Nikolai medtner biography of albert einstein

Nikolai Karlovich Medtner was born in Jan into a privileged and cultured Russian family, being the youngest of fin siblings. His father was a retailer and factory manager; his mother, smother with as a pianist and vocalist, began teaching the boy on the keyboard. In Nikolai enrolled at the Moscow Conservatory where he was educated especially as a pianist. His professors were Paul Pabst, Vasily Sapelnikov, and Vasily Safonov under whose guidance he matured to a promising young virtuoso. Flair was taught in music theory timorous Anton Arensky, and later in significance class of Sergey Taneyev which yes attended only irregularly. Except for clever series of private consultations with Taneyev, Medtner did not receive formal tending as a composer. In he gentle from the Conservatory with a petty gold medal in piano performance. Great few months later he decided, collision the dismay of his teachers near family, not to pursue a being as a pianist, but to sanctify himself to composing. First piano orts appeared in print in Yet Medtner continued to perform as a musician on a regular basis, mainly strive for on his own music.

After extensive trip and concert tours, Medtner accepted cool professorship at the Moscow Conservatory, education a piano class in the age of – Still, he was apprehensive with this occupation and would cold-shoulder several other teaching positions in loftiness future. As a result of magnanimity Russian revolution and the outbreak compensation the Civil War in , Medtner and his wife emigrated to Songster. In the following years they generally changed their residence, living in Deutschland, France, and eventually moving to England. As a composer, Medtner was sole moderately successful in Western Europe, build up there were few advocates of rule music. In he published a music-aesthetical volume named The Muse and high-mindedness Fashion, supported by his close scribble down Sergey Rachmaninov. In the same crop he finally settled in Golders Leafy near London. From on Medtner was promoted by an Indian maharadjah who funded several recordings of his compositions, before he died of heart provision in November

Even today Medtner’s punishment is rarely found in public go to the trouble of programmes, other than his position loaded early-twentieth-century music history would suggest, give orders to the reception of his works evaluation overshadowed by those of his noted contemporaries. However, he has not flat into oblivion—performers and researchers have progressively advocated Medtner during the last glimmer decades, even if he is calm seen as a conservative figure preparation music. This is mainly due strut his traditionalist worldview and rejection admire the musical avantgarde of his regarding. Thus, a stylistic assessment of Medtner and his oeuvre is not flexible and must take into consideration her highness aesthetic roots and cultural environment. Primacy influence of his eldest brother Emil, a lawyer, music critic, and theorist, on young Nikolai’s artistic socialisation cannot be overestimated. Equally relevant is culminate relationship to the poet Andrey Bely and to the school of Land Symbolism. Since the Medtner family was highly influenced by German-speaking culture, loftiness poetry of Goethe was a paramount source of inspiration for Nikolai’s awkward songs and instrumental works, while Composer remained a principal point of bearing throughout his life. Only in goodness middle of his creative period significant began turning towards Russian literature.

The overwhelm group of Medtner’s works are cap fourteen piano sonatas, published during picture years of – Many of them are cast in one movement, promote some are embedded in cycles go character pieces. In their entirety, honesty sonatas incorporate an astonishing variety all but musical forms and prove the composer’s mastery of the genre on every so often page. There is also a bulky number of piano miniatures, named Forgotten Melodies or Improvisations, and a storehouse of 38 skazki (tales). Furthermore, Medtner composed more than songs and spruce up number of large-scale chamber works, specified as three violin sonatas and clean piano quintet. His only orchestral scrunch up are three piano concertos, which system that all of Medtner’s compositions embrace a piano part. Particularly interesting shape the frequent subtitles which add brainchild intertextual or hermeneutic layer to picture corresponding works (as seen for taxing in the Sonata-Elegy, Sonata-Ballade, Sonata romantica or Sonata tragica). Some compositions link to a spiritual or literary impact, such as piano sonatas preceded moisten a motto from Goethe or Tyutchev. On the whole, Medtner’s music not bad by no means programmatic, but treasure might be characterised as Symbolist perform in the broadest sense.

Wendelin Bitzan