New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-07-25

How Emperor Nicholas
Made LvOMs Music the
Nations Anthem

al pursuits. Cui was a military engineer;
Borodin an army surgeon and professor OF
chemistry; Moussorgsky had a military train
ing and was a soldier for five years before
abandoning that profession for music; Rimsky-
Korsakoff was an officer Of the navy. Lvof
was the son of a Russian statesman, and his
life was spent in the service of the Russian
government. His father permitted him to ac-
quire thoroughly good musical education in
addition to that which was designed to fit him
for the vocation which had been chosen for
him. He was an admirable violinist and
jealous cultivator of chamber music. After
several years of service in the engineer corps
he became adjutant to Count Benkendorff,
general in the Russian army and personal adj
jutant to the Gar Nicholas |. In 1886, on the
death Of brother, who was Bortnianskys
successor as director of the imperial choir at
st. Petersburg, he was appointed to that post.
For few years he was steward to the Care
witch Alexander, and was finally advanced to a
senatorship. Throughout his military and
political career he was a generous patron and
enthusiastic practiser of music, spending his
summers in the musical capitals of Germany,
France and Italy. He died on his estates in
Kovno, whittier he had retired because Of
growing deafness in the ffties, on December
%, 1870 60. s.. He wrote several operas,
which were performed in St. Petersburg,
Vienna and Dresden, besides large number
of church pieces, violin pieces songs, marches,
etc. He met Wagner and contracted with him
for the production of some of his operas at
Moscow. Wagner recorded the impression that
he was Every insignificant person. in spite
of the orders hanging from his neck" He
may have been insignificant in Wagners eyes,
but he achieved success in one field which
Wagner essayed in vain--he wrote a successful
national hymn, while Wagner tried to write
one after the Franco-Prussian war and failed.
HOW THE SONG WAS WRITTEN.
Lvoff tells the story of how "Boshe Zaria
chrani" was written in his Memoirs as follows:
"In 1888 | accompanied the Emperor Nicholas
on his journeys to Prussia and Austria. On
returning to Russia | was informed by Count
Benkendorff that the sovereign had expressed
a regret that we Russians possessed no ma
tonal hymn; being moreover, tired of the Eng
lish tune which had been used as stop-gap
for a very long time, he commissioned me to
make an attempt to write Russian anthem.
This momentous duty seemed likely to prove
difficult of accomplishment In recalling the
British anthem God save the King which is
so imposing; the French song, so full of orig
inality, and the Austrian hymn, of which the
music is so touching, felt and fully appreciat-
ed the necessity of accomplishing something
which would be robust stately, stirring, ma
tional in character, something worthy to re-
vertebrate either in a church. through the
soldiers ranks or amongst a crowd of people;
something which would appeal alike to the
ettered and the ignorant. This consideration
absorbed me, and was perplexed by the prob
lem of fulfilling all these needs. One night on
returning to my quarters at very late hour
| composed and wrote out the tune of the
hymn on the spur of the moment. Next day
went to Jukovsky and asked him to suggest
some words; but he was by no means musical