Dmitry (Dmytro) Stepanovich Bortnyansky was a Russian composer of Ukrainian descent. He received his musical education at the Count Singers’ Cappella in St. Petersburg. During the years 1769-1779 he studied music in Italy, where his early operas were produced. From 1796 for nearly 30 years he directed the Court Singers’ Cappella in St. Petersburg. He composed numerous works in choral and instrumental genres. Among them are 35 choral concertos for mixed chorus, which pertain to the highest achievements of Russian sacred music (posthumously published by Tchaikovsky: D.S. Bortnyansky. Compilation of Complete Sacred Musical Compositions in 10 volumes. 1881-1882), operas: “The Falcon” (1786), “The Son-Rival” and others, works for chamber ensembles, songs and works in other genres.
