducted the premieres of many operas by Russian composers, including those by Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov. Nápravník was born in Býšť, Bohemia, in 1839. His studies of music were precariously uneven as a child, being the son of a poor teacher. Being orphaned in 1853 at age of 14, to earn a living Nápravník started his career by playing the organ in a local church....