![Nikolai Rubinstein 1872](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Nikolai_Rubinstein_1872.jpg)
Nikolai Grigoryevich Rubinstein (russian: Николай Григорьевич Рубинштейн; – ) was a Russian
pianist
A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...
, conductor, and
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
. He was the younger brother of
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 Sa ...
and a close friend of
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
.
Life
Born to
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
parents in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, where his father had just opened a small factory, Rubinstein showed talent at the keyboard early on. He studied piano first with his mother, and while the family was in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
between 1844 and 1846, he studied piano with
Theodor Kullak
Theodor is a masculine given name. It is a German form of Theodore. It is also a variant of Teodor.
List of people with the given name Theodor
* Theodor Adorno, (1903–1969), German philosopher
* Theodor Aman, Romanian painter
* Theodor Blue ...
and
harmony
In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...
and
counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...
with Siegfried Dehn; during this time both he and his brother
Anton
Anton may refer to: People
*Anton (given name), including a list of people with the given name
*Anton (surname)
Places
*Anton Municipality, Bulgaria
**Anton, Sofia Province, a village
*Antón District, Panama
**Antón, a town and capital of th ...
attracted the interest and support of
Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sym ...
and
Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera ''Robert le d ...
. When the family returned to Moscow, Nikolai studied with
Alexander Villoing, who also toured with him. He studied medicine to avoid army conscription, graduating from
Moscow University in 1855.
![Rubinstein N & A Postcard-1910](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Rubinstein_N_%26_A_Postcard-1910.jpg)
As a result of his playing, Rubinstein was welcomed in all the fashionable artistocratic houses in Moscow. He co-founded the Moscow branch of the
Russian Musical Society
The Russian Musical Society (RMS) (russian: Русское музыкальное общество) was the first music school in Russia open to the general public. It was launched in 1859 by the Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna and Anton Rubinstei ...
in 1859 and 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 1866 with
Prince Nikolai Petrovitch Troubetzkoy, serving as director of the latter until his death in 1881. He hired
Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
, then newly graduated from the
Saint Petersburg Conservatory
The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory (russian: Санкт-Петербургская государственная консерватория имени Н. А. Римского-Корсакова) (formerly known as th ...
, to teach harmony at Moscow Conservatory. He actively encouraged Tchaikovsky's creative efforts and performed his compositions. Rubinstein and Tchaikovsky had a well-known falling-out over the latter's
First Piano Concerto, but Rubinstein later revised his position and became an ardent champion of the work. Rubinstein conducted the premiere of Tchaikovsky's opera ''
Eugene Onegin
''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' (Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Евгений Оне́гин, ромáн в стихáх, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɐˈnʲeɡʲɪn, r=Yevgeniy Onegin, roman v stikhakh) is ...
'' in 1879. Tchaikovsky wrote his
Piano Trio in A minor in Rubinstein's memory after he died from
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
.
Rubinstein also conducted and performed music of the nationalistic music group "
The Five" to a much greater degree than his brother. In 1869, when the group's leader,
Mily Balakirev
Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev (russian: Милий Алексеевич Балакирев,BGN/PCGN transliteration of Russian: Miliy Alekseyevich Balakirev; ALA-LC system: ''Miliĭ Alekseevich Balakirev''; ISO 9 system: ''Milij Alekseevič Balakir ...
, was forced to resign as conductor of the St. Petersburg branch of the Russian Musical Society, Rubinstein gave Balakirev his support,
playing at concerts of the Free Music School as Balakirev's guest. He also gave the first performance of Balakirev's piano work ''
Islamey
''Islamey: Oriental Fantasy'' (russian: Исламей: Восточная фантазия), is a composition for piano by Russian composer Mily Balakirev written in 1869. Harold C. Schonberg noted that ''Islamey'' was "at one time…considered t ...
'', the work for which he is best known today.
Pianism
Nikolai Rubinstein was generally regarded as one of the greatest pianists of his time, although now his reputation is overshadowed by that of his brother Anton. His pianistic style was quite at odds with that of his fiery brother. He instead opted for a restrained classicism more in line with the musical values of
Clara Schumann
Clara Josephine Schumann (; née Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German pianist, composer, and piano teacher. Regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era, she exerted her influence over the course of a ...
than
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...
.
Edward Garden
Edward James Clarke Garden (1930 – 23 September 2017), commonly known as Teddy Garden, was a British musicologist and academic. In 1969, he received a PhD from the University of Edinburgh for his thesis on "Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev". He was J ...
writes in the ''New Grove'' (2001), "His performances emphasized salient details of the structure of a piece and revealed great clarity of detail."
[Garden, ''New Grove (2001)'', 21:850.]
According to
Harold C. Schonberg
Harold Charles Schonberg (29 November 1915 – 26 July 2003) was an American music critic and author. He is best known for his contributions in ''The New York Times'', where he was List of chief music critics, chief music critic from 1960 to 198 ...
, Anton Rubinstein is reported to have said that "if Nikolai had really worked on it, he could have been the better pianist of the two."
[Schonberg, 279.] One of Nikolai's pupils,
Emil von Sauer
Emil Georg Conrad von Sauer (8 October 186227 April 1942) was a German composer, pianist, score editor, and music (piano) teacher. He was a pupil of Franz Liszt and one of the most distinguished pianists of his generation. Josef Hofmann called vo ...
, wrote a comparison of the two brothers' playing styles in 1895:
It is difficult to say which was the better pianist. In every way as different as the brothers were in personal appearance—the one dark, almost to blackness; the other very fair — so different was their playing. The playing of Nicholas was more like that of Tausig, only warmer and more impulsive. Perhaps Anton Rubinstein was the more inspired player of the two, but he was unequal. Nicholas never varied; his playing both in private and in public was always the same, and he kept up the same standard of excellence.
Students
Nikolai Rubinstein's best-known piano students were
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 ...
,
Emil von Sauer
Emil Georg Conrad von Sauer (8 October 186227 April 1942) was a German composer, pianist, score editor, and music (piano) teacher. He was a pupil of Franz Liszt and one of the most distinguished pianists of his generation. Josef Hofmann called vo ...
and
Alexander Siloti
Alexander Ilyich Siloti (also Ziloti, russian: Алекса́ндр Ильи́ч Зило́ти, ''Aleksandr Iljič Ziloti'', uk, Олександр Ілліч Зілоті; 9 October 1863 – 8 December 1945) was a Russian virtuoso pianist, ...
.
Sauer and Siloti went on to study under
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...
. His other notable pupils included
Ernst Jedliczka Ernst Jedliczka (24 May 1855 – 3 August 1904) was a Russian-German pianist, piano pedagogue, and music critic. The ''Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition'' stated that Jedliczka "did much to spread Russian music in Germany, placing Russian c ...
and
Henryk Pachulski.
As a composer
![Ngrubinstein grave](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Ngrubinstein_grave.JPG)
Rubinstein was also a composer of some note, though Garden dismisses his music as "unimportant.
Among his most popular works is his ''
Tarantella
() is a group of various southern Italian folk dances originating in the regions of Calabria, Campania and Puglia. It is characterized by a fast upbeat tempo, usually in time (sometimes or ), accompanied by tambourines. It is among the mo ...
'' in G minor and his
Fantasia
Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...
on a Theme by
Schumann
Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...
, both for piano solo. When asked why he did not compose more than he did, he replied that his brother Anton "composed enough for three."
[As quoted in Garden, ''New Grove (2001)'', 21:850.]
Worklist (incomplete)
* Op. 11 - Two mazurkas
* Op. 13 - Bolero
* Op. 14 - Tarentelle in G minor (pub. 1861 for solo piano; pub. 1877 for piano duet; also arranged for 2 pianos)
* Op. 15 - Polka for piano in E-flat major
* Op. 16 - Valse in A-flat major (later arranged for 2 pianos)
* Op. 17 - Scene de Bal (later arranged for 2 pianos)
* WoO - Two Feuilles d'Album
Notes
References
* Garden, Edward, ed. Stanley Sadie, ''New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Second Edition'' (London: Macmilian, 2001), 29 vols. .
* Maes, Francis, tr.
Arnold J. Pomerans
Arnold Julius Pomerans (27 April 1920 – 30 May 2005) was a German-born British translator.
Arnold Pomerans was born in Königsberg, Germany on 27 April 1920 to a Jewish family. Because of growing antisemitism in Germany the family left for ...
and Erica Pomerans, ''A History of Russian Music: From ''Kamarinskaya ''to'' Babi Yar (Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: University of California Press, 2002). .
* Schonberg, Harold C., ''The Great Pianists'' (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1987, 1963). .
Note regarding dedicationof Tchaikovsky's 1st Symphony to Rubinstein
L.A Philharmonicreference to Rubinstein and Tchaikovsky's String quartet No. 1
about Rubinstein's role in founding The Moscow State Conservatory
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rubinstein, Nikolai
1835 births
1881 deaths
19th-century classical composers
19th-century classical pianists
19th-century deaths from tuberculosis
19th-century male musicians
Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery
Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy from Judaism
Founders of Russian educational institutions
Jewish classical composers
Jewish classical pianists
Musicians from Moscow
Piano pedagogues
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Russian classical pianists
Male classical pianists
Russian Jews
Russian male classical composers
Russian music educators
Russian Romantic composers
Tuberculosis deaths in Russia