Alexey Lvov was a Russian composer and performer known for writing the Russian national anthem. He was also famous outside of Russia as a virtuoso violinist. Lvov was born in 1798 in Reval, Estonia, to a wealthy family of Russian nobility. His father, Prince Fyodor Petrovich Lvov, worked as the music director at the chapel of the imperial court in St. Petersburg, and likely provided his son with his first musical instruction. Lvov began learning the violin at a very young age and performed chamber music and concertos regularly in concerts at his home, which was a common activity among the social elite. He received a broad education typical for someone of his social status, and he studied with several violin instructors throughout his childhood and teens. By the age of 19, Lvov discontinued violin lessons so he could develop his own style, and he studied composition with I. G. Miller. The following year, he joined the Russian military in the field of civil engineering and was eventually promoted to the rank of general. In the fulfillment of Tsar Nicholas I's request, Lvov composed Bozhe, tsarya khrani ("God Save the Tsar") in 1833, which became the Russian national anthem. One year later, he accepted an appointment as a personal assistant to the Tsar, and in 1837 he became the music director at the chapel of the imperial court, replacing his father. In this new position, Lvov arranged the music for the services but left the conducting to his assistants, which initially included Mikhail Glinka. The 1840s were Lvov's most productive years as a composer, due to the inspirational setting of his position at the imperial chapel. He composed several sacred vocal works, operas, a violin concerto, and chamber music featuring the violin. He also formed a string quartet and led the group on many tours to France and Germany. Lvov couldn't perform publicly in Russia because of his high military rank and social status. In the 1850s, he continued composing and serving at the chapel, and he also performed weekly concerts at his home with his string quartet. These concerts were attended by wealthy socialites, and often featured special guest performers such as Berlioz, Liszt, and Robert and Clara Schumann. Lvov eventually retired from his appointment at the chapel in 1861 and withdrew from composing and performing in 1867, when he began to go deaf. He passed away three years later in the winter of 1870. ~ RJ Lambert, Rovi