The Liszt Tradition and Influence

The Liszt Tradition at the Moscow Conservatoire
Author(s): Konstantin Zenkin

Source: Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, T. 42, Fasc. 1/2, Franz Liszt
and Advanced Musical Education in Europe: International Conference (2001), pp. 93-108
Published by: Akadémiai Kiadó
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The Liszt Tradition
at the Moscow Conservatoire*
Konstantin ZENKIN
State Tchaikovsky Conservatoire
Moscow
To discuss traditions in pedagogical matters means to intrude almost

history of the oral tradition. Both in oral art and teaching the most im
essential things are, as a rule, not fixed in written form for posterit
we often have to gather indirect information about them, such a
scarce facts, non-material data and odd documents. Indeed, of wh
quence is the evidence provided by programs and textbooks, comp
rect creative communication?
On the other hand, is it not often the case that students seek to detach
themselves, in one way or another, from the school that brought them up, to
develop and enrich the tradition by interacting with other traditions? Thus,
the influence of pedagogical principles and traditions is not limited to pass-
ing one's experience to one's pupils, and usually involves the influences of
other schools and traditions. This is the reason why pedagogical schools are
as a rule not very long-lived, and their influence does not last longer than the
life of one or two generations.
Nevertheless, even today certain professors at the Moscow Conserva-
toire consider their artistic and pedagogical work as a continuation of the
Franz Liszt tradition. This fact testifies to the power of Liszt's influence in
Russia. All the great Russian composers of the last century, like Pyotr I.
Tchaikovsky or Anton Rubinstein, recognized its importance.
Borodin visited Liszt in Weimar and wrote an essay about him.
Both streets lead to musical celebrities, one to the cemetery, to Hummel who is
dead in all respects, and the other to the park, to Liszt who is alive in all respects.'
* I would like to express my thanks to professor Merzhanov who helped me in the preparation ofthis paper.
1 Borodin means the streets in Weimar going in different directions from Wielandsplatz. AIleKcarHp
BopOAHH: KpHTHIeCKHe CTaTbH [Alexander Borodin: Critical Essays], Moscow, 1982. pp. 38-39.
Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 42/1-2, 2001, pp. 93-108

0039-3266/2001/S 5.00 C 2001 Akadimiai Kiad6, Budapest
94 International Liszt Conference
The strength of Liszt's influence is determined by tw

fect that his recitals produced in the 1840s and its reinf
cades by his music, particularly its role in the evolut
music in the second half of the 19th century. It is com
like Robert Schumann and Hector Berlioz, Liszt was a
point for composers of the Mili A. Balakirev school
Russian School that opposed the two Russian Conserva
tude to Liszt was not so enthusiastic, though his im
whole recognized, especially in the Moscow Conser
deny Liszt's influence on Tchaikovsky in the latter's
or in his programmatic symphonic pieces, Francesca
and The Tempest.
A. Rubinstein wondered why "Liszt put down dee
than anywhere else".2 But it is important to note that L
sia always interacted with other traditions, Russian a
rule, those that were once considered contrary to Lis
ing, the opposition of Weimar versus Leipzig was of
quence for Russian music in the second half of the 19th
tion of the Balakirev school versus Tchaikovsky may
like the German one, but it had different sources and
different problems and controversies.
In Russian piano art the Liszt tradition interacted
school, which dominated Russia in the first half of th
refined pianism based on filigree finger work wa
Liszt's. No wonder that representatives of Field's
himself and later Mihail I. Glinka, did not approve of Lis
school also produced Balakirev, the most 'Lisztian' of
ers, particularly in his Islamey and symphonic poem
as he himself admitted, Balakirev the pianist was much m
exander Dubuque than to anyone else (Dubuque was Fi
ano technique differed from Rubinstein's and Liszt's
Johann Nepomuk Hummel's. This is a vivid example o
two opposing schools.
Before Liszt's 1840s recitals in Russia all Russia
written for domestic purposes, not for the concert p
some of Glinka's pieces were intended for piano or h
2 AHTOH Py6HHIIITeIH: JIeKIqHH 110 HCTOpHH OpTerinaHHOHi JIHTepaT
tures on the History of Piano Music]. Moscow, 1974. p. 86.
Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 42, 2001
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way the great Russian composer treated the piano in the

In fact, Field did not play the modem instrument but a
different potential. It was an early rectangular construc
ble action or improved pedal mechanism. Liszt was th
demonstrate the resources of the modem monumental
sian musicians. The piano as a whole orchestra, not a
harp - this was a discovery of a new musical area.
Principles of Liszt's pianism may have penetrated
teaching methods through private instruction, before th
were even founded. Thus, the recitalist and talented
(another pupil of Field) performed Liszt's works, incl
ke was the piano instructor of Modest P. Mussorgsk
However, the establishment of the new concert piani
nected with the brothers Rubinstein, Anton and Nikolay
Before discussing the Liszt tradition at the Moscow
necessary to speak about the more important historica
fluence of Liszt on Russian piano art as a whole. The m
to both Rubinsteins. It is well known that Anton's tastes were conservative
and his attitude to Liszt's music critical. But as an original pianist he devel-
oped, above all, under the influence of Liszt, even though he studied under
Alexander Villoine and formally also belonged to the Field school. A.
Rubinstein heard Liszt in Paris when he was 12, and according to his own
words, the virtuoso produced important changes in his views on piano-play-
ing. In 1846 Anton visited Liszt in Vienna and later stayed for a long time in
his Weimar residence. In 1871 A. Rubinstein conducted Liszt's oratorio
Christus in Vienna.
At the Petersburg Conservatoire A. Rubinstein gave lectures on the his-
tory of piano music. He wrote his own program for the course. The last two
lectures (no. 31 and no. 32) were about Liszt's piano music, and the program
included his Mazeppa, Vision, Eroica, the Study in D-flat major, Ricordanza,
Harmonies du soir, Sonata, six pieces from Annees de Pelerinage, Benedic-
tion de Dieu dans la solitude, Consolations, Valse-Impromptu, Galop chro-
matique, La Somnambula, and Don Juan, as well as transcriptions of four
Franz Schubert songs and one waltz. Rubinstein performed all these works
during his lectures. Here is what he said in his lectures:
Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 42 2001
Konstantin Zenkin: The Liszt Tradition at the Moscow Conservatoire 97
I value Liszt terribly highly, as an artistic personality, but I have to warn you of
his grotesque style. [...] It is strange that Liszt did not put down such deep roots
anywhere as in Russia, and I believe it is disastrous. 3
In his Historical Concerts series A. Rubinstein also spoke about Liszt

and performed his music. On this occasion he tried to be more objective. For
example:
Franz Liszt belongs to those artists who are for ever associated with the history
of piano music. In his comprehensive attitude he unites all trends and styles,
though in his powerful works he is sometimes carried away by superficial bril-
liance and virtuosity. [...] If we add to this that he is the first poet of his people in
music, who embodied the fine Hungarian folk tunes in brilliant ingenious forms
of his rhapsodies; if we also mention plenty of other major pieces, his vast liter-
ary practice, extraordinary, refined critical intuition, and finally his unmatched
performing style, it will become clear why Liszt, more than any other contempo-
rary, deserves the title of a 'comprehensive artist'.4
It was the Rubinsteins - Anton in Petersburg and Nikolay in Moscow -

who before all other Russian pianists appreciated the essential principles of
Liszt's pianism. These principles were absolutely new in Russia in the mid-
dle of the 19th century. Above all, his art was based on the potential of the
modem instrument, intended for large halls. Hence the absolutely different
techniques and approaches, unknown in Field's or Hummel's schools - the
use of the entire arm weight, the flexible wrist and mobile body. All those led
to a new method of phrasing, which was distinguished by a 'broader breath-
ing'. The new features resulted in a free treatment of musical time, contrary
to the strict meter of the earlier manner. I would like to remind you that Rus-
sian audiences had never heard Fryderyk Chopin who employed rubato, so
it was Liszt who was the first to demonstrate there the new, Romantic man-
ner, the new sense of music.
Finally, perhaps the most important factor defining all the other new fea-
tures in Liszt's piano performance was that he viewed it in the context of su-
preme artistic and poetic goals. Of course, many serious musicians (Ludwig
van Beethoven, Robert Schumann) did so too, but Liszt brought this principle
into his teaching practice and followed it ardently. He saw the purpose of
teaching as not only to train a pianist but to foster the development of an artis-
tic personality. Hence the indispensable requirement that the student should
work at technique and exercises consciously, with the artistic purpose in view,
and never do anything mechanically. I would like to emphasize that this prin-
3 Anton Rubinstein: op. cit. pp. 85-86.
4 Anton Rubinstein: op. cit. p. 103.
ciple was absolutely new to Russia and it was thanks to

knew Liszt's teaching methods very well, that it began s
Both brothers played an important role in promot
Liszt's piano music and teaching methods in Russia,
Director of the Moscow Conservatoire, was especially a
share his brother's attitude to Liszt's compositions, w
favourite pieces and, like Schumann's and Chopin's
repertoire. Nikolay did not give as many concerts as
well known in Europe and composed only a few p
heared his playing often preferred it to Anton's. Tcha
as the first among European pianists, and the opinion
quite similar; he said that no one could play his Toten
von Billow and N. Rubinstein.
According to the Russian musical critic Nikolay Kashkin, Carl Tausig
said that if Nikolay had devoted his life to concert activities, Tausig himself
and A. Rubinstein would have had to stop playing the piano, because they
would not have been able to compete with him. In the opinion of his contem-
poraries N. Rubinstein's playing was very much like Chopin's.
However, he was above all an organizer and a teacher. It is remarkable
that when he was planning to found a conservatoire in Moscow, he asked
Liszt's advice on which musicians should come to work there. Thus, it was
partly thanks to Liszt's assistance that the teaching staff of the new conserva-
toire was formed. Among the professors who worked in the Conservatoire
from its foundation in 1866 were Joseph Wieniawsky, the pianist and brother
of the famous violinist Henri Wieniawsky, the violinist Ferdinand Laub, and
the cellist Bernhard Cossmann. J. Wieniawsky improved his piano art under
Liszt. Laub and Cossmann were also in very close contact with Liszt, play-
ing in the Weimar Orchestra under his baton (Laub was the leader of the
strings). Both were also Liszt's partners in ensembles. In Moscow they
played with N. Rubinstein.
Later Liszt continued to take part in the formation of the Moscow Con-
servatoire teaching staff. In 1867 Wieniawsky left, and N. Rubinstein, who
needed more professors, went to Liszt again. Liszt recommended Carl
Klindworth. Klindworth worked in Moscow for more than ten years (till
1881); he had a piano and an ensemble class. In 1869 the singer Giacomo
Galvani was invited too, again on Liszt's recommendation. He worked at the
Moscow Conservatoire for a long time (till 1887). Nikolay Hubert, professor
Konstantin Zenkin.: The Liszt Tradition at the Moscow Conservatoire 99
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of theory and a choir leader, who succeeded N. Rubinstein

also acquainted with Liszt's teaching methods.
However, the leading role in the development of the Li
tion at the Moscow Conservatoire, in its early history, belonge
stein. Naturally, Liszt's works became part of the piano instru
program of the piano class, written in 1867 by N. Rubinste
and Dubuque, provided two types for six-year students (gra
or virtuoso pieces. Among the classical selection were B
mann, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Hummel, and Johann
while the virtuoso pieces included Liszt, Friedrich Kuhlau,
von Weber. Another requirement was a few genre pieces, s
sohn's Lieder ohne Worte, or Field's and Chopin's noctu
Liszt transcriptions, etc.
From the text of the Program one can only guess at the
ples of instruction, as it does not contain details. But thanks to
of the concerts and other materials we know that Liszt's works were studied
continually. N. Rubinstein himself, besides playing his piano music, con-
ducted both his symphonies, the Faust and Dante, as well as the symphonic
poems Tasso, Hungaria, Festkliinge, Mazeppa, and Hunnenschlacht. Like
Balakirev, he was one of the most active promoters of Liszt's music in Rus-
sia. It is important to note that a general interest in new music was a distin-
guishing feature of the Moscow Conservatoire, unlike not only the Peters-
burg school but also many European ones. This can be seen from the words
of Emil Sauer, who studied under Liszt after N. Rubinstein's death:
When Grieg's concerto, now the property of all pianists, and Brahms' powerful
didactic Variations (on Paganini's themes) were novelties in the concert pro-
grams, and no one thought of using them for educational purposes, they had
been for a long time pearls of his [N. Rubinstein's] repertoire and could be heard
at the Moscow Conservatoire.5
Let us now remember that Liszt also let his pupils study the newest pi-
ano works, Balakirev's Islamey among them. N. Rubinstein was open to the
most modernist trends in Russian music too, and he twice offered Balakirev
a professorship in the Conservatoire (his brother Anton could never have
done that). But as Balakirev was opposed to the idea of the conservatoire it-
self, he refused to accept.
Both Rubinstein brothers shared Liszt's view that the meaning of music
should take the major place in the teaching process. While the principle was
5 Emil Sauer: Meine Welt. Berlin-Stuttgart, 1901. pp. 78-79.
realized in different ways, they nevertheless were rooted in Liszt's approach.

A. Rubinstein used programmatic associations in his interpretations of a mu-
sical piece. Nikolay based his commentaries on the analysis of the composi-
tion, its harmony, melody, etc. Such analysis became the starting point in the
progress towards the message of the music. It may therefore be since his time
that the Theory of Music has been taken so seriously at the Moscow Con-
servatoire. The school was to train widely educated musicians with a true un-
derstanding of their art, not just dabblers. To illustrate, here is a paragraph
from the Conservatoire's Charter written by N. Rubinstein:
The examiners must confer the title of 'free artist' with the strictest possible dis-
crimination, exclusively on those persons who not only prove to be masters of
technique but also demonstrate considerable knowledge of theory and instru-
mentation.6
Another testimony comes from Anton S. Arensky, a graduate of the Pe-

tersburg Conservatoire:
When I came from the Petersburg Conservatoire to Moscow, I was impressed by
the difference I noticed in the study of Theory. At the Petersburg Conservatoire
non-majors did not take it seriously, no one was interested in the discipline and
therefore no one knew it; by contrast, in Moscow any poor student could eclipse
a good student [of the Petersburg Conservatoire]. Such a state of things was due
to the fact that non-major classes were taught by Tchaikovsky.7
Thus, Arensky attributed the high standards of the Theory Class to

Tchaikovsky. But the Director's attitude could not but play its constructive
role. Even though he was critical of Liszt, one by one Tchaikovsky intro-
duced Liszt's pieces into the instructive material of the Orchestration Class.
The standards at the Moscow Conservatoire were high also in compari-
son with the European schools. This was undoubtedly due to the founders,
the professors recommended by Liszt. A student of his, Otto Neitzel, worked
at the Moscow Conservatoire in the 1880s and later became a professor at the
Cologne Conservatoire. Here is what he wrote in a letter:
In the Conservatoire [Cologne] it is mostly like anywhere else. They take a little
more 'rubbish', and the student's playing is a little worse than in Moscow. [...]
Since at the examination I made my pupils 'prance' through scales doubled at
the third and transpose Gradus etudes, all my colleagues became ill with scales.
In Cologne, at my initiative, we soon trained a few good scale-performers.8
6 Conservatoire Charter. MOCKOBCKHe BegOMOCTH [Moskovskie Vedomosti]. 1866, March 16, no. 57.
7 From the letter to S. I. Taneyev of 7 March, 1898. Cepref H. TaHeeB: MaTepHanJII H OKyMeHTbI
[Sergei I.Taneyev. Materials and Documents]. Vol. 1. Moscow, 1952. p. 164.
8 A. JIoMTeB: HeMeUlKHe My3MKaHTMI B PoccHH: I4cTopHI poccuf cKHZX KOHCepBaTOpHIl [D. Lomtev:
German musicians in Russia: History of Russian Conservatoires]. Moscow, 1999. p. 72.
Before discussing pianists who studied under Liszt an

ond half of the 19th century, worked at the Moscow Co
try to answer the question whether the professors recomm
stro, above all the violinist Ferdinand Laub and the
Cossmann, continued his tradition. No doubt it is hardly
were any features in their performance or teaching pra
cific to Liszt's manner or methods; there is no indication o
ther Laub nor Cossmann were Liszt's followers. Cossm
in the Weimar Orchestra but also in the Leipzig Gewan
had contacts not only with Liszt but also with Schuman
sohn, Berlioz, and Rossini. Laub was indeed a legendary
tire Russian musical world was in raptures over him. He
pendent enough as an artistic individuality. We should n
was for them not a teacher but a partner in their ensembl
Therefore, if there was anything that united the three
kinship of feeling, the most general principles of poetic
dimensions of artistic horizons. However, the critic and
der Serov more than once emphasized in his reviews La
the 'great Liszt', which means that the fact was well kn
served as an indirect reference. Serov also wrote that
Mr. Laub has every right to appear on the concert platform absol
ing the entire recital, just like Liszt did.9
The closest link between Laub, Cossmann, and Liszt,

could remain an unknown and unfixable but no less imp
shall turn to a more specific way in which the Liszt tradit
namely through his pupils who worked at the Moscow
were Joseph Wieniawsky, Carl Klindworth, Otto Neitz
Paul Pabst, and Alexander Siloti who (like Sauer) impro
Liszt after N. Rubinstein.
By merely comparing these names we can see that t
was continued by very different personalities; it was n
number of different and often rather contrasting trends. I
ural not only for Russia, but also for Germany. Liszt'
Btilow developed his teacher's principles, while also cre
tic idiom. He often gave concerts in Russia and was no
Rubinstein.
9 AreKcaHgp CepoB: CTaTbH o My3HKe [Alexander Serov: Essays on Music]. Vol. 4. Moscow, 1988. p. 53.
Thus, in the 1840s Russian audiences became acquainted with the pian
art of Liszt himself, and in the second half of the century the Liszt tradition
was represented in Russia in an essentially different embodiment, the art
the Rubinstein brothers, Billow, Pabst, Siloti, and others. It is even diffic
to say who was more like Liszt, the spontaneous, extremely emotional Anton
Rubinstein, or Billow, who was inclined to have more self-control and
demonstrate a more classical manner. The same can be applied to Liszt's
teaching. Klindworth's and Pabst's approaches were different, they depart
from their teacher's manner in certain methods and points. But on the whole
they employed his most important principles.
The impressions the above Liszt pupils left on Russian culture are no
equally significant. Above all, it is interesting to follow the development
his tradition in the succeeding generations of Russian pianists and teache
Among Schlotzer's pupils was Yelena Gnesina, the founder of the Music
Pedagogical Institute in Moscow. Alexander Goldenweiser and Konstanti
Igumnov studied under Pabst, who worked at the Conservatoire for abo
twenty years and left a very marked influence. The basic pieces in his concer
programs were by Schumann and Liszt.
Otto Neitzel was not only a pianist and teacher but also the author of es-
says (among them one About the Aesthetic Limits of Program Music), i
which he continued to explore the aesthetic issues that Liszt discussed in h
own works. But the most important influence on Russian piano art cam
from Siloti, who did not teach in the Moscow Conservatoire for more th
three years but among his pupils was Sergey Rachmaninoff. In his educ
tional activities Siloti developed one aspect of the Liszt tradition. He was t
second Russian musician (after Borodin) who wrote very valuable memoir
about Liszt. Both his teachers, N. Rubinstein and Liszt, valued him very
highly, and the idea that he should improve his art under Liszt was almo
part of Rubinstein's will on his death-bed.
In addition to Liszt's pupils we must mention certain other professor
who promoted and developed the Liszt tradition in Moscow musical life
Among them was the German musician Max Erdmannsdoirfer who did n
teach in the Conservatoire for a long time. He taught instrumentation and en
semble classes, but he was also a conductor at the Moscow branch of th
Russian Musical Society and gave special attention to promoting Liszt's an
Wagner's music.
Another noteworthy fact is that Ferruccio Busoni, w

the Liszt piano tradition, began his teaching career at th
toire. He worked there only one year (1889-90) but amo
Yelena Gnesina.
Thanks to the considerable number of Liszt's pupils and followers
among the Moscow Conservatoire professors where anyone could see them
at work, as well as to their intensive concert activities, Liszt's influence pen-
etrated other schools, some of which were at first alien or even antagonistic
to him. As a matter of fact, while the Rubinstein brothers were the first exam-
ples of this synthesis, Sergey Taneyev later demonstrated another very inter-
esting case. Taneyev was Tchaikovsky's pupil and a composer of the classi-
cal school ("Russian Brahms"). An explorer of Renaissance polyphony, he
had no interest in superficial brilliance or calculating for effect. It may seem
that he could have nothing in common with Liszt, but in N. Rubinstein's pi-
ano class Taneyev learned to appreciate Liszt's piano art, not as a modem
trend that he could either accept or reject, but as part of the legacy, a 'classi-
cal' model in the wider sense of the word. In his pianism there were certain
essential features of Liszt's art, and his repertoire included many of Liszt's
pieces. Boleslav Yavorsky wrote in his memoirs about Taneyev:
When I asked Taneyev about the sources of his piano technique, he usually
pointed out Siloti's influence and never mentioned Nikolay Rubinstein. He
would rather refer to Field whom he never heard but knew some of his pupils in
Russia. '
Here is an example of a thorough synthesis of piano schools once re-

garded as absolute opposites. In another place Yavorsky writes that "his
[Taneyev's] typical piano manner was something between Reisenauer's and
Siloti's"."I Both were Liszt pupils!
Taneyev's attitude to Liszt was especially important, because he
worked at the Moscow Conservatoire for about 30 years, was its Director,
and taught many classes - Piano, Harmony, Counterpoint, and Free Compo-
sition - thus influencing more than one generation of students. He did not oc-
cupy the post of Director for very long (only four years) but his impact was
notable. From the very start in 1885 he began renewing the teaching pro-
grams. He introduced new programs for the Piano, Harmony, Instrumenta-
tion, Transposition, and Score-Reading Classes. I would like to draw atten-
tion to the fact that Liszt's symphonic poems Prometheus and Hunnen-
10 B. ABopcKHIl: 136panHHbe COtlHHeHIHM [B.Yavorsky: Selected Works]. Vol. 2. Moscow, 1987. p. 258.
11 B.Yavorsky: op. cit. p. 316.
schlacht were among the samples in the Instrumentation Program. Besid

there was a novelty in the same course, as compared to Tchaikovsky's a
Hubert's: the students were taught not only to orchestrate the piano piec
but also to make piano arrangements of the orchestral works. Thus, one
the most important aspects of Liszt's piano art was represented in the teach-
ing practice of the Moscow Conservatoire.
The new Piano Program was intended for nine years. The part intend
for the senior students was written by Taneyev, Pabst, and Neitzel. In t
eighth year the students were to study one of Bach's organ works arranged b
Liszt. For each year there was a specific chapter devoted to technique. In t
6th-8th years the students were to play Chopin's etudes, in the 8th Liszt
Three Etudes de Concert and Etudes de Paganini, in addition, while in t
9th year, the Etudes d'execution transcendante. Three etudes were to b
played at the final examination. Besides the compulsory works each year t
students were to play something else, and there was a long list from whi
the professor could choose. The list included a few pieces by Liszt too. Fo
example, for the 7th year there was the etude Harmonies du soir, the Fif
Hungarian Rhapsody, the concert etudes Waldesrauschen and Gnomenre
gen; in the repertoire list for the 9th year there were the Spanish Rhapso
and the 6th, 12th and 14th Hungarian Rhapsodies. It is also well known th
already in the 1880s students of the Moscow Conservatoire played Liszt
late works.
Taneyev considered that professors who taught senior students did not
have to be famous virtuosi but had to be good pianists, give concerts and en-
large their concert repertoire. He wrote in the beginning of his piano-teach-
ing career that he had to practice certain passages from Liszt's pieces twenty
times before he achieved the elegance and ease required of a piano virtuoso.
Another example showing how deeply Liszt's principles penetrated
into certain anti-Liszt schools, is the piano art of Vasily Safonov, who be-
came Director of the Moscow Conservatoire in 1889, after Taneyev. Safo-
nov had studied in Petersburg under Louis Brassin, a pupil of Ignaz Mo-
scheles, and he continued the Hummel tradition. He founded his own piano
school, very strong and influential, basically anti-Liszt by nature. Neverthe-
less, Liszt's impact was already so profound that both Safonov himself and
his pupils played Liszt's works and employed his most general teaching
principles. Alexander Skriabin studied the piano under Safonov (and com-
position under Arensky and Taneyev). He taught the piano at the Moscow
Conservatoire from 1898 to 1903, and Liszt's music too

places in his teaching practice. Here is a statement from
memoirs:
On hearing that I had brought Beethoven and Liszt, A. N. [Skriabin] said: 'To-
day I do not want Beethoven, show me the Liszt.' [...] A. N. loved Liszt, and
from the very first chord ofthe As-dur etude (entitled by him Poeme d'amour) in
his inspired interpretation his tone changed. I felt that I had to catch each note
and each word. Carried away by his playing, A. N. demonstrated wonderful mo-
ments of elevation and enchanting sonorities, spouted picturesque comparisons
[...] I do not believe many people ever heard such Liszt.
During the first meeting Skriabin spoke to Nemenova-Lunz: "You need

to meet a number of requirements, or I cannot teach you music. Music", he
repeated, "not piano playing".12 In this way he formulated the major and ba-
sic principle of Liszt's teaching methods, which had become the general and
steadfast rule for the Moscow Conservatoire piano professors. Later (in
1920s-1940s) Nemenova-Lunz taught the piano and chamber ensemble at
the Moscow Conservatoire and was head of certain faculties. According to
informations provided by reports of the Conservatoire from the mid-1960s,
she was also working on a manuscript Liszt as Teacher: from Reports ofHis
Most Prominent Pupils which she seems to have left unfinished.
Skriabin brought the Liszt tradition into 20th century music, and he was
not alone in this. The most important product of the Moscow piano school
and, more specifically, of the Liszt tradition in it, was the performing manner
of Sergey Rachmaninoff. Rachmaninoff inherited Liszt's school almost at
first hand, from Siloti. He also continued the tradition of Anton Rubinstein's
art. Liszt's works occupied one of the most important places in Rach-
maninoff's concert repertoire. The pianist said that ifa program consisted of
Chopin's and Liszt's works, he did not need to play his own music. The un-
questionable fact is that the triad Liszt - A. Rubinstein - Rachmaninoff rep-
resents the three stages in the development of one tradition. And as a com-
poser, Rachmaninoff revealed some special parallels to Liszt. The three
movements of Rachmaninoff's first piano sonata have the same program-
matic titles as Liszt's Faust Symphony. But in the published text Rachma-
ninoff removed these titles.
I would like to draw attention to a specific feature of Russian music con-
nected with the peculiar place of Romanticism in it. It is common knowledge
12 MOCKOBCKaS KOHcepBaTopHI 1866-1966 [Moscow Conservatoire 1866-1966]. Moscow, 1966.
pp. 200-201.
Konstantin Zenkin: Liszt Tradition at the Moscow Conservatoire 107
that Russian musical Romanticism reached its climax later than the Euro-
pean trend, not in the times of Chopin, Liszt, or Richard Wagner but at th
turn of the century, in Skriabin's, Rachmaninoff's, and Nikolay Medtner'
music. Why such a late 'outburst' of Romanticism in Russia amongst the
new currents of the modernist style? If we remember that the modernis
trends prevailed not only in Western Europe but in Petersburg too, the an
swer suggests itself. I can propose the hypothesis that one of the reasons for
that most amazing climax of Romanticism in the beginning at the 20th cen
tury was a peculiar, very intense development of the Liszt tradition at th
Moscow Conservatoire. It was piano art that formed the basis of Skriabin's
Rachmaninoff's, and Medtner's musical mentality.
Thus, the Liszt tradition in Moscow that may seem a minor issue, brings
us closer to the understanding of the specific developments in Russian musi-
cal Romanticism. One may ask if Liszt's role in Russian music at the turn o
the 20th century was so important as to be reflected in Russian musicolog
of the time. It turns out that it was indeed. I mean the very original musician
Boleslav Yavorsky, who created his own, individual concept of the history o
music, in which Liszt took a very significant place.
According to Yavorsky, Chopin and Liszt were the founders of the new
epoch, which he described as 'psychological', which began in 1830 an
lasted till Skriabin's time. Yavorsky regarded Liszt as a much more daring
and radical innovator than Wagner. Yavorsky studied music under the sam
circumstances as Skriabin and Rachmaninoff, at the Moscow Conservatoire
in Taneyev's class. In his Memoirs about Taneyev he touched upon the issu
of the Liszt tradition in the school. In this connection he mentioned Anton
and N. Rubinstein, Klindworth, Laub, Cossmann, and Siloti.
I have spoken before about features of Liszt's art in Taneyev's pianism
noted by Yavorsky, who wrote not only about those links between Liszt an
his teacher:
Preparing to compose his last cantata, he [Taneyev], in his own words, studied
Liszt's symphonies, oratorios and psalms very carefully, seeking out the typical
examples of polyphony.13
The title of Taneyev's last cantata, After Reading the Psalm, is associ-
ated with the title of Liszt's Fantasia quasi Sonata 'Apris une lecture du
Dante'.
13 B.Yavorsky: op. cit., Vol. 2, p. 276.
Yavorsky taught piano majors at the Kiev Conservatoir

cow Conservatoire (1938-42) he had a post-graduate class of
forming Styles. In both cases the Liszt tradition was undoubte
ter of his attention. Sergey Prokofiev wrote about an interesti
I was not yet a mature musician at all at the time, and I could af
light-mindedly about Liszt, whom I did not know well enough. Ho
Yavorsky attacked me, defending Liszt, explaining what a wonderfu
he had been [...] half Wagner's music came from Liszt. Only a few
did I study Liszt's music well, came to love it and understand
Yavorsky had been when he attacked me so furiously during our first
At the beginning of the 20th century Yavorsky made

modes. Besides major and minor he constructed so-called "
modes, based on three-tone intervals and thus similar to O
modes of limited transposition. It is clear that the musical base
theory was Liszt's harmony.
The theme of links between Russian pianists and Liszt
after Yavorsky by Ruvim Ostrovsky, who defended his dis
Moscow Conservatoire in 1995. The title of his work was Ferenc Liszt and
Russian Piano Art in the 19th Century, and in it he emphasized Liszt's im-
pact on A. Rubinstein. He wrote about Liszt's pupils who worked in Peters-
burg and Kharkov. Recently the Moscow composer Vladimir Riabov wrote
the piano works Twelve Transcendental Variations on Liszt's Theme (fanta-
sia of etudes) in 1985 and Echo of the Mephisto- Waltz in 1990. In the Mos-
cow piano school of the 20th century there were pianists who considered the
Liszt tradition to be the basic influence on Russian piano art. Among them
were Lev Vlasenko (connected with Liszt through a continual line of teach-
ing tradition: Jakob Flier - Konstantin Igumnov - Pabst - Liszt), and Viktor
Merzhanov (his link with Liszt being through another continuity, namely
Samuil Feinberg - Alexander Goldenweiser - Pabst - Liszt).
14 B. MBOpCKHAI: CTaTbH. BOCHOMHHaHHSI. HepeIHCKa [B.Yavorsky: Essays. Memoirs. Letters].Vol. 1.

Moscow, 1972. p. 67.

The Liszt Tradition and Influence

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The Liszt Tradition and Influence

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The Liszt Tradition at the Moscow Conservatoire

Author(s): Konstantin Zenkin

To discuss traditions in pedagogical matters means to intrude almost

Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 42/1-2, 2001, pp. 93-108

The strength of Liszt's influence is determined by tw

Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 42, 2001

Figure 1: Ilya Repin: Slavic Composers, 1872. A grou

way the great Russian composer treated the piano in the

Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 42 2001

In his Historical Concerts series A. Rubinstein also spoke about Liszt

It was the Rubinsteins - Anton in Petersburg and Nikolay in Moscow -

Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 42, 2001

ciple was absolutely new to Russia and it was thanks to

Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 42, 2001

gnoeusement corrigfs et enridlies d'nn doIfgt minUtieux pour les 16ves

Mosoou chez P. Jurgen

AhmmA ym. Norm 173 9 ?Iw 1p3 A r

Figure 2: Klindworth's critical and ped

Studia Musicologica Academiae Sc

of theory and a choir leader, who succeeded N. Rubinstein

Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 42, 2001

realized in different ways, they nevertheless were rooted in Liszt's approach.

Another testimony comes from Anton S. Arensky, a graduate of the Pe-

Thus, Arensky attributed the high standards of the Theory Class to

Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 42, 2001

Before discussing pianists who studied under Liszt an

The closest link between Laub, Cossmann, and Liszt,

Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 42, 2001

Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 42, 2001

Another noteworthy fact is that Ferruccio Busoni, w

Here is an example of a thorough synthesis of piano schools once re-

Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 42, 2001

schlacht were among the samples in the Instrumentation Program. Besid

Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 42, 2001

Conservatoire from 1898 to 1903, and Liszt's music too

During the first meeting Skriabin spoke to Nemenova-Lunz: "You need

Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 42, 2001

Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 42, 2001

Yavorsky taught piano majors at the Kiev Conservatoir

At the beginning of the 20th century Yavorsky made

14 B. MBOpCKHAI: CTaTbH. BOCHOMHHaHHSI. HepeIHCKa [B.Yavorsky: Essays. Memoirs. Letters].Vol. 1.

Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 42, 2001

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