Music Teachers National Association

Rimsky-Korsakoff's Piano Lessons

Author(s): Margery Stone-Selden
Source: American Music Teacher, Vol. 37, No. 2 (NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1987), p. 30, 43
Published by: Music Teachers National Association
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/43544121
Accessed: 04-12-2019 21:12 UTC

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 with love, without guilt and bad feel-
ings, a student ready to move on! She
Rimsky-Korsakoff's had played her role better than she ever
knew.

Piano Lessons Nikolay then began to study with

Olga Nikitishna, a governess in a
nearby household. She was, by her
by Margery Stone-Selden seven- or eight-year-old student's
account, a splendid player, and before
Dr. Stone-Selden is a professor at teachers would consider him a remark- long Nikolay was introduced to
Passaic County Community College in ably motivated performer, in the light ofBeethoven in a four-hand arrangement,
Paterson, New Jersey She writes fre- his own detailed testimony concerning as well as to many other duets and to
quently for various journals. the pieces he was playing, even at antranscriptions of opera tunes. After a
early age. And, as a young officer in theyear or a bit more, Rimsky-Korsakoff
Russian Navy, on tour to the easternmoved on to a talented student of his
phies. Recently I decided to take off United States from October 1863 until teacher, to Olga Fyeliksovna Fel, and
I phies. AMthethelibrary
a library
shelvescompulsive Recently shelves I decided reader Rimsky-Korsa- to of take biogra- off
Rimsky-Korsa- April 1864, his keyboard talent was with Madam Fel he remained three
koff's autobiography, previously commendable enough to elicit an order years, until he was twelve and ready for
spurned because of its uninspired from Admiral Lyesovski for Rimsky- boarding school. The Scherzo of
English title, My Musical Life.' Not unin- Korsakoff to entertain dignitaries gath- Beethoven's A Major sonata, Opus 2,
spired the book, however! It proved to ered at the Niagara Hotel at the Falls. was recalled from this period, as well as
be so full of fascinating information that The modest musician recalled some a constant supply of two-hand and four-
I not only flew through the 390-page vol- thirty years after the event: "I sat down
hand opera medleys; and the pupil was
ume, but also I have been reading at the piano and played, I think theencouraged
Kra- to share in four-hand and
many sections over and over again. It is kovyak and something else from Aeight-hand
Life keyboard delights with adult
a veritable gold mine of observations for the Tsar. Soon I noticed that nobody friends; keyboard ensemble playing
about composers and performers, Rus- was listening to me; they were all was busya favorite social recreation in the
sian and non-Russian, about musical talking to my accompanist" (p. 43). family's circle of friends.
life, and about music education in the Amusing as Rimsky-Korsakoff is It inis noteworty that both Olgas kept
second half of the nineteenth century. such recollections, the focus of this the boy's facility developing, and they
Since in this article I am primarily article is neither Rimsky-Korsakoff as a also kept his interest and joy in music
addressing piano teachers, I am hop- composer for the piano nor Rimsky- alive by letting him play reams of "pop-
ing, by presenting a few excerpts as Korsakoff as a pianist, but rather the ular" music, that is - in terms of that
well as some of my own comments, to Russian's account of his piano instruc- milieu - the hit tunes from the operatic
encourage colleagues to read the tion and what piano instructors may stage. His teachers were unaware that
entire book themselves. learn from his remarks. Nikolay had secretly begun to try his
Nikolay Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsa-Born into a comfortably situated, hand at composition, however. In the
koff (1 844-1 908) is hardly known for hismusic-loving family, Nikolay Andrey- composer's own words, "I soon suc-
(few) original compositions for piano, evich showed musical interest and apti- ceeded, by my own efforts, in passably
although he did produce some varia-tude before the age of two. He jotting down on paper what I had played
tions on the B-A-C-H theme, amongpossessed absolute pitch. When he on the piano, and in observing the
other small works, and even a pianowas about six, an older neighbor, one proper division into bars. After a while,
concerto on a Russian folk tune in C- Yekatyerina Nikolayevna Unkovskaya, without first playing it over on the piano,
sharp minor. The last-named, accessi- began to give him piano lessons, and I began to form a mental image of what
ble solely through an older Monitor Nikolay's remembrance, from a quarter was written in notes. I was eleven years
recording with Richter, was begun century later, was hazy. "Neverthe- old when I conceived the idea of com-
about 1882; the pianist N.S. Lavroff less," he wrote, "under her tuition I did posing a duet for voices with piano
introduced the work in 1884. Rimsky- play scales, easy exercises, and some accompaniment..." (p. 8).
Korsakoff describes the work as "a pieces" (p. 4). At twelve, the budding composer
chip from Liszt's concertos" (p. 221) From this remark and from the fact contentedly left for St. Petersburg to
and comments that "it must be said that the future composer quickly devel- become a cadet in the Marine Corps.
that it sounded beautiful and proved oped a remarkable keyboard facility - No doubt Madam Fel wondered
entirely satisfactory in the sense albeit of on a non-virtuoso level - and whether her talented piano pupil wou
piano technique and style; this greatly excellent sight-reading skill, Madam ever "keep up his music" after that.
astonished Balakireff, who found Unkovskaya
my may well have been just Rimsky-Korsakoff's father arrange
concerto to his liking. He had by no the perfect teacher for the promising for his son to stay with friends in S
means expected that I, who was not a a teacher who saw the need for
child, Petersburg over weekends when mo
pianist, should know how to compose building finger evenness and strength of the cadets were given leave. Befo
anything entirely pianistic" (p. 221). but who was pleasant and easy-going. long, a theater cellist named Ulikh w
The brilliant orchestrator of CapriccioMoreoever, her greatest virtue was that, persuaded to provide piano lessons on
Espagnol and Sheherazade sprinkles after eighteen months, "she refused to Sundays, and these continued in a de
his autobiography with many disparag- give me further lessons, finding that I ultory fashion for four years. Rimsk
ing references to his piano-playing abil- needed a better teacher than herself" Korsakoff recalls, "As a musician I was
ity (pages 22 and 23 for openers). I (p. 5). Let's give credit to a teacher whothen a young dilettante- in the full
suspect, however, that most piano knew when to let go and who sent on Continued on page 43

30 THE AMERICAN MUSIC TEACHER

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Rimsky-Korsakoff's Piano Lessons
From page 30

Hartt
sense of the word. I studied somewhat
lazily under Ulikh, improving but little
as a pianist; but I was extremely fond of
playing four-hands" (p.13). Ulikh also
arranged for his pupil to accompany

a R T i s Tiry
other instrumentalists in Beethoven
sonatas, for example (p. 12). In short,
the teacher seems to have provided
encouragement and a variety of musi-
cai opportunities in a situtation which
afforded almost no opportunity for real
piano lessons and no time at all for 9 DEGREE CHOICES: Bachelor of Music * Master of Music
* Master of Music Education * Doctor of Musical Arts
practice. * Artist Diploma
Finally Ulikh, "of his own accord,
refused to give me lessons, saying that PROGRAMS: Applied Instrumental, Piano Accompanying and Ensemble,
• Voice, Opera, Music Theater, Jazz, Music Education, Theory,
I ought to go to a real pianist. F.A. • Composition, Music History, Music Management, Electives in Sound Technology,
Kanille was engaged as my teacher.. .In • •
•• Electronic and Computer Music.
the fall of 1860 I began to take lessons
. ' • CHALLENGING PER
from him" (p. 14). Rimsky-Korsakoff • 8 instrumental organiz
was by then sixteen. . competitions, Emerson S
A world of Bach fugues, Schumann • tours, radio and television performances, concerts in major halls
(Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, St. Patrick's Cathedral)
and Beethoven no sooner opened with •

Kanille than the cadet's family, "finding
that I played well enough, decided I no
longer needed lessons" (p. 15).
Although formal piano lessons ceased
in the early fall of 1861 , Kanille gener-
ously encouraged the student to con-
tinue working with him on Sundays,
particularly in composition and arrang-
ing; and it was Kanille who introduced
the teenager to the influential pianist
and composer Balakireff and his circle.
In summary, we can take more than
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West Hartford, Ct. 06117

one leaf from Rimsky-Korsakoff's book (203) 243-4465 #

with its perceptive observations on his •

piano lessons and piano teachers. We

can recognize the wisdom of letting go
a student for whom we can no longer be [lļļ[fld:^J |ļļJLkjJ
productive. We must assist the young
West Hartford. Connecticut 061 17-0395

student to strengthen his basic tech-

nique. We should seek a judicious bal-
ance of repertory for fun and the joy of
reading music along with more pro-
found literature, and we can try to pro-
vide useful contacts and entrees for
motivated students and former stu-
dents. By so doing, it may be that, at
whatever stage of the student we have Now Available In Seven Levels!
served, we will have contributed some-
thing to the development of a thor-
oughly useful musician - perhaps not
FINGERPOWER
a genuine piano virtuoso, but possibly • HELPS DEVELOP FINGER STRENGTH
an imaginative composer, arranger,
teacher, administrator, promoter, writer • For All Pupils Age Six Through Teens and Adults
and educated listener like Nikolay • EQUAL HAND DEVELOPMENT
Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakoff!
• Short and Condensed, Progressive Technic Exercises
NOTE
1. All page references are to Nikolay Andrey- Free Sample for Teachers Only - LIMIT: One Book per Teacher
evich Rimsky-Korsakoff, My Musical Life, trans- This Offer Expires February 28, 1988 - Clip This Ad and Send to:
lated from the revised second Russian edition by
Judah A. Joffe, edited with introduction by Carl van SCHAUM PUBLICATIONS, INC
Vechten (New York: Tudor Publishing Company, DEPT. MT - 2018 E. NORTH AVE. - MILWAUKEE, WÍ 53202
1935). AlfT

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1987 43

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