Nicolas Medtner the Man and His Music - Caterall, Makere Journal of Music

8/3/2019 Nicolas Medtner the Man and His Music - Caterall, Makere Journal of Music

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NICOLASMEDTNER,THE MANAND HIS MUSICYYONNE CATTERALL

Nicolas Medmer, the composer and pianisti was born in lUoscow n f880.His ancestors, who were German,had settled in.Russia at the end of the 18thcentury but Medmer was a true Russian - in his way of life, his RussianOrthodor Faith, and above all, in his music.,In the musical circles of the United States and the U.S.S.R. and to 1lesser extent in Europe, Medtnerls norie is well known as a composerofpiano music, songs, of which he wrote over a hun&ed, three magnificent pianodoncertos, and several works for violin and piano. It may seem surprisingthat the large public which goes to concerts and collects grarophone ricordsis not familiar with Medtner; but if one..remembers ow long it has taken forthe music of many of the greatest composers o be recognised for what it is,then Medtner is no phenooenon. One cannot say how much of the so calledmodern music will be heard in years to come, nor whethet the devastatingimpact made by Bartok and Stravinsky will be as stimulating for future genera-tions as it is for us. It is interesting to note that Lully in his day enioyedgreat popularity in fashionable circles and, indeed, influerrced most pow'erfully,public opinion on musical taste, while !ach, who was.almost his contem.pordyr produced his music in obscuriry and quietly pursued his own ideals.As we know it was not until one hun&ed years later that, thanks to Mendel-sohn, his music began to come into its own. And how often does one hearthe music of Lully to-day? Mozart was thought so little of during his lifetime,that no one knows where his body was buried, except that it was in a commrmalpauperst graye.

Nicolas Medtner qras an extraordinarily gifted child, but he was not aninfant prodigy. As a boy of six he started learning the piano aod two yearslater, with his brother Alerander, he succeeded in forning a small orchestrafrorn among his friends. At the age of twelve he entered Moscow Conservat-ory of Music, which had been founded in f866 by Nicolas Rubinstein (brotherof Anton, who had started the St. Petersburg Conservatory fow yearsprevigusly). Here, young Nicolas was to enter a world of complete dedica-tion to ao art, in a way that ooly the Russians rmderstand. Those eightyears of study with Safonov for the pianot and Taneyev had a gift for teach-ing which lre passed'on to Medmer - the ability to make each individualpupil think and feel in his own personal way. He was never known to play asingle note on the keyboard dudng a lesson. Al l his demonstrations weregiven on the lid of the piano! Of Taneyev, Rachmaninoff wrote in l9l5 inhis obituary .... "Through his personal example Taneyev taught us how tolive, to work, and even to speak, because he had his own tTaneyev way' ofspeaking - concise, clear, and to the ;toint. He only said what was

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MAKERERE IOURNALnecessary. This man never uttered superfluous words. He seemed to bethe personif icarion of 'Trwh on Eartht which pushkin's ,Salieri, rejected".At twenty Nicolas left the Conservatory, in the minds of all, a masterof his arr. He carried with him the ideals of Taneyev and.safonov - butnow he was alone and away from his professors and he had to think andwork for himself. The following nine years he devored to further study ofboth his subjects. one may be tempted to quesdon this long period ofsilence, but I knew Medtner only at the end of his life, and, like al l trueartistsr he was even then never satisfied with his work and he never resredin his search for trurh through the medium of his music. Dedication is , asI have hinted, a key word to the tmderstanding of the Russian character.Total dedication to his ar t is the key to an understanding of a person likeMedtner.

vhile still a young man, Nicolas toured the main cities of Europe and hewas acclaimed far and wide. It f,'as not, however, iust as a tor.ning virtuosopianist thar so many people flocked to hear him. He was making a name forhimself as an exceptionally gifted composer, and much of his music,particularly the first piano sonaa written in L904, was the talk of the dayin Moscow. All rhe young pianists were taking a lively interest in Medmertsmusic among them vladimir Horowitz who, some years later on the authorityof Julius Isserlis, gave ^ beautiful performaoce of the G minot sondtd, opt s22, in Kiev.Medtner was doing, in a lesser way, what Bach and Mozart had done

before him. He was making use of the musical material ro hand and usingthis to express his own unique ideas. He was, as it were, working withinthe &ame - the ftame of tonaliry. For him, this was freedom enough. Hedid not feel the urge ro break the laws of tonality or tear our nerves topieces with the impact of thunderous rhythms and excruciating consecutiveintervals, as do other contempor,uy composers, though we may well enjoythe effects achieved. I do not mean that Medtnerts sense of rhythm, likethat of all Russians, was not dynamic. Rather, he believed that in aclearly defined rhyrhm lay the foundation of every musical strucrure. AlfredSwan, professor of music at Swarthnore and Haverford Colleges, U.S.A.,vrites of Medtnerts rhythm:

"The maiority of the latter ( other modern cooposers ) in an artemptto shatter the rigidity of the bar-line have made the folk-song with itsfree and unsymmettical structure their starting point: hence thehysterical habit of changing tijne-signatures 'ntil oo to,o successivebars are marked alike. ( Barrok, Sravinsky ) Medtner is averse roincongruous bars and eyen a'ooing his longer sonara movements it will

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NICOLAS MEDTNER,THE TIANAND HIS MASICbe hard to find such as inrroduce a change of time. He strikes up norhythm but he draws its consequences n cros"-passages to tte end..This leads to remarkabreclashes, with al l ktrd" J ";";ation, strcss-ed weak beats and subtle shift ing of accents... .r,Ernest Newman, when vriting in the nineteenth-thirties, of Medtner, andis style - and the secrer of hiJgreamess - underlines the previous point:ttMedtner is one .of those composers who are classics in their life.tine. He does whar .ru.y no,.bl. "o,opo"u, has done _ takes thecurrent language of music, impresses his own p.r"*"lity L i. ,ertcnds it vocabulary and oodifies its gtammat to suit his own e.ndaod then gers on with the simple business of saying what he thinksin the sinplest rerms possible. Medtner shows that, without smash.ing up the ordinary-system of harmony, it is still possible to makcit the instt,,ment of as subtlc ,,rsi"i thinking "* "ny*. ", ,t "resenr timc is capabre of . His music is not-arway;'.*; fo'owat a first hearing. but not because of any er*avagaoce of thoughtor confision of t1]rniS1e, it is simply because thlis nusic does gooo thinking from bar to bar evolvinj logically from its premises.r,

Medtner wBotc ten piano sonatas and three sonatas for violin and piano.In tfiese, as in his piano concertos, his songs and his smallcr piro pieccs,,the mind of thc poet and the master-craftsman s in every page, in thereverence for form, in the symmety and balance of his p,rrr.""?", i" ,t "nventiveness and originarity of his dcvelopment and in the nay his themesare presented. one of his most beautifur themcs is that of the secondsubiect ot his Piano Concetto in C mtnot opas 1i0, After a tumultuousopening with the piano and orchestta rising and falring in *ounJlik. tt"waves of a mighty sear the storm subsides and thcrr hc in*oduccs whatmusr be one of thc mosr ha'nting and rovely mclod'es ,t ", .r., fclr uponthe ear' one feels that Medtner iust have L."n"o

.,,"h.otJ ly tr,ismelody that hc is roath to ret it go. He repears it frequently and each timeit gathers intensity. Finany, in truc Medtnerian stylc, he uscc the themefor a btilliant metanorphosis which ca'iec the concerto forvard. on closeeramination of dris sublime thcne (E flat naior), onc finds that it is builtup on thc sinple interval of a third. Thls thiri, i_lf or-i_:_], fr"" "pecial significance for Medmer and when ooe bccomcs faoiliar widr hisidiom' it is as easy to tecognise this rising and falling third as comingfrom his penr as to recognise other composcrs by their pcrsonalchracteristics. For instance, Schubert, timo "rrd igain, "f,", *.irirrg "eautiful oclody in a mioor key follows it up Uy thc same nelody _ only83


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M/KERERE JOURNALin the tonic maior. This ,,lift,r to the maior takes oners brearh avay byits sheer loveliness, no rDatterhow often he repeats his miraculousclich. The interval of the major third is interpreted by nany musiciansas a symbol of ioy. The minor third, on dre other h..rj, i" a negativesymbol, being interpreted as a yeaming, troubled, rehniholy or passionateinterval. comparison between the operringtheme of Medmeirs F'airy Tarelot piano, oPts 51No.3 (A maior third) aod the cry of anguish rrith vhichthe Sondte Tragica opens will make this poinr cleat.There is aoother characteristic that keeps recurring io Medmerrs music,and this is the way the theme starts alone, without aay accompanyingsound' He uses this to compel one to listen to rhe single voicc. wittMedtner t can be iust as compelling as an opening ".""h which makes ussit up, it is *ue, but does not appeal to our sympathy as does rhis tendersingle voice (Fairy Tales, optts26 No.j, o?as jl No,j, etc.,)."Faiqr Tale", the title used by Medtner for oaay of his nu'elouspianop-ieces,represrrtsa Russian vord ,.Skazkir, _ which does notactually have any connection vith fairies as we know them. It means,

llthgrr rrlegen6rr - or , ia French, ,'conte,,. However, Medtner vas notdispleased with the English translation so rong ". it *", ur,ierstooa thatin Russian folk-lore there are no fairies. There are Kings, eueens;goblins, gnooes, knights, peasanrs and holy people. There is the gentle,spiritual and - to the eyes of the worldly - "foolish,rvan, and thereis cinderella - t'zolooshkarr. Medtner dedicated sir of rri" -F;i;Talestt to Ivan the Fool and Cinderella, two legendary figures who wereclose to his hean. The wealth of melodic, rhythrnic and harmonictreasure to be found in these pieces must be heard, for it is hard todescribe the range of feering ani imagination that they erpress. They canbe ioyful, menacing, prayerful, rigorous, tendcr.oa "i*.y" erquisite.In 19f5 Medtner becamea professor at the Mosco* Coo".rv.tory ofMusic and he reoained there rmdl he fioally reft Russia in r92r. Hc was,a1-1histimc, living in Moscow with his three talented brothers, Enil, thephilosopher and Nicolast closest friend" Alerander, by rhen a professicralviola player; and Kad, the business man. In the corner of their sitting-room io place of the custooary icon hung a mask of Beethoven, since Emilproclaimed rhat 'rFor tbe oert 11000years thc Fifth Synphony will renainthe gteatest creation ia the an of soundlrr The life in and around thecircle of the Medtner brothers was mosr stirnulating and their friendsincluded most of 4rs s111sia1ding usicians, writers and artists of that timeiq-Russia' vriting of their home,Marietta shaginian, aurhoress and friendof Medtnerand Rachmaninoff, says:

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NICOL,{S LIEDTNER, THE MAN dND IIIS MUSIC"A cultured faoily, an orgaoised lifc with the obligatory leadiog 'aloud, speaking of two foreign laoguagcs - Qcrman aod French - alibrary of philosophical works the equal of which I never fotmd'aoywherc in Moscow, and finally thc music played and discussed in'their home, made this pcriod of my life 'my Athcnian period' as Iused to call it. This was my schooling in literaturc, scicncc andart I am very indebtcd.to the Medtner faoily.t'WheoMedtner left Russia wi6 his vife Anna, vhom hc had marricd in

1917, he settled first of all in German;r, thcn in France, and in L9!6 ctmcto live in England vhere he temained until his death. Vithin a yezu ortvo of vohmtary edlc from his oative couotry hc was twicc in thc U.S.A.on extensive cooceft toqrs Playiog much of his owo music as.wcll as hisclassical tepertoire.: ln L927 he was invited to retuln to Russia'- and itInust have been with a full heatt that he coosented to do so. He performedin Moscov, Lcoingrado Odessao Kharkov and Kicv. The ovation he receivedwas 6emeodous aod hc was pressed to revisit his old coutrtry three yearslatcr, but he decliaed for his owtr teasons. It was Dot easy for hio to talkabout Russia and ooc always felt shy'abou3asking him to do so. ,I t is easyto imagine vhy he was obliged to say that he would not retum. He ncver'again set foot oo Russiao soil.' His home in England was io Goldcrs Greea near Loodon. It was, froothc outsiden a very ordinary, shabby litde house, but withia Nicolas aodAnna lived in the atmospherc of old Russia. The Holy lcoo' which loogago had,bcen put back in its place, huqg in thc corner of their sittiog roooand in &ont of it burned a light which cast its soft red glow. A largcbronze hcad of Nicolas' late btother Emil seemed to dominate the soallroom., Thcre was the samovar in which Anna madc the teal the deliciousRussian food" aod of course, their Russian friends aod the speaking of theRussian language. It was to this Russian home that I qlas taken firstr asa small childl and I remember sitting in a corner of Mcdtner's music roomrhat was scarcely large enough for its two grand pianos, vhile Nicolasand my father rehearsed the composerts third violin sonata - dedicated tothe memory of Enil and called the Sonatd.Epica - in preparation for thefirst performance in Loadon. As a small child I loved Medtner, for hewas always approachable. He was delighted if he heard me hu^ part of 6esofldta during the short breaks in the music, when certaio points verebeing discussed. Many years later I learned to fear him as well, fot Sentlcand considerate as he was, he was not all sweetness. He was quick todetect any iosincerity and shallowness in people, especially when theyspoke about music. He had no timc for "fashionablet' music or for any of

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|Iz{KERERE J OARNALthe "ismstt. Music was good music or oot good music, whether it wasmodem or hun&eds of years ord. vheo I had finished my stud.ies at 6eRoyal Academy of Music I becameMedroer's pupil. The lessons wouldlast from two ro three hours and they were so vivid it is impossible everto forget the poverful inspiration he imparted ro me, and thi vay in whicheverything l studied became alive under his guidance. Even technicalproblems had a spiritual quality about .hem, bccause in every aspect ofpiano playing there was knowledge to be.acquircd, and musicar knowredgefor him was sacred. His ioterpretation of the classics, especially ofBeedroriea, :was a revelation and every deail had a deep significance.

- Beiog the composerhe was, Medoer 6e pionis3 *""-p.J.p" inclinedto be ovrshadowed, but those vho heard hio at aoy of ni" *. pubricapPeasanccs realised ,what a magp.ificent perforoer he was. rf oqe snrdieshis'piano music'ooe can see that ardough sooe of it is ertremcry diff-icult, it is pre'emineatly pianisric. No L. bur a superb.pianist courdtave wrirten such cross rhythms and iurapositioo of themes whict requirea technique such as Medtnerrs.to play them, and at 6e same time aoimagination to temper t with - as.Emest Newman wtites - ..a thousandpoetic touches .. . of whiih only Medmer has the secret.t,18 L943 Nicolas had a heart attack, and, although he recovered fromthis and several subse{uear attacks, he hai to u. i"t.r, "".. of. Addedto the mrietylof fiis.illness, the Medtners were very poor indeed. Theymanaged rto keep this.distressing state from their friends for some rime,l3t fter a-while they could no longer hide it. ft:was my father vho.' finally" realiied that they needed.trelpr.ana through'him the incorporatedSocicty of Musiciaos'yeryigeoerously providcd a-suo of,.oo.y to be paidregularly to drc:Medtaers. . ., 'Then an igrtreordiolg thiog happened. In 1946,:11i" Highness TheMaharaiah,of 'Mysorer,a,alan of.,culnrre and for long a

"io...fadmirer of

Medtnetts'imusic, heard .hat Medoer was in oeed of recognition. The' Maharaiah cabe td,his aid and graciously pur.nin,,rurlimitJd.supply ofnoocy'at 6e.disposal of the H.I|.V. ,e.or&og roep:ury;-: ftey'were in,structed to record as much of Medtierrs mrr"ilo"" V.aa.r, *iL",t.asslstaoct of othcr.'nrtistsr,was,able to,perfoim. ,Nicolaslwas nearing theend of hlsrlife'and'hc,was:a',sick n"o; but d'ring 6e folrowing four yezushe recorded his'thrce veri strenucius concerios with, the,p.lilhirnonia!,rchcs a, nanl of his iiogs.*io,i h;;d;;;;;;;";!r"ro-''skald ahd'uargaret 'Ritchier'ririobcis of his piano piecisj aod finaly, hislast work, .a girihtet,.for,piano and sttings. Whenone hears these recor&ingsit is'almost.irnpossible ,to,bcricv. a.a the pianist was an old manwho had becn suffering,fro'in corooary drombosis:for several years. The

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NICOLAS I'IEDTNER, THE IIAN AND HIS MUSICl

vitality and buming intensity of his praying is 6at of someonc yomgrstrong and hcalthy.Nicolas Medtnct di! not live loog after hc coopleted rhesc pca1dfu1gs.He died in Novembet 1951,aged 71.-I have said littlc about Medtoer's soogs or his violin music. of boththere is much to bc said 1nd not cnoogn "'p"". here in which to say it.He.wrote soogs to pocos by pushr.in, i;;;";;;;*.'il;lho", r..and one or two others _ and dre "rrbje.t" are ertremely varied. Ii alllj"-*t:, however, oa; is .o"".oojy "w"r. of thc much talked of butlitde uoderstood Russiao So:l _ aad',r.rr"_i"g for infinity. The poen6at seeos to have influenced morc of Me'dtnetrs music tban any other,but not ooly as a song, although he set it twicc to ousic, i" ii" Angel byermontov. Ihe p"T relates-how * *g.t i" "*ryiog "'oo*lJ" fro,Paradise to Eanh aad-on thc journey alls.l sings of the beauty andioy df Paradise' All throrryh i.t roi".dcnt ufe oo Earth, the soul isteidess, for the soogs of i"rO a" oo. ""C"fy her loogin;'*niJi" ,ohear again the music of patadisc. uedoer roved this poem and inspiredby Lermorrtov's theme, !e- yote t*o "y.1." of piano pieces calledFotgotten Melodies in which he tries ao otp.o"" 6e looging of 6e soulfor Heavenly music.Marccl Dupri, 6e world famous Freoch orgaaist aod cooposer, in auibute to Medtner after his dcath, wrircs:

t'We who know Mcdtner know that he often maaaged to recoverthe Angcls'soog- could it be otherwise for one-poss.""i"g """tngelic goodnessn uprightoess and such a fount of music? Hislyre is brokar, his life amoog.us is over, but his vork reoains.T 1*. of ourgrief,we are bouad .""i."" .r", l, ," 11"",dealt.t

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Nicolas Medtner the Man and His Music - Caterall, Makere Journal of Music