Russian composer, harpsichordist and conductor of Ukrainian Cossack origin. He served at the court of Catherine the Great. Director of the Court Singing Chapel in St. Petersburg. A full state councilor. Bortniansky, who has been compared to Palestrina, is known today for his liturgical works and prolific contributions to the genre of choral concertos. He was one of the "Golden Three" of his era, alongside Artemy Vedel and Maxim Berezovsky. Bortniansky was so popular in the Russian Empire that his figure was represented in 1862 in the bronze monument of the Millennium of Russia in the Novgorod Kremlin. Along with Berezovsky, he is considered the creator of the classical type of Russian choral concert. He also composed secular music — operas, keyboard sonatas, chamber ensembles.
