Julius Conus was born Yulij Eduardovich Konyus in Moscow on 1 February 1869 (Gregorian calendar). His father was the piano teacher Eduard Conus, and his brothers were the teacher Georgi Conus and pianist Lev Conus. All three studied at the Moscow Conservatory under Sergey Taneyev and Anton Arensky. In 1888 he was awarded the Gold Medal, journeying first to Paris, where he played in the opera orchestra, then to New York, becoming concertmaster of the orchestra. During 1893–1901 he taught at the Moscow Conservatory and formed a friendship with Rachmaninov, with whom he gave numerous chamber concerts. The Bolshevik Revolution saw him move to Paris, where he taught at the Russian Conservatoire from 1921. The rise of Nazism led to his return in 1939 to what had become the Soviet Union. He died in Moscow on 3 January 1942.

© Richard Whitehouse