Maximilian Steinberg

Maximilian Oseyevich Steinberg (June 22, 1883 – December 6, 1946) was a Russian and Soviet composer, conductor, and prominent musical figure. Born in Vilna (now Vilnius) in the Russian Empire, he was the son of a noted Hebraist. He became a central figure in the academic musical tradition of Saint Petersburg, eventually becoming a Doctor of Art History and an Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1934).

Steinberg graduated from Saint Petersburg University in 1907 and the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in 1908, where he studied composition under Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. He subsequently married Rimsky-Korsakov's daughter, Nadezhda. He began teaching at the Conservatory in 1908, becoming a professor in 1915, and held a significant influence over the institution's direction. During World War II, he was evacuated to Tashkent with the Conservatory staff.

His body of work includes five symphonies, the ballets Metamorphoses (1913) and Till Eulenspiegel (1936), and numerous symphonic and vocal-symphonic compositions. He was instrumental in editing and arranging the works of his teacher and father-in-law, notably creating symphonic suites from Rimsky-Korsakov's operas The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and The Golden Cockerel. He also completed the orchestration for the fourth act of Alexander Spendiaryan's opera Almast.

Despite his serious academic standing, Steinberg was occasionally confused with a contemporary namesake, Mikhail Steinberg, who composed popular gypsy romances. Maximilian Steinberg remained dedicated to the classical tradition throughout his career. He was the dedicatee of Nikolai Myaskovsky's Eleventh Symphony and received the Order of the Red Banner of Labour in 1938 for his contributions to musical education.

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