Georgi Lvovich Katuar was born in Moscow on April 27, 1861, and showed an early interest in music. He received instruction from the esteemed pianist Karl Klindworth, who faced hostility due to his association with Wagner. Simultaneously, Katuar studied mathematics at Moscow University until 1884, after which he joined his father's business, but found no fulfillment there. His family showed little understanding for his musical aspirations, yet he began his first attempts at composition under Klindworth's student, V. I. Wilborg.
For further studies with Klindworth, Katuar left Russia for Berlin, but returned to Moscow after a formative encounter with Tchaikovsky. Motivated by Tchaikovsky's recognition, he deepened his studies in Berlin, but soon turned to, among others, Rimsky-Korsakov. Despite a lack of formal training, Katuar created significant chamber music works, including his Piano Trio in F minor, Op. 14, and his Piano Quartet in A minor, Op. 31.
His autodidactic approach fundamentally shaped Katuar's compositional output. From 1917, he served as a professor of composition at the Moscow Conservatory, where he championed rigorous academic discipline. His textbooks became seminal for composition instruction in the Soviet Union. An outstanding pedagogue, he taught renowned students such as Beli and Kabalevsky.
The composer left behind a substantial legacy, including important compositions such as his Elegy for Violin and Piano, Op. 26, published in 1916. The technical demands of his works, coupled with the scarcity of his scores, led to his near-total obscurity after his death in May 1926. However, a re-evaluation of his musical output is necessary and is already underway. Katuar's artful compositions are characterized by flowing modulations, which have given his music an elastic and distinctive character from the very beginning.