César Cui was born in 1835 in Vilnius to a French father and Lithuanian mother. He was a Lieutenant General and graduate of St. Petersburg’s Academy of Military Engineering. Cui’s music is notable for its melodiousness and fluency. His set of piano preludes, Opus 64, was clearly influenced by Chopin’s set of preludes. Varied in mood and atmosphere this set of fastidiously crafted miniatures is one of his most attractive and successful compositions.