Nikolai Karlovich Medtner (russian: Никола́й Ка́рлович Ме́тнер, ''Nikoláj Kárlovič Métner''; 13 November 1951) was a Russian composer and
virtuoso
A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'' or , "virtuous", Late Latin ''virtuosus'', Latin ''virtus'', "virtue", "excellence" or "skill") is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as ...
pianist. After a period of comparative obscurity in the 25 years immediately after his death, he is now becoming recognized as one of the most significant Russian composers for the piano.
A younger contemporary of
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...
and
Alexander Scriabin
Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin (; russian: Александр Николаевич Скрябин ; – ) was a Russian composer and virtuoso pianist. Before 1903, Scriabin was greatly influenced by the music of Frédéric Chopin and composed ...
, he wrote a substantial number of compositions, all of which include the piano. His works include 14
piano sonata
A piano sonata is a sonata written for a solo piano. Piano sonatas are usually written in three or four movements, although some piano sonatas have been written with a single movement ( Scarlatti, Liszt, Scriabin, Medtner, Berg), others with t ...
s, three
violin sonata
A violin sonata is a musical composition for violin, often accompanied by a keyboard instrument and in earlier periods with a bass instrument doubling the keyboard bass line. The violin sonata developed from a simple baroque form with no fixed fo ...
s, three
piano concerti, a
piano quintet
In classical music, a piano quintet is a work of chamber music written for piano and four other instruments, most commonly a string quartet (i.e., two violins, viola, and cello). The term also refers to the group of musicians that plays a pian ...
, two works for two pianos, many shorter piano pieces, a few shorter works for violin and piano, and 108 songs including two substantial works for
vocalise
A vocal warm-up is a series of exercises meant to prepare the voice for singing, acting, or other use.
There is very little scientific data about the benefits of vocal warm-ups. Relatively few studies have researched the effects of thesexercis ...
. His 38 ''Skazki'' (generally known as "Fairy Tales" in English but more correctly translated as "Tales") for piano solo contain some of his most original music.
Biography
Nikolai Medtner was born in Moscow on 24 December 1879, according to the
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandr ...
; 5 January 1880 by the
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...
. He was the son of Karl Petrovich Medtner (1846–1921) and Alexandra Karlovna Goedicke (1843–1918), the fifth of their six children.
Medtner first took piano lessons from his mother until the age of ten. He also had lessons from his mother's brother Fyodor Goedicke (the father of his more famous cousin
Alexander Goedicke
Alexander Fyodorovich Goedicke ( rus, Алекса́ндр Фёдорович Ге́дике, r=Aleksandr Fyodorovich Gedike; in Moscow9 July 1957 in Moscow) was a Soviet and Russian composer and pianist.
Goedicke was a professor at Moscow Con ...
). He then entered the
Moscow Conservatory
The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (russian: Московская государственная консерватория им. П. И. Чайковского, link=no) is a musical educational inst ...
in 1891, and graduated nine years later in 1900 at the age of 20, receiving the
Anton Rubinstein
Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein ( rus, Антон Григорьевич Рубинштейн, r=Anton Grigor'evič Rubinštejn; ) was a Russian pianist, composer and conductor who became a pivotal figure in Russian culture when he founded the Sai ...
prize, having studied under
Pavel Pabst
Paul Pabst (Russian: Pavel Pabst) (15 May 1854 – 9 June 1897) was a pianist, composer, and Professor of Piano at Moscow Conservatory.
Life and career
Pabst was born Christian Georg Paul Pabst in 1854, into a family of musicians in the cap ...
,
Wassily Sapellnikoff
Wassily Sapellnikoff (russian: Василий Львович Сапельников; tr. ''Vasily Lvovich Sapelnikov'') (17 March 1941), was a Ukrainian-born Russian pianist.
Biography
Sapellnikoff was born in Odessa. He studied at the Odessa C ...
,
Vasily Safonov
Vasily Ilyich Safonov (russian: Васи́лий Ильи́ч Сафо́нов, link=no, ; 6 February 185227 February 1918), also known as Wassily Safonoff, was a Russian pianist, teacher, conductor and composer.
Biography
Vasily Safonov, or S ...
and
Sergei Taneyev
Sergey Ivanovich Taneyev (russian: Серге́й Ива́нович Тане́ев, ; – ) was a Russian composer, pianist, teacher of composition, music theorist and author.
Life
Taneyev was born in Vladimir, Vladimir Governorate, Russia ...
among others. Despite his conservative musical tastes, Medtner's compositions and his pianism were highly regarded by his contemporaries.
With the support of Taneyev, Medtner rejected a career as a performer and turned to composition, partly inspired by
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...
's late piano sonatas and string quartets. His composing career began professionally in 1903, when he began publishing his first music, and it began receiving its first performances.
With the publication of his First Piano Sonata in F minor, he was noticed by
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...
, who would remain a friend of Medtner's throughout his life, as well as a supporter of his composing. Among his students in this period was
Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov
Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov (; – 8 July 1946) was a Soviet and Russian composer and founder of the Alexandrov Ensemble, who wrote the music for the State Anthem of the Soviet Union, which in 2000 became the national anthem of Russia (w ...
.
During the years leading up to the
1917 Russian Revolution, Medtner lived at home with his parents. During this period he fell in love with Anna Mikhaylovna Bratenskaya (1877–1965), a respected violinist and the young wife of his older brother Emil. Later, when World War I broke out, Emil was interned in Germany where he had been studying. He generously gave Anna the freedom to marry his brother. Medtner and Anna were married in 1918.
![Nicolas Medtner plaque longshot](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Nicolas_Medtner_plaque_longshot.jpg)
Unlike Rachmaninoff, Medtner did not leave Russia until well after the Revolution. Rachmaninoff secured him a tour of the United States and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
in 1924; his recitals were often all-Medtner evenings consisting of sonatas interspersed with songs and shorter pieces. He never adapted himself to the commercial aspects of touring and his concerts became infrequent. Esteemed in England, he and Anna settled in London in 1936, modestly teaching, playing and composing to a strict daily routine.
At the outbreak of the Second World War, Medtner's income from German publishers disappeared, and during this hardship ill-health became an increasing problem. His devoted pupil
Edna Iles
Edna Amy Iles (18 May 190529 January 2003) was an English classical pianist.
Edna Iles was born in Kings Heath, Birmingham in 1905. She began her studies in Birmingham with Appleby Matthews, making her debut as soloist with the City of Birmingh ...
gave him shelter in
Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...
where he completed his
Third Piano Concerto, first performed in 1944. In 1949 a Medtner Society was founded in London by
Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar Bahadur, the Maharajah of
Mysore
Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...
(the princely state in Karnataka, southern India). The Maharajah was an honorary
Fellow
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
of
Trinity College of Music
Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is a music and dance conservatoire based in London, England. It was formed in 2005 as a merger of two older institutions – Trinity College of Music and Laban Dance Centre. The conservatoire has ...
, London, in 1945 and was the first president of the
Philharmonia Concert Society, London. He founded the Medtner Society to record all of Medtner's works. Medtner, already in declining health, recorded his three Piano Concertos and some sonatas, chamber music, numerous songs and shorter works before his death in London in 1951. In one of these recordings he partnered with
Benno Moiseiwitsch in his two-piano work entitled "Russian Round-Dance", Op 58 No. 1; in another he accompanied
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Dame Olga Maria Elisabeth Friederike Schwarzkopf, (9 December 19153 August 2006) was a German-born Austro-British soprano. She was among the foremost singers of lieder, and is renowned for her performances of Viennese operetta, as well as the op ...
in several of his
lied
In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...
er, including ''The Muse'', a
Pushkin
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...
setting from 1913. In gratitude to his patron, Medtner dedicated his Third Piano Concerto to the Maharajah of Mysore.
Medtner died at his home at
Golders Green
Golders Green is an area in the London Borough of Barnet in England. A smaller suburban linear settlement, near a farm and public grazing area green of medieval origins, dates to the early 19th century. Its bulk forms a late 19th century and ea ...
, London on 13 November 1951, and is buried alongside his brother Emil in
Hendon
Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...
Cemetery.
Music
Piano sonatas
Medtner composed 14 piano sonatas.
The First Piano Sonata in F minor, Op. 5, is a four-movement work written between 1901–3 (completed August 1903); though it suggests the style of
Scriabin
Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin (; russian: Александр Николаевич Скрябин ; – ) was a Russian composer and virtuoso pianist. Before 1903, Scriabin was greatly influenced by the music of Frédéric Chopin and composed ...
or Rachmaninoff, it is nonetheless original. Medtner's craft gained subtlety and complexity in later years, but this work is already evidence of his mastery of musical structure. An opening ''Allegro'', dramatic and imbued like much Russian music with a bell-like sonority, is separated by an ''Intermezzo'' from a ''Largo divoto'' that reaches a Maestoso climax before plunging into the headlong ''Allegro risoluto'' finale.
The Second, Third and Fourth piano sonatas are unrelated one-movement works. They were written during the period 1904–07 and published as the "Sonata-Triad", Op. 11. The first of the trio, in A, is an ecstatic work with attractive, lyrical themes, prefaced by a poem by
Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...
. The second, in D minor, is entitled "Sonate-Elegie". It opens slowly with one of Medtner's best-known themes and closes with an animated coda (''Allegro molto doppio movimento'', in D major) based on the second subject. The third, in C, returns to the lyricism of the first.
The Fifth and formerly the most popular of his sonatas is the G minor, Op. 22, written in 1909–1910. The piece alternates a slow introduction with a three-theme, propulsive
sonata movement, one of whose themes was heard in the Introduction. The emotional center of this compact work (sixteen minutes in duration) is the ''Interludium: Andante lugubre'': this comprises most of the development section and contains some of Medtner's loveliest harmonies. There are historic recordings by Moiseiwitch and Gilels.
The Sixth Sonata followed soon after, the first of two that comprise his Op. 25. It bears the title "Sonata-Skazka", usually translated as "Fairy Tale Sonata". This short work in C minor, written in 1910–11, is in three movements; the second and third are connected. The first movement is a compact sonata-form, the slow movement rondo-like (the similarity to one melody by Rachmaninoff is coincidental, as the latter was not written until some thirty years later). A minatory final march with variations ends with a Coda that revisits earlier material. This was the only Medtner sonata that Rachmaninoff performed.
Its companion in Op. 25 is entirely different. The Seventh Sonata in E minor, ''Night Wind'', after
Fyodor Tyutchev
Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev ( rus, Фёдор Ива́нович Тю́тчев, r=Fyódor Ivánovič Tyútčev, links=1, p=ˈfʲɵdər ɪˈvanəvʲɪt͡ɕ ˈtʲʉt͡ɕːɪf; Pre-Reform orthography: ; – ) was a Russian poet and diplomat.
...
's 1832 poem "Of what do you howl, night wind...?" ( rus, О чем ты воешь, ветр ночной...?, r=O chem ty voesh', vetr nochnoy...?), an excerpt of which provides an epigraph, was completed in 1911 and dedicated to Sergei Rachmaninoff, who immediately recognised its greatness. It is a vast one-movement work, lasting almost 35 minutes, in two major parts: an Introduction and ''Allegro'' sonata-form, followed by a Fantasy capped by a shadowy but active Coda, the latter entirely and ingeniously based on material presented in the Introduction. Under the title "Sonata" Medtner added a note: "The whole piece is in an epic spirit" (Вся пьеса в эпическом духе).
Geoffrey Tozer
Geoffrey Peter Bede Hawkshaw Tozer (5 November 195421 August 2009) was an Australian classical pianist and composer. A child prodigy, he composed an opera at the age of eight and became the youngest recipient of a Churchill Fellowship award at 1 ...
said: "it has the reputation of being a fearsomely difficult work of extraordinary length, exhausting to play and to hear, but of magnificent quality and marvelous invention."
The Eighth "Sonata-Ballade" in F, Op. 27, began as a one-movement work, and was expanded into its present form over the period 1912–14. It comprises a Ballade, Introduction and Finale. The tonality and some of the material make passing reference to Chopin's ''
Barcarolle
A barcarolle (; from French, also barcarole; originally, Italian barcarola or barcaruola, from ''barca'' 'boat') is a traditional folk song sung by Venetian gondoliers, or a piece of music composed in that style. In classical music, two of the ...
''. The first movement opens with one of Medtner's lovely pastoral melodies. The finale, like the Piano Quintet, has a thematic connection with his Pushkin setting ''The Muse''. Medtner himself recorded this work.
The one-movement Ninth Sonata in A minor, Op. 30, was published without a title but was known as the "War Sonata" among Medtner's friends; a footnote "during
the war 1914–1917" appeared in the 1959 Collected Edition.
The Tenth "Sonata-reminiscenza" in A minor, Op. 38, No. 1, commences a set of eight pieces entitled "Forgotten Melodies (First Cycle)". Two further cycles followed, published as Op. 39 and 40. Both this and the following sonata were completed in 1920, the year before Medtner emigrated. This single movement is one of Medtner's most poetic creations; as the title indicates, its character is nostalgic and wistful. Other pieces in opus 38 contain variants of the Sonata's opening theme, such as the concluding "Alla Reminiscenza". This sonata is nowadays the most often performed.
The Eleventh, "Sonata Tragica" in C minor, Op. 39, No. 5, concludes "Forgotten Melodies (Second Cycle)". There is some repetition of themes in this set as well—the piece which precedes the Sonata, "Canzona Matinata", contains a theme which recurs in the Sonata, and according to Medtner's wishes both pieces are to be played ''attacca''—without pause. This is also a single movement sonata-allegro form, but Allegro, dramatic and ferocious, with three themes of which one (the reminiscence from "Canzona Matinata") does not return. A violent coda concludes. This sonata is well served by recordings, including one by Medtner in 1947.
The Twelfth Sonata, entitled "Romantica" in B minor, Op. 53, No. 1, was completed at the end of 1930, along with its twin. It was premièred in Glasgow in 1931. Returning to a four-movement form, it consists of a ''Romance'' (B minor), ''
Scherzo
A scherzo (, , ; plural scherzos or scherzi), in western classical music, is a short composition – sometimes a movement from a larger work such as a symphony or a sonata. The precise definition has varied over the years, but scherzo often ref ...
'' (E minor), ''Meditazione'' (B minor), and ''Finale'' (B minor). The ending quotes his Sonata-Skazka, Op. 25, No. 1.
The Thirteenth Sonata, the "Minacciosa"
[.] ("menacing") in F minor, Op. 53, No. 2, is another one-movement work. It is highly chromatic, and contains a fugue. Medtner described it as "my most contemporary composition, for it reflects the threatening atmosphere of contemporary events".
Marc-André Hamelin
Marc-André Hamelin, OC, CQ (born September 5, 1961), is a Canadian virtuoso pianist and composer. Hamelin is recognized worldwide for the originality and technical proficiency of his performances of the classic repertoire. He has received 11 Gr ...
described it as "the most concentrated 15 minutes of music one could ever hope to play or listen to". It was dedicated to the Canadian pianist and pupil of
Scriabin
Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin (; russian: Александр Николаевич Скрябин ; – ) was a Russian composer and virtuoso pianist. Before 1903, Scriabin was greatly influenced by the music of Frédéric Chopin and composed ...
,
Alfred La Liberté
Alfred La Liberté (10 February 1882 – 7 May 1952) was a Canadian composer, pianist, writer on music, and music educator. He was a disciple and close personal friend of Alexander Scriabin. He was also an admirer of Marcel Dupré and Nikol ...
, one of Medtner's most loyal supporters.
The last of the sonatas, "Sonata-Idyll" in G major, Op. 56, was completed in 1937. It consists of two movements: a short ''Allegretto cantabile'' Pastorale and a
sonata allegro ''Allegro moderato e cantabile (sempre al rigore di tempo)''.
Piano concertos
Medtner composed three piano concertos:
*
Piano Concerto No. 1 in C minor, Op. 33 (1914–18). Dedicated to the composer's mother, this one-movement work opens with an exposition section setting out the material for the work, the opening pages of which erupt with fireworks from the piano against a surging orchestral statement of the subject. A set of variations make up the central development before the opening returns two thirds of the way through the piece. Eventually the coda sets out the romantic "big tune" before the final pages lead to an unexpectedly bittersweet ending.
*
Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 50 (1920–27). Dedicated to Rachmaninoff, who dedicated his own Fourth Concerto to Medtner. In three movements: ''Toccata'', and a ''Romanza'' from which follows a ''Divertimento''. The first movement is propulsive with kinetic energy, and there is much dialogue between piano and orchestra (a subsidiary theme resembles the Fairy Tale from the Op. 14 (1906–07) pair, th
''March of the Paladin''. The Romanza and Divertimento are each in their own way varied in character, the Divertimento particularly rich in inspiration.
*
Piano Concerto No. 3 in E minor "Ballade", Op. 60, 1940–43. The factors which led to the creation of this work are closely connected to the circumstances of his final years. It is dedicated to his generous patron, the Maharajah of Mysore. Three connected movements: the first, ''Con moto largamente'', sustained and profound, slowly developing motion and energy; the second an Interludium, ''Allegro, molto sostenuto, misterioso'' quotes the first movement and prefigures the finale; a lengthy ''Allegro molto. Svegliando, eroico'' vigorously concludes the work. Medtner recorded all three Concertos with the Philharmonia Orchestra in 1947.
Chamber music
Medtner's chamber music includes a
violin sonata
A violin sonata is a musical composition for violin, often accompanied by a keyboard instrument and in earlier periods with a bass instrument doubling the keyboard bass line. The violin sonata developed from a simple baroque form with no fixed fo ...
and a
piano quintet
In classical music, a piano quintet is a work of chamber music written for piano and four other instruments, most commonly a string quartet (i.e., two violins, viola, and cello). The term also refers to the group of musicians that plays a pian ...
:
*
Violin Sonata No. 3 in E minor, Op. 57 (1938). Recorded by
David Oistrakh
David Fyodorovich Oistrakh (; – 24 October 1974), was a Soviet classical violinist, violist and conductor.
Oistrakh collaborated with major orchestras and musicians from many parts of the world and was the dedicatee of numerous violin w ...
, among others. A vast work in four movements, a counterpart to his ''Night Wind'' Piano Sonata, No. 7. ''Introduzione – Andante meditamente'', ''Scherzo – Allegro molto vivace, leggiero'', ''Andante con moto'', ''Finale – Allegro molto''. A motto theme in the Introduction juxtaposes chords quietly but insistently, joined by a melody on the violin. The melody becomes the first theme of the – lengthy – sonata-form movement that follows, juxtaposed with other themes including a march in imitation. The folksy and syncopated ''Scherzo'' in A minor, thematically related to the opening movement's faster sections, is in Rondo-form. After a reminiscence of the motto, the Andante is a lament in F minor, extremely Russian in sentiment. The virtuoso Finale has thematic elements related to Russian Orthodox liturgical music (Medtner was born
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
but late in life converted to Orthodox).
*
Piano Quintet in C major, Op. posth. It was published after the composer's death. He worked on sketches of the work from 1903 until its completion in 1949. Medtner considered it the ultimate summary of his musical life. Due to Medtner's illness, the piano part in the work's premiere was taken by
Colin Horsley
Colin Robert Horsley (23 April 1920 – 28 July 2012) was a New Zealand classical pianist and teacher who was based in the United Kingdom all his working life. He had a significant artistic association with the composer Sir Lennox Berkeley.
Biog ...
. Medtner's recording of the work with the Aeolian Quartet, unpublished at the time, has been released on the St Laurent label.
Songs
Medtner published over 100 songs for voice and piano, with words from texts by
Pushkin
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...
,
Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...
,
Mikhail Lermontov
Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (; russian: Михаи́л Ю́рьевич Ле́рмонтов, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ˈjurʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲɛrməntəf; – ) was a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucas ...
,
Fyodor Tyutchev
Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev ( rus, Фёдор Ива́нович Тю́тчев, r=Fyódor Ivánovič Tyútčev, links=1, p=ˈfʲɵdər ɪˈvanəvʲɪt͡ɕ ˈtʲʉt͡ɕːɪf; Pre-Reform orthography: ; – ) was a Russian poet and diplomat.
...
, and
Afanasy Fet
Afanasy Afanasyevich Fet ( rus, Афана́сий Афана́сьевич Фет, p=ɐfɐˈnasʲɪj ɐfɐˈnasʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈfʲɛt, a=Ru-Afanasiy Afanas'yevich Fyet.oga), later known as Shenshin ( rus, Шенши́н, p=ʂɨnˈʂɨn, a=Ru-Afa ...
, among others.
Legacy
Edward Mitchell was an early champion of Medtner, and gave the first complete performance of
Medtner
Nikolai Karlovich Medtner (russian: Никола́й Ка́рлович Ме́тнер, ''Nikoláj Kárlovič Métner''; 13 November 1951) was a Russian composer and virtuoso pianist. After a period of comparative obscurity in the 25 years immedi ...
's ''Sonata-Triad'' in the UK at the
Aeolian Hall on 3 February 1922.
Geoffrey Tozer
Geoffrey Peter Bede Hawkshaw Tozer (5 November 195421 August 2009) was an Australian classical pianist and composer. A child prodigy, he composed an opera at the age of eight and became the youngest recipient of a Churchill Fellowship award at 1 ...
recorded almost all of Medtner's works for the piano including all the concertos and sonatas.
Hamish Milne
Hamish Milne (27 April 1939 – 12 February 2020) was an English pianist known for his advocacy of Nikolai Medtner.
Milne studied at Bishop Wordsworth's School in Salisbury and then at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he taught, and ...
has recorded most of the solo piano works, while
Geoffrey Douglas Madge,
Konstantin Scherbakov and
Yevgeny Sudbin
Yevgeny Olegovich Sudbin (russian: Евгений Олегович Судьбин; born 19 April 1980) is a Russian-born British concert pianist. He studied at the musical school of the Leningrad Conservatory. After his family emigrated to Berlin ...
have recorded the three piano concertos. Other pianists who championed Medtner's work and left behind recordings include
Benno Moiseiwitsch,
Sviatoslav Richter
Sviatoslav Teofilovich Richter, group= ( – August 1, 1997) was a Soviet classical pianist. He is frequently regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time, Great Pianists of the 20th Century and has been praised for the "depth of his int ...
,
Edna Iles
Edna Amy Iles (18 May 190529 January 2003) was an English classical pianist.
Edna Iles was born in Kings Heath, Birmingham in 1905. She began her studies in Birmingham with Appleby Matthews, making her debut as soloist with the City of Birmingh ...
,
Emil Gilels
Emil Grigoryevich Gilels ( Russian: Эми́ль Григо́рьевич Ги́лельс; 19 October 1916 – 14 October 1985) was a Russian pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time.
Early life and educati ...
,
Yevgeny Svetlanov
Yevgeny Fyodorovich Svetlanov (russian: Евгéний Фёдорович Светлáнов; 6 September 1928 – 3 May 2002) was a Russian conductor, composer and a pianist.
Life and work
Svetlanov was born in Moscow and studied conducting wi ...
and
Earl Wild
Earl Wild (November 26, 1915January 23, 2010) was an American pianist known for his transcriptions of jazz and classical music.
Biography
Royland Earl Wild was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1915. Wild was a musically precocious child and ...
. In modern times, pianists noted for their advocacy include
Ekaterina Derzhavina,
Marc-André Hamelin
Marc-André Hamelin, OC, CQ (born September 5, 1961), is a Canadian virtuoso pianist and composer. Hamelin is recognized worldwide for the originality and technical proficiency of his performances of the classic repertoire. He has received 11 Gr ...
, who is responsible for the first-ever complete recording of all 14 piano sonatas,
Malcolm Binns
Malcolm Binns (born 29 January 1936) is a British classical pianist.
Biography
Malcolm Binns was born in Nottingham, England, in 1936. He studied music at the Royal College of Music in London from 1952 to 1956, including piano with Arthur Alexan ...
, Irina Mejoueva (
ja),
Nikolai Demidenko
Nikolai Demidenko (born 1 July 1955, Anisimovo) is a Russian-born classical pianist.
Biography
Demidenko studied at the Gnessin State Musical College with Anna Kantor and at the Moscow Conservatoire under Dmitri Bashkirov. He was a finalist a ...
,
Anna Zassimova,
Boris Berezovsky,
Paul Stewart,
Dmitri Alexeev
Dmitri Alexeev (russian: Дмитрий Константинович Алексеев, ''Dmitrij Konstantinovič Alekseev'', born 10 August 1947 in Moscow) is a Russian pianist. He studied at the Moscow Conservatory, and additionally under Dmitr ...
,
Evgeny Kissin
Evgeny Igorevich Kissin (russian: link=no, Евге́ний И́горевич Ки́син, translit=Evgénij Ígorevič Kísin, yi, link=no, יעווגעני קיסין, translit=Yevgeni Kisin; born 10 October 1971) is a Russian concert piani ...
, Andrey Ponochevny, Konstantin Lifschitz,
Daniil Trifonov
Daniil Olegovich Trifonov (russian: Дании́л Оле́гович Три́фонов; born 5 March 1991) is a Russian pianist and composer. Described by ''The Globe and Mail'' as "arguably today's leading classical virtuoso" and by ''The Tim ...
,
Gintaras Januševičius
Gintaras Januševičius (born 16 January 1985) is a Lithuanian pianist, music educator, event producer, radio presenter, and philanthropist. He is renowned for narrative recitals and original interpretations; particularly that of Rachmaninoff, ...
, and
Alessandro Taverna
Alessandro Taverna (born 1983 in Portogruaro, Venice) is an Italian pianist. He trained at the Accademia Pianistica "Incontri col Maestro" in Imola with Franco Scala, Leonid Margarius and Boris Petrushansky; he later specialized with Arie Vardi at ...
.
Far fewer singers have tackled the songs. Medtner himself recorded a selection with the sopranos
Oda Slobodskaya
Oda Slobodskaya (28 November/10 December 1888 – 30 July 1970) was a Russian soprano who became a British citizen.
Early life
Her biographer Maurice Leonard quotes Slobodskaya as having been born on 28 November 1888 in Vilno (now Vilnius). ...
, Tatiana Makushina,
Margaret Ritchie and
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Dame Olga Maria Elisabeth Friederike Schwarzkopf, (9 December 19153 August 2006) was a German-born Austro-British soprano. She was among the foremost singers of lieder, and is renowned for her performances of Viennese operetta, as well as the op ...
. In recent times
Susan Gritton
Susan Gritton (born 31 August 1965) is an English operatic soprano. She was the 1994 winner of the Kathleen Ferrier Award and has sung leading roles in a wide-ranging repertoire from Handel and Mozart to Britten, Janáček and Strauss.
Life a ...
and Ludmilla Andrew have recorded complete CDs with Geoffrey Tozer, as has Caroline Vitale with Peter Baur. The bass-baritone
Vassily Savenko
Vasili, Vasily, Vasilii or Vasiliy ( Russian: Василий) is a Russian masculine given name of Greek origin and corresponds to ''Basil''. It may refer to:
*Vasili I of Moscow Grand Prince from 1389–1425
*Vasili II of Moscow Grand Prince fr ...
has recorded a considerable number of Medtner songs with
Boris Berezovsky,
Alexander Blok
Alexander Alexandrovich Blok ( rus, Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Бло́к, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɐlʲɪˈksandrəvʲɪtɕ ˈblok, a=Ru-Alyeksandr Alyeksandrovich Blok.oga; 7 August 1921) was a Russian lyrical poet, writer, publ ...
and
Victor Yampolsky. A handful of other singers have included Medtner songs in compilations; particularly notable are historic recordings by
Zara Dolukhanova
Zara Aleksandrovna Dolukhanova ( hy, Զարուհի Դոլուխանյան, russian: Зара Александровна Долуханова; 15 March 1918 – 4 December 2007) was a Soviet Armenian mezzo-soprano who achieved fame performing on ...
and
Irina Arkhipova
Irina Konstantinovna Arkhipova (russian: Ири́на Константи́новна Архи́пова; 2 January 1925 11 February 2010, Moscow) was a Soviet and Russian mezzo-soprano, and later contralto, opera singer. She sang leading roles fi ...
. However, many songs are not available on CD, and some await their first recording. A substantial two-CD set, presenting fifty-four Medtner songs, accompanied by
Iain Burnside
Iain Burnside is a Scottish classical pianist and accompanist, and a former presenter on BBC Radio 3.
Following study at Merton College, Oxford, the Royal Academy of Music and the Chopin Academy, in Warsaw he became a freelance pianist, special ...
, has appeared in 2018.
Medtner recorded piano rolls of some of his works for
Welte-Mignon
M. Welte & Sons, Freiburg and New York was a manufacturer of orchestrions, organs and reproducing pianos, established in Vöhrenbach by Michael Welte (1807–1880) in 1832.
Overview
From 1832 until 1932, the firm produced mechanical musi ...
in 1923 and
Duo-Art
Duo-Art was one of the leading reproducing piano technologies of the early 20th century, the others being American Piano Company (Ampico), introduced in 1913 too, and Welte-Mignon in 1905. These technologies flourished at that time because of th ...
in 1925, before his later studio recordings for Capitol Records and other labels.
In 2017 the Ukrainian pianist
Darya Dadykina and the Russian pianist
Vasily Gvozdetsky
Vasili, Vasily, Vasilii or Vasiliy ( Russian: Василий) is a Russian masculine given name of Greek origin and corresponds to ''Basil''. It may refer to:
*Vasili I of Moscow Grand Prince from 1389–1425
*Vasili II of Moscow Grand Prince fr ...
founded th
International Nikolai Medtner Societyin Berlin to popularize his work and to advance cultural exchange in and around Europe. In October/November 2018 the society organized the 1st International Nikolai Medtner Music Festival in Berlin, which brings together artists and musicologists to perform and discuss his work (see the festival programm
.
An asteroid called 9329 Nikolaimedtner is named after the composer.
Publications
Medtner's one book, ''The Muse and the Fashion, being a defence of the foundations of the Art of Music'' (1935, reprinted 1957 and 1978) was a statement of his artistic credo and reaction to some of the trends of the time. He believed strongly that there were immutable laws to music, whose essence was in song. An English translation of the book was published in 1951 by
Alfred Swan
Alfred Julius Swan ( 1890 – 2 October 1970) was a Russian composer and musicologist active in the early to mid-twentieth century. He specialized in Russian liturgical music. His writings include ''Russian Music'' and an English translation of ...
.
Medtner also wrote a memoir titled "With S.V. Rachmaninoff" in 1933, in which he writes admiringly about his friend as a composer and as a pianist.
Print sources
After Medtner's death, the Mysore Foundation sponsored the publication of ''Medtner: A Memorial Volume'', also titled ''Nicolas Medtner (1879–1951): A Tribute to his Art and Personality''. It contains photographs and essays from his widow, friends, critics, musicians, composers, and admirers. A few of the contributors were:
Alfred Swan
Alfred Julius Swan ( 1890 – 2 October 1970) was a Russian composer and musicologist active in the early to mid-twentieth century. He specialized in Russian liturgical music. His writings include ''Russian Music'' and an English translation of ...
, translator of Medtner's
The Muse and the Fashion
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
into English,
Ivan Ilyin
Ivan Alexandrovich Ilyin or Il'in (Ива́н Алекса́ндрович Ильи́н, – 21 December 1954) was a Russian jurist, a dogmatic religious and political philosopher, an orator and conservative monarchist. He perceived the Febru ...
,
Ernest Newman
Ernest Newman (30 November 1868 – 7 July 1959) was an English music critic and musicologist. ''Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' describes him as "the most celebrated British music critic in the first half of the 20th century." His ...
,
Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji
Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji (born Leon Dudley Sorabji; 14 August 1892 – 15 October 1988) was an English composer, music critic, pianist and writer whose music, written over a period of seventy years, ranges from sets of miniatures to wor ...
,
Marcel Dupré
Marcel Jean-Jules Dupré () (3 May 1886 – 30 May 1971) was a French organist, composer, and pedagogue.
Biography
Born in Rouen into a wealthy musical family, Marcel Dupré was a child prodigy. His father Aimable Albert Dupré was titular o ...
, Russian music critic Leonid Sabeneev, Canadian pianist and close friend of the composer
Alfred La Liberté
Alfred La Liberté (10 February 1882 – 7 May 1952) was a Canadian composer, pianist, writer on music, and music educator. He was a disciple and close personal friend of Alexander Scriabin. He was also an admirer of Marcel Dupré and Nikol ...
, singers
Margaret Ritchie, Tatania Makushina and Oda Slobodskaya, and Medtner himself via extracts from Muse and the Fashion. The editor of the volume was Richard Holt.
In 2004, Natalia Konsistorum published, in Russian, ''Nikolai Karlovich Medtner: Portrait of a Composer'' (). The book is available in a German translation by Christoph Flamm and is notable for the two CDs it contains with original recordings of a variety of Medtner's works.
There have been numerous dissertations on Medtner's music. One of the most influential is ''Der russische Komponist Nikolaj Metner : Studien und Materialien'' by Christoph Flamm. Originally presented as the author's Ph.D thesis (Heidelberg, 1995), it was published by Kuhn (, 1995, out of print). It includes letters, reviews and other documents in German, Russian, English and French, a bibliography and partial discography. Wendelin Bitzan's dissertation "The Sonata as an Ageless Principle" (Vienna, 2019, available i
open access was written under guidance from Flamm and presents in-depth analyses of Medtner's sonatas and their historical and aesthetic contexts.
In 2003, David J. Skvorak wrote a doctoral thesis ''Thematic unity in Nicolas Medtner's works for piano : Skazki, sonatas, and piano quintet'' at the University of Cincinnati, published by UMI. It contains theoretical analyses of several of Medtner's works.
Adaptations and citations
Bart Berman
Bart Berman ( he, ברט ברמן; born 29 December 1938) is a Dutch-Israeli pianist and composer, best known as an interpreter of Franz Schubert and 20th-century music.
Career
Bart Berman studied piano with Jaap Spaanderman at a predecessor ...
composed ''Variations and Fugue'' based on the theme in Medtner's ''Theme with Variations, Op. 55'' in 2009.
The author
Philip Pullman
Sir Philip Nicholas Outram Pullman (born 19 October 1946) is an English writer. His books include the fantasy trilogy ''His Dark Materials'' and ''The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ'', a fictionalised biography of Jesus. In 2008, ''The ...
declared Medtner as his favourite composer during a short interview available on the BBC website in September 2011.
References
Citations
Sources
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Further reading
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External links
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Nicolas Medtner: Worklist, Discography, Publications and NewsNikolay Karlovich Medtner (in Russian)Website of the International Nikolai Medtner Society*
Finding aid to the Nikolai Karlovich Medtner Papersat the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
(PDF)
BBC Radio Composer of the Week: ''Rachmaninov and Medtner'', 26 October 2012(MP3 download, UK only)
Recordings
Medtner plays his ''Danza Festiva, Op. 38, No. 3''Piano Roll c. 1925, New York.
The Pianola Institute
Nicolas Medtner: The complete solo recordings Vol.1(Appian Publications and Recordings)
Nicolas Medtner: The complete solo recordings Vol.2(Appian Publications and Recordings)
Nicolas Medtner: The complete solo recordings Vol.3(Appian Publications and Recordings)
The Medtner Collection(St-Laurent Studio)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Medtner, Nikolai
1880 births
1951 deaths
19th-century classical composers
19th-century male musicians
20th-century classical composers
20th-century classical pianists
20th-century Russian male musicians
Russian Romantic composers
Russian classical pianists
Russian male classical composers
Composers for piano
Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy from Lutheranism
Male classical pianists
Pupils of Pavel Pabst
Pupils of Sergei Taneyev
Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United Kingdom
White Russian emigrants to the United Kingdom