Ludwig Minkus (Russian: Людвиг Минкус), also known as Léon Fyodorovich Minkus (23 March 1826 – 7 December 1917), was an Austrian composer of ballet music, a violin virtuoso and teacher. Minkus is noted for the music he composed while serving as the official Composer of Ballet Music to the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres in Russia. During his long career, he wrote for the original works and numerous revivals staged by the renowned Ballet Masters Arthur Saint-Léon and Marius Petipa. Among the composer's most celebrated compositions was his score for La source (1866; composed jointly with Léo Delibes), Don Quixote (1869); and La Bayadère (1877). During his career Minkus wrote a substantial amount of supplemental material for insertion into already existing ballets. Among these pieces, Minkus