Ippolit Al'tani

Who was Ippolit Al'tani?

Ippolit Karlovich Al'tani was a Russian Empire conductor, choirmaster and violinist.

In 1866 he graduated from Saint Petersburg conservatory as violinist and composer. In 1867-82 he worked as a conductor and choirmaster at the Russian opera in Kiev. Al'tani's activity contributed to the development of musical stage skill in Ukraine. In 1882-1906 Al'tani was chief conductor of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.

Al'tani had a significant association with Tchaikovsky. He conducted the first performance of the 1812 Overture and the first performances at the Bolshoi Theatre of his operas Mazeppa, The Enchantress, The Queen of Spades and Iolanta.

Al'tani also conducted the 1888 Moscow premiere of the revised 1872 version of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, and the world premieres of Rachmaninoff's Aleko and The Miserly Knight.