NICOLASMEDTNER,THE MANAND HIS MUSIC

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..remembershow 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 genera-
tions 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 Mendel-
sohn, 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 Conservat-
ory 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 dedica-
tion 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 teach-
ing 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

8l
MAKERERE I O URNAL

necessary. This man never uttered superfluous words. He seemed to be

the personificarion of 'Trwh on Eartht which pushkin's ,Salieri, rejected".
At twenty Nicolas left the Conservatory, in the minds of all, a master
of his arr. He carried with him the ideals of Taneyev and.safonov - but
now he was alone and away from his professors and he had to think and
work for himself. The following nine years he devored to further study of
both his subjects. one may be tempted to quesdon this long period of
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
before him. He was making use of the musical material ro hand and using
this to express his own unique ideas. He was, as it were, working within
the &ame - the ftame of tonaliry. For him, this was freedom enough. He
did not feel the urge ro break the laws of tonality or tear our nerves to
pieces with the 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

82
 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
rhythm but he draws its consequences no
in cros"-passages to tte end..
This leads to remarkabre clashes, with all
ktrd" J strcss-
ed 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
tine. He does whar.of in their life.
.ru.y no,.bl. has done _ takes the
current language of music, impresses "o,opo"u,
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.
He repears it"o 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
eramination of dris sublime thcne (E close
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 "

83
 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, repres€rrts a Russian vord ,.Skazkir, _
which does not
actually have any connection vith fairies as we
know them. It means,
rrlegen6rr ,'conte,,.
llthgrr - or, ia French, However, Medtner vas not
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"
Talestt to Ivan the Fool and Cinderella, two legendary -F;i;
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.
In 19f5 Medtner became a professor at the Mosco* "i*.y"
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,
-1his Enil, the
philosopher and Nicolast closest friend" Alerander, by rhen a professicral
viola 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 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:

84
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

85
 |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 ov€rshadowed, 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 diff-
icult, 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
l3t fter vho.
' 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
Medtnetts'imusic, heard .hat Medoer was in oeed "io...f
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
aa,
!,rchcs nanl of hi s iiogs. *io,i h;;d;;;;;;;";!r"ro-
''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

86
r

NICOLAS I'IEDTNER, THE IIAN AND

HIS MUSIC
l

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 "'p"".
by pushr.in, i;;;";;;;*.'il;lho",
and one or two others _ and dre r..
are ertremely varied. Ii all
however, oa; is .o"".oojy"rrbje.t"
lj"-*t:, of thc much talked of but
litde uoderstood Russiao So:l _ aad',r."w"r.
rr"_i"g for infinity. The poen
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
hear again the music of patadisc. uedoer ""C"fy
roved this poem and inspired
by Lermorrtov's theme, t*o
!e- yote of piano pieces called
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'soog- could 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.
of our grief, we are bouad. .""i."" .r", l, ," 11"",
T 1*.
dealt.t

87