Medtner, Nikolai Karlovich 1880 - 1951
Author: Ozaki, Koichi
Last updated：January 1, 2010
Author: Ozaki, Koichi
Medtner's background as "a Russian composer and pianist active in the first half of the 20th century" is felt with a certain sense of incongruity when one actually hears his works.
In the first half of the 20th century, when humanity experienced two World Wars, new concepts such as Dadaism and Surrealism were successively introduced in art, in response to these events. In Western music, too, with the emergence of the Second Viennese School, tonality and form broke free from their confines, and the world of musical works was continuously expanding.
However, what one hears from Medtner's works are graceful sounds directly connected to Romanticism—specifically, German late Romanticism—depicted with idioms that could even be called traditional. "If that is music, then I am not a musician" was his remark referring to Prokofiev, and as this statement clearly shows, Medtner was a composer who continuously evaded the categories of modernism and avant-garde. (However, rather than interpreting this as going against the times, it should be said that he was a unique presence in that he sought to depict the present using traditional methods.)
He left Russia, where the October Revolution had occurred, in 1921. He never returned to his homeland thereafter, and it was several years after his death that his wife brought his scores back to the Soviet Union for the publication of his complete works. In 1925, Stravinsky, Prokofiev and others, but his works were incompatible with the post-World War I music scene, exemplified by Les Six. It was in England that he gained patrons and understanding, and was most highly regarded. He moved there in 1936 and died in the same country.
Most of his works are piano pieces. The character pieces "Fairy Tales" (Skazki) are a representative series among them. The legends and fantasies associated with the titles are not strongly linked to the musical ideas; rather, it is interesting how personal inner landscapes seem to shine through.
Works(41)
Concerto (1)
concerto (3)
Piano Solo (5)
sonata (10)
pieces (13)
4 Lirichiskikh Fragmenta/ 4 lyric fragments/ 4 Lyrische Fragmente Op.23
Composed in: 1910 Playing time: 10 min 40 sec
Vergessene Weisen / Forgotten melodies [ book 2] Op.39
Composed in: 1918 Playing time: 27 min 40 sec
3 Hymnen an die Arbeit / Three Hymns in Praise of Toil Op.49
Composed in: 1926 Playing time: 10 min 20 sec
variation (1)
Tema con variazioni / Theme and Variation Op.55
Key: cis-moll Composed in: 1933 Playing time: 9 min 10 sec
character pieces (11)
Piano Ensemble (1)