Arkadii Maksymovych Abaza (30 July (11 August) 1843, Sverdlikovo village, Suzhansky district, Kursk province - 3 January (16 January) 1915, Kursk) was a Russian and Ukrainian pianist, composer, and teacher.
He studied at the Kharkiv Musical College of the Russian Musical Society, at the St. Petersburg Conservatory (with Alexander Dreyshok in the piano class and Camillo Everardi in the vocal class). He improved his skills in Germany with Hans von Bülow (piano).
He was the founder and director of music schools in Sumy (1877-1881) and Kursk (1882-1915). He taught piano, singing, and music theory.
As a member of the Kursk Provincial Academic Archival Commission, he studied the musical traditions of the Kursk region and edited folk songs of the Kursk province. With Abaza's active participation, a music department was opened in the provincial museum, where all folk musical instruments were collected. He actively collaborated with the capital's and local press, promoting musical creativity, telling about great composers, and writing music reviews for the Kursk Provincial News (1889-1908).
He was buried in Kursk at the Kherson cemetery.
Works:
More than 30 piano pieces.
"Hymn to the Holy Brothers Cyril and Methodius" (for four-voice choir).
More than 20 romances. Among them:
"Foggy Morning" to the words of Ivan Turgenev,
"It is not the wind that bends the branch",
"I Have Only One Consolation in My Life",
"Why",
"To forget you",
"Moments",
"I won't tell anyone".
