Markevitch

IGOR MARKEVITCH, A GRANDSON OF IVAN POKHITONOV WAS AN OUTSTANDING CONDUCTOR AND COMPOSER. HE WAS BORN IN 1912 IN KIEV, THE SON OF BORIS MARKEVITCH, A PIANIST, AND HIS WIFE ZOYA POKHITONOVA, THE ARTIST'S DAUGHTER. HIS PATERNAL GREAT-GRANDFATHER WAS THE RENOWNED UKRAINIAN HISTORIAN AND ETHNOGRAPHER NIKOLAI MARKEVITCH (1804-1860), THE AUTHOR OF THE FIVE- VOLUME “HISTORY OF MALAYA [SMALL] RUSSIA". NIKOLAI MARKEVITCH MAINTAINED CLOSE FRIENDSHIPS WITH MANY DISTINGUISHED CULTURAL FIGURES OF HIS TIME, INCLUDING ALEXANDER PUSHKIN AND TARAS SHEVCHENKO. HE WAS ALSO AN AMATEUR MUSICIAN AND A FRIEND OF MIKHAIL GLINKA. IGOR'S GRANDFATHER, ANDREI MARKEVITCH (1830-1907) WAS A WELL-KNOWN LAWYER, CHAIRMAN OF THE ST.PETERSBURG COURT OF JUSTICE AND PHILANTHROPIST. A BRILLIANT CELLIST, HE PARTICIPATED IN MANY CHARITY RECITALS.