Максим Созонтович Березовский

Maxim Sozontovich Berezovsky (alternative transcriptions of names are Maxim Berezovski, Maksim Berezovsky or Maksym Berezovsky, Russian: Максим Созонтович Березовский) (ca. 1745 — 2 April 1777) was a Russian Imperial composer, opera singer, bassist and violinist, who studied in Italy and worked in the Saint Petersburg Court Chapel. Berezovsky was one of the first Russian composers in the 18th century to be recognized throughout Europe and the first to compose an opera, symphony, and violin sonata. His most popular works are his sacred choral pieces written for the Orthodox Church. Much of his work has been lost; only three of the 18 known choral concertos have been found. Dmitry Bortniansky was thought to be the first Russian symphonic composer until the discovery in 2002 of Berezovsky's Symphony in C by Steven Fox in the Vatican archives, composed around 1770 to 1772.