THE MANAND HIS MUSIC NICOLASMEDTNER,

YYONNE CATTERALL Nicolas Medmer, the composer and pianisti was born in lUoscow in f880. His ancestors, who were German, had settled in.Russia at the end of the 18th century but Medmer was a true Russian - in his way of life, his Russian Orthodor Faith, and above all, in his music. ,In the musical circles of the United States and the U.S.S.R. and to 1 lesser extent in Europe, Medtnerls norie is well known as a composer of piano music, songs, of which he wrote over a hun&ed, three magnificent piano doncertos, and several works for violin and piano. It may seem surprising that the large public which goes to concerts and collects grarophone ricords is not familiar with Medtner; but if one..remembers how long it has taken for the music of many of the greatest composers to be recognised for what it is, then Medtner is no phenooenon. One cannot say how much of the so called modern music will be heard in years to come, nor whethet the devastating impact made by Bartok and Stravinsky will be as stimulating for future generations as it is for us. It is interesting to note that Lully in his day enioyed great 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 Mendelsohn, his music began to come into its own. And how often does one hear the 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 commrmal pauperst graye. Nicolas Medtner qras an extraordinarily gifted child, but he was not an infant prodigy. As a boy of six he started learning the piano aod two years later, with his brother Alerander, he succeeded in forning a small orchestra frorn among his friends. At the age of twelve he entered Moscow Conservatory of Music, which had been founded in f866 by Nicolas Rubinstein (brother of Anton, who had started the St. Petersburg Conservatory fow years previgusly). Here, young Nicolas was to enter a world of complete dedication to ao art, in a way that ooly the Russians rmderstand. Those eight years of study with Safonov for the pianot and Taneyev had a gift for teaching which lre passed'on to Medmer - the ability to make each individual pupil think and feel in his own personal way. He was never known to play a single note on the keyboard dudng a lesson. All his demonstrations were given on the lid of the piano! Of Taneyev, Rachmaninoff wrote in l9l5 in his obituary .... "Through his personal example Taneyev taught us how to live, to work, and even to speak, because he had his own tTaneyev way' of speaking - concise, clear, and to the ;toint. He only said what was

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MAKERERE I O URNAL This man the personificarion of At twenty Nicolas of his arr. He carried now he was alone and work for himself. both his subjects. necessary. He seemed to be ,Salieri, rejected". left the Conservatory, in the minds of all, a master with him the ideals of Taneyev and.safonov - but away from his professors and he had to think and The following nine years he devored to further study of one may be tempted to quesdon this long period of never uttered superfluous words. 'Trwh on Eartht which pushkin's

silence, but I knew Medtner only at the end of his life, and, like all true artistsr he was even then never satisfied with his work and he never resred in his search for trurh through the medium of his music. Dedication is, as I have hinted, a key word to the tmderstanding of the Russian character. Total dedication to his art is the key to an understanding of a person like Medtner. vhile still a young man, Nicolas toured the main cities of Europe and he was acclaimed far and wide. It f,'as not, however, iust as a tor.ning virtuoso pianist thar so many people flocked to hear him. He was making a name for himself as an exceptionally gifted composer, and much of his music, particularly the first piano sonaa written in L904, was the talk of the day in Moscow. All rhe young pianists were taking a lively interest in Medmerts music among them vladimir Horowitz who, some years later on the authority of Julius Isserlis, gave beautiful performaoce of the G minot sondtd, opt s ^ 22, in Kiev. Medtner was doing, in a lesser way, what Bach and Mozart had done was making use of the musical material ro hand and using his own unique ideas. He was, as it were, working within ftame of tonaliry. For him, this was freedom enough. He urge ro break the laws of tonality or tear our nerves to impact of thunderous rhythms and excruciating consecutive intervals, as do other contempor,uy composers, though we may well enjoy the effects achieved. I do not mean that Medtnerts sense of rhythm, like that of all Russians, was not dynamic. Rather, he believed that in a clearly defined rhyrhm lay the foundation of every musical strucrure. Alfred Swan, 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 artempt to shatter the rigidity of the bar-line have made the folk-song with its free and unsymmettical structure their starting point: hence the hysterical habit of changing tijne-signatures oo to,o successive bars are marked alike. ( Barrok, Sravinsky ) 'ntil Medtner is averse ro incongruous bars and eyen a'ooing his longer sonara movements it will before him. He this to express the &ame - the did not feel the pieces with the

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NI CO LAS M ED T N E R ,T H E T IAN A N D H IS MA S IC be hard to find such as inrroduce a change of time. He strikes up no rhythm but he draws its consequences in cros"-passages to tte end.. This leads to remarkabre clashes, with all ktrd" J strcssed weak beats and subtle shifting of accents... .r, ";";ation, Ernest Newman, when vriting in the nineteenth-thirties, of Medtner, and his style - and the secrer of hiJgreamess - underlines the previous point: ttMedtner is one those composers who are classics in their life. .of tine. He does whar .ru.y no,.bl. has done _ takes the "o,opo"u, current language of music, impresses his own p.r"*"lity L i., ertcnds it vocabulary and oodifies its gtammat to suit his own e.nd aod then gers on with the simple business of saying what he thinks in the sinplest rerms possible. Medtner shows that, without smash. ing up the ordinary-system of harmony, it is still possible to makc it the instt,,ment of as subtlc ,,rsi"i thinking ,t presenr timc is capabre of. His "* "ny*. " music is not-arway;'.*; ", fo'ow at a first hearing. but not because of any er*avagaoce of thought or confision of t1]rniS1e, it is simply because thlis nusic does go oo 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 is in every page, in the reverence for form, in the symmety and balance of his p,rrr.""?", i" ,t inventiveness and originarity of his " dcvelopment and in the nay his themes are presented. one of his most beautifur themcs is that of the second subiect ot his Piano Concetto in C mtnot opas 1i0, After a tumultuous opening with the piano and orchestta rising and falring in *ounJlik. tt" waves of a mighty sear the storm subsides and thcrr hc in*oduccs what musr be one 'of thc mosr ha'nting and rovely mclod'es ,t .r., fclr upon the ear' one feels that Medtner iust ", have L."n .,,"h.otJ ly tr,is melody that hc is roath to ret it go. "o He repears it frequently and each time it gathers intensity. Finany, in truc Medtnerian stylc, he uscc the theme for a btilliant metanorphosis which ca'iec the concerto forvard. on close eramination of dris sublime thcne (E flat naior), onc finds that it is built up on thc sinple interval of a third. Thls thiri, i_lf or-i_:_], fr"" special significance for Medmer and " when ooe bccomcs faoiliar widr his idiom' it is as easy to tecognise this rising and falling third as coming from his penr as to recognise other composcrs by their pcrsonal chracteristics. For instance, Schubert, timo igain, *.irirrg beautiful oclody in a mioor key "rrd follows it up Uy thc same "f,", " nelody _ only

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M/KERERE JOURNAL in the tonic maior. This ,,lift,r to the maior takes oners brearh avay by its sheer loveliness, no rDatterhow often he repeats his miraculous clich. The interval of the major third is interpreted by nany musicians as a symbol of ioy. The minor third, on dre other h..rj, i" a negative symbol, being interpreted as a yeaming, troubled, rehniholy or passionate interval. comparison between the operring theme of Medmeirs F'airy Tare lot piano, oPt s 51No.3 (A maior third) aod the cry of anguish rrith vhich the 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 accompanying sound' He uses this to compel one to listen to rhe single voicc. witt Medtner it can be iust as compelling as an opening which makes us sit up, it is *ue, but does not appeal to our sympathy ".""h as does rhis tender single voice (Fairy Tales, optts26 No.j, o?as jl No,j, etc.,). "Faiqr Tale", the title used by Medtner for oaay of his nu'elous pianop-ieces, represrrts a Russian vord ,.Skazkir, _ which does not actually have any connection vith fairies as we know them. It means, rrlegen6rr ,'conte,,. - or, ia French, However, Medtner vas not llthgrr displeased with the English translation so rong it *", ur,ierstooa that in 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 there is cinderella - t'zolooshkarr. Medtner dedicated sir of rri" -F;i; Talestt to Ivan the Fool and Cinderella, two legendary figures who were close to his hean. The wealth of melodic, rhythrnic and harmonic treasure to be found in these pieces must be heard, for it is hard to describe the range of feering ani imagination that they erpress. They can be ioyful, menacing, prayerful, rigorous, tendcr.oa erquisite. "i*.y" In 19f5 Medtner became a professor at the Mosco* Coo".rv.tory of Music and he reoained there rmdl he fioally reft Russia in r92r. Hc was, a1 timc, living in Moscow with his three talented brothers, Enil, the -1his philosopher and Nicolast closest friend" Alerander, by rhen a professicral viola player; and Kad, the business man. In the corner of their sittingroom io place of the custooary icon hung a mask of Beethoven, since Emil proclaimed rhat 'rFor tbe oert 11000years thc Fifth Synphony will renain the gteatest creation ia the an of soundlrr The life in and around the circle of the Medtner brothers was mosr stirnulating and their friends included most of 4rs s111sia1ding musicians, writers and artists of that time iq-Russia' vriting of their home, Marietta shaginian, aurhoress and friend of Medtner and 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 - a library 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 I used to call it. This was my schooling in literaturc, scicncc and art I am very indebtcd.to the Medtner faoily.t' Wheo Medtner 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 ctmc to live in England vhere he temained until his death. Vithin a yezu or tvo 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 his classical tepertoire.: ln L927 he was invited to retuln to Russia'- and it Inust have been with a full heatt that he coosented to do so. He performed in Moscov, Lcoingrado Odessao Kharkov and Kicv. The ovation he received was 6emeodous aod hc was pressed to revisit his old coutrtry three years latcr, but he decliaed for his owtr teasons. It was Dot easy for hio to talk about Russia and ooc always felt shy'abou3 asking him to do so. ,It is easy to 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, froo thc outsiden a very ordinary, shabby litde house, but withia Nicolas aod Anna lived in the atmospherc of old Russia. The Holy lcoo' which loog ago had,bcen put back in its place, huqg in thc corner of their sittiog rooo and in &ont of it burned a light which cast its soft red glow. A largc bronze hcad of Nicolas' late btother Emil seemed to dominate the soall room., Thcre was the samovar in which Anna madc the teal the delicious Russian food" aod of course, their Russian friends aod the speaking of the Russian language. It was to this Russian home that I qlas taken firstr as a small childl and I remember sitting in a corner of Mcdtner's music room rhat was scarcely large enough for its two grand pianos, vhile Nicolas and my father rehearsed the composerts third violin sonata - dedicated to the memory of Enil and called the Sonatd.Epica - in preparation for the first performance in Loadon. As a small child I loved Medtner, for he was always approachable. He was delighted if he heard me hu^ part of 6e sofldta during the short breaks in the music, when certaio points vere being discussed. Many years later I learned to fear him as well, fot Sentlc and considerate as he was, he was not all sweetness. He was quick to detect any iosincerity and shallowness in people, especially when they spoke about music. He had no timc for "fashionablet' music or for any of

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|Iz{KERERE J OARNAL the "ismstt. Music was good music or oot good music, whether it was modem or hun&eds of years ord. vheo I had finished my stud.ies at 6e Royal Academy of Music I became Medroer's pupil. The lessons would last from two ro three hours and they were so vivid it is impossible ever to forget the poverful inspiration he imparted ro me, and thi vay in which everything l studied became alive under his guidance. Even technical problems had a spiritual quality about .hem, bccause in every aspect of piano playing there was knowledge to be.acquircd, and musicar knowredge for him was sacred. His ioterpretation of the classics, especially of Beedroriea, :was a revelation and every deail had a deep significance. Beiog the composer he was, Medoer 6e pionis3 *""-p.J.p" inclined to be ovrshadowed, but those vho heard hio at aoy of ni" *. pubric apPeasanccs realised ,what a magp.ificent perforoer he was. rf oqe snrdies his'piano music'ooe can see that ardough sooe of it is ertremcry difficult, it is pre'emineatly pianisric. No L. bur a superb.pianist courd tave wrirten such cross rhythms and iurapositioo of themes whict require a technique such as Medtnerrs.to play them, and at 6e same time ao imagination to temper it with - as.Emest Newman wtites - ..a thousand poetic touches ... of whiih only Medmer has the secret.t, 18 L943 Nicolas had a heart attack, and, although he recovered from this and several subse{uear attacks, he hai to u. i"t.r, of. Added "".. to the mrietylof fiis.illness, the Medtners were very poor indeed. They managed rto keep this.distressing state from their friends for some rime, a-while they could no longer hide it. ft:was my father vho. l3t fter ' finally" realiied that they needed .trelpr.ana through 'him the incorporated Socicty of Musiciaos'yeryigeoerously providcd a-suo of,.oo.y to be paid regularly to drc:Medtaers. .. 'Then an igrtreordiolg , thiog happened. In 1946,:11i" Highness The Maharaiah,of 'Mysorer,a,alan of.,culnrre and for long a admirer of "io...f Medtnetts'imusic, heard .hat Medoer was in oeed of recognition. The ' Maharaiah cabe td,his aid and graciously pur.nin,,rurlimitJd.supply of noocy'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 the end of hlsrlife'and'hc,was:a',sick n"o; but d'ring 6e folrowing four yezus he recorded his'thrce veri strenucius concerios with, the, p.lilhirnonia ''skald ahd'uargaret 'Ritchier'ririobcis of his piano piecisj aod finaly, his last work, .a girihtet,.for,piano and sttings. When one hears these recor& ingsit is'almost.irnpossible ,to,bcricv. a.a the pianist was an old man who had becn suffering,fro'in corooary drombosis:for several years. The

aa, !,rchcs nanl of hi s iiogs. *io,i

h;;d;;;;;;;";!r"ro-

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NICOLAS I'IEDTNER, THE IIAN AND HIS MUSIC
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vitality and buming intensity of his praying is 6at of someonc yomgr strong 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 both there is much to bc said not cnoogn here in which to say it. He.wrote soogs to pocos 1nd pushr.in, "'p"". by i;;;";;;;*.'il;lho", r.. and one or two others _ and dre are ertremely varied. Ii all "rrbje.t" however, oa; is .o"".oojy of thc much talked of but lj"-*t:, litde uoderstood Russiao So:l _ aad',r. "w"r. for infinity. The poen rr"_i"g 6at 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 by Lermontov. Ihe p"T relates-how * *g.t i" fro, Paradise to Eanh aad-on thc journey "*ryiog "'oo*lJ" alls.l sings of the beauty and ioy df Paradise' All throrryh i.t roi".dcnt ufe oo Earth, the soul is teidess, for the soogs of i"rO a" oo. her loogin;'*niJi" ,o ""C"fy hear again the music of patadisc. uedoer roved this poem and inspired by Lermorrtov's theme, t*o of piano pieces called !e- yote Fotgotten Melodies in which he tries "y.1." ao otp.o"" 6e looging of 6e soul for Heavenly music. Marccl Dupri, 6e world famous Freoch orgaaist aod cooposer, in a uibute to Medtner after his dcath, wrircs: t'We who know Mcdtner know that he often maaaged to recover the Angcls'soogcould it be otherwise for one-poss.""i"g angelic goodnessn uprightoess and such a fount of music? His"""t lyre is brokar, his life amoog. us is over, but his vork reoains.

T 1*. dealt.t

of our grief, we are bouad .""i."" .

.r", l, ," 11"",

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