Vasily VasilâÂÂyevich Bessel ( April 25 [OS April 13], 1843 (1842?) St Petersburg â March 1, [OS February 16] 1907, Zurich) was a Russian music publisher.
Bessel graduated from the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in 1865 studying violin with Henryk Wieniawski and viola with Hieronymus Weickmann.
He co-founded the thriving publishing firm V. Bessel and Co. (since 1869) and a print shop (since 1871), which published works by prominent Russian composers, notably Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Anton Rubinstein, Alexander Dargomyzhsky and the members of the New Russian Musical SchoolâÂÂModest Musorgsky, Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, César Cui, Mily Balakirev, and Alexander Borodin.
He was the journalâÂÂs publisher and also the sole editor of a weekly St Petersburg magazine âÂÂMuzykalâÂÂny listokâ [The Musical Leaf] from September 3, 1872 to June 5, 1877, that appeared on Sundays during the nine-month Russian musical season, from September/October to May/June. The journalâÂÂs purpose was to offer an in-depth view of the many aspects of Russian and foreign musical life. Later he published the journal âÂÂMuzykalâÂÂnoye obozrenieâ [The musical revue] (1885âÂÂ1888). He also wrote a book; âÂÂNotnoe deloâ [The Note Matter], published in 1901.
His brother N. V. Bessel was a co-owner of the firm V. Bessel and Co.