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Nikolai Sergeyevich Zverev (Russian:
Николай Сергеевич Зверев,
sometimes transliterated Nikolai Zveref; 1832–12
October [O.S. 30
September] 1893) was a Russian pianist and teacher known for his pupils Mily Balakirev,
Konstantin
Igumnov, Alexander Siloti, Alexander Goldenweiser, Matvei
Pressman, Leonid Maximov, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Alexander
Scriabin.[1]
Life
Zverev was born in 1832 in Volokolamsk, Russia, into an aristocratic family. He attended Moscow State University, studying mathematics and physics, while taking piano
lessons from Alexander Dubuque (1812–98).[1] He
did not graduate, because he inherited a large family fortune, and
moved to Saint
Petersburg and became a civil servant.[2] While
there, he continued to study piano with Adolf von
Henselt, who emphasized the importance of practice, which was
the basis of Zverev's own strict regime that he required of his
students.[3]
Unsatisfied with civil service, and persuaded by Dubuque, he
returned to Moscow in 1867 to
become a private teacher. In 1870, Nikolai Rubinstein asked him to
teach at the Moscow Conservatory, which he
did.[1] He
was homosexual,[4][5]
never married, and died at the age of 61, in 1893.[1]
Teaching
methods
Zverev (center) and the students he housed, from left to right,
Samuelson, Scriabin, Maximov, Rachmaninoff, Chernyaev, Keneman, and
Pressman.
Pupils had to audition to become a student of Zverev's. Once
accepted, they would move into his house. He required many things
of each student, including mandatory opera attendances and chamber music rehearsals.[6]
Throughout the week, his students had to practice many hours, but
on Sunday, they would relax, and he would host an open house. In
the afternoon and evening, he would invite musical and intellectual
figures from all over Moscow. His guests included Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Alexander
Taneyev, Anton
Arensky, Anton Rubinstein, Vasily Safonov, Alexander Siloti, and other musicians,
actors, lawyers, and professors. During these gatherings, he would
allow no one to touch the piano, except to illustrate a point,
because it was his students whom the gatherings were for.[1]
Pupils
Zverev took only male students,[5] and
referred to them as "cubs" (Russian: зверята),[1] as
far as his surname is derived from Russian зверь
(beast). The following were among his prominent
students:
|
|
- Konstantin Igumnov (1873–1948)
taught at the Moscow Conservatory, and gave lessons to Natalia
Satina, who would become Rachmaninoff's wife.
- Fyodor
Keneman (1873–1937) was a friend of Rachmaninoff.
- Leonid Maximof (1873–1904) died at age 29, terminating a
successful career.
- Matvei Pressman (1870–1937) became Head of the Rostov
Conservatory.
|
References
- ^ a
b
c
d
e
f
Harrison, Max (2006). Rachmaninoff: Life, Works,
Recordings. London:
Continuum.
pp. 11–15. ISBN
0-8264-9312-2. http://books.google.com/books?id=HwSvhu1kLikC.
- ^
Seroff, Victor (1951).
Rachmaninoff. London:
Orion Publishing Group
(Cassell). pp. 13. ISBN
0-8369-8034-4.
- ^ (Portuguese)
Gondim, Ricardo (2007-06-12). "The kids who care, Concerto
No. 2, Rachmaninoff". Logos Electronico. http://www.logoseletronico.com/audicoes/rach.htm. Retrieved
2007-12-08.
- ^
Bowers, Faubion. "Scriabin Again and
Again". UBU Web. http://www.ubu.com/aspen/aspen2/scriabin.html. Retrieved
2007-12-10.
- ^ a
b
Harrison, p. 22. "The problem was not that Rachmaninoff needed a
separate room and piano for his composing. Certainly, while he
taught the wives and dighters of his patrons in the many Moscow
houses he visited, it was notable that he only took boys—never
girls, however gifted—to live with him in his own
establishment."
- ^ Bertensson, Sergei; Jay Leyda (2001). Sergei Rachmaninoff: A
Lifetime in Music. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press.
pp. 8–12. ISBN
0-2532-1421-1. http://books.google.com/books?id=KM-dgfOaIIkC.
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