5 May 1819, Ubiel — 4 June 1872, Warsaw.
Stanisław Moniuszko was the greatest composer of operas in 19th century Poland. He was born to a family of Polish landowners settled in Ubiel, near Minsk (now Belarus), and his interest in music became evident from his early early childhood. Introduced to the rudiments of music by taking private piano lessons, Moniuszko’s formal music education begun in Berlin in 1837, where he studied composition and choral conducting under Carl Friedrich Rungenhagen. Several of his songs composed there were published by the firm of Bote & Bock and were favorably received by the music critics.