Karl Davidov
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Karl Davydov (1838-1889) was a Russian cellist of great renown during his time, and described as the "tsar of cellists" by Tchaikovsky.
In his youth he studied mathematics at St. Petersburg University, and then pursued a career as a composer, studying with Moritz Hauptmann at the Leipzig Conservatory. He became a full-time cellist in 1850 while continuing to compose in his spare time. He later became head of the St Petersburg Conservatory. In 1870 he was given a Stradivarius cello, now named for him, by Count Wilhorsky, a patron of the arts.
He intended to write an opera on the subject of Mazeppa. Viktor Burenin wrote a libretto for this purpose in 1880, but when Davidov proved unable to find the time to compose, Burenin offered to libretto to Tchaikovsky.
Note: Despite his links with Tchaikovsky, Karl Davidov was unrelated to that part of the Davidov clan into which Tchaikovsky's sister Alexandra and the composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov married.
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