Fyodor Andreyevich Kanille was a Russian pianist and teacher. He was the brother of M. A. Kanille and studied the art of piano playing in St. Petersburg with N. I. Moreysky.
He made his debut in St. Petersburg in 1850 at the age of thirteen. Kanille appeared twice in concerts of the Free Music School, performing Robert Schumann's Konzertstück on May 6, 1864, and Franz Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 2 in 1865, which was its first performance in Russia.
Kanille gave lessons in piano playing and composition. Among his pupils in 1859 to 1862 was Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. From 1861 he taught piano in the instrumental classes of the Court Singing Chapel.
From the late 1850s he was close to Mily Balakirev and his musical circle, into which he also introduced Rimsky-Korsakov. He arranged for piano four hands Balakirev's Second Overture on Three Russian Themes, known as "1000 Years" or "Rus", and the symphonic poem "In Bohemia".
Rimsky-Korsakov dedicated to Kanille his Symphony No. 1 in 1862 and the romance "Rise, descend, long since the morning star" to words by Lev Mey in 1870. Rimsky-Korsakov later wrote that Kanille had opened his eyes to many things, and that through him he had heard with admiration that "Ruslan" was truly the best opera in the world and that Glinka was the greatest genius. He also recalled that Kanille was a good pianist and that from him he first heard truly fine piano playing.
A contemporary assessment praised Kanille's performance of the concerto as excellent, noting not only its clarity, accuracy, and power, but also the faithful conveyance of the work's meaning. The very choice of repertoire, the reviewer wrote, showed in Kanille not only an excellent pianist but also an interpreter ready to serve contemporary art.
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