Sergei Eduardovich Bortkiewicz, born on February 28, 1877, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, spent most of his childhood on the family estate, Artiomovka. He received his first musical inspiration from his mother and later studied with local teachers. After graduating from high school in 1895, he moved to St. Petersburg, where he studied both law at the university and music at the Imperial Conservatory. His teachers included Anatol Lyadov and Karel von Ark. Due to political unrest, the university was closed, whereupon Bortkiewicz served only briefly in the military before devoting himself entirely to music.
He continued his studies at the Leipzig Conservatory, where he studied with Salomon Jadassohn, Karl Piutti, and Alfred Reisenauer, a student of Liszt. After completing his studies, he settled in Berlin and embarked on numerous concert tours throughout Europe. After being forced to flee Germany due to political events, he received financial assistance from Hugo van Dalen and performed concerts in Constantinople.
The political upheavals of the First World War led to house arrest, followed by his escape from Kharkiv to Yalta and finally, penniless, to Constantinople. There, Natalie Chaponitsch, the wife of the Yugoslav ambassador, organized concerts for him. Thanks to the ambassador's help, Bortkiewicz obtained visas for Yugoslavia and later traveled to Austria, where he acquired citizenship in 1925.
After difficulties in Berlin, Bortkiewicz moved to Vienna, where he worked as a composer and piano teacher. The outbreak of the Second World War brought significant financial problems, but he continued his teaching and composition work at the Vienna Conservatory, which provided him with stability. In 1947, he retired and received an honorary pension from the city of Vienna. Bortkiewicz died in Vienna on October 25, 1952. His wife followed him on March 9, 1960. Both were buried in Vienna's Central Cemetery.
A self-proclaimed Romantic and melodist, Bortkiewicz rejected modern, atonal music. His work, influenced by Chopin, Liszt, Scriabin, and Rachmaninoff, is characterized by a distinctive fusion of melody, harmony, and form. Many of his compositions were initially published by the Leipzig music publisher Anton J. Benjamin, which was confiscated by the Nazis in 1938.
Several works, including the Yugoslav Suite, Op. 58, Six Preludes, Op. 66, and Three Mazurkas, Op. 64, were published posthumously. His music, prized for its emotional depth and unmistakable style, garnered acclaim from both audiences and critics.