Creative environment of Igumnov K.N. Extracurricular event Lecture-concert "Outstanding pianists-students of K

Konstantin Nikolaevich (19 IV (1 V) 1873, Lebedyan, now Lipetsk region - 24 III 1948, Moscow) - Sov. pianist and teacher. Nar. art. USSR (1946). Doctor of Art History (1940). He studied in Moscow - from 1887 with N. S. Zverev (ph.), from 1888 at the conservatory in the class of ph. with A. I. Ziloti and P. A. Pabst, in theory of music and composition with S. I. Taneyev, A. S. Arensky and M. M. Ippolitov-Ivanov, in the chamber ensemble class with V. I. Safonov, simultaneously (1892-95) on historical and philological. f-te un-ta. Graduated from the Conservatory in Physics class. P. A. Pabst (1894). In 1895 he participated in the International. Piano Competition named after. A. G. Rubinstein in Berlin (honorary diploma). He first performed as a concert pianist in Moscow in 1895. In 1896-98 he taught and gave concerts in Moscow, in 1898-99 he taught at the Mus. school in Tbilisi. Since 1899, professor Moscow. conservatory; from 1918 (with short breaks) he consistently led the fp. department, will execute. f-tom, in 1924-1929 rector.
Execute I.'s art contained the best features of Russian. pianistic schools. It is characterized by deep lyricism. penetration, impeccable taste, sense of proportion and nobility of expression; devoid of external virtuoso effects, far-fetchedness and pretentiousness, I.’s playing was especially impressive with the naturalness of phrasing, melodiousness, softness and beauty of tone, perfect mastery of pedaling, and subtle coloring, which was never an end in itself. Each sound detail was a consequence of the overall performance. plan.
In I.'s repertoire - production. diff. styles and genres. He successfully performed FP's masterpieces. classic And romantic literature, incl. sonatas - op. 111 L. Beethoven, B-moll P. Chopin, B-moll P. Liszt, “Kreisleriana” and “Fantasia” by R. Schumann, 2nd concert in c-moll and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by S. V. Rachmaninov, 2- th sonata-fantasy by A. N. Scriabin; a number of plays by F. Schubert, F. Mendelssohn, Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, J. Brahms, M. I. Glinka, A. G. Rubinstein, A. K. Lyadov, Scriabin, Rachmaninov and others found him outstanding and original interpreter.
But the most significant was Spanish. I. production P.I. Tchaikovsky, incl. "The Seasons", Sonata in g-dur, Concerto in b-minor, Concert Fantasy in g-dur, fp. trio “In Memory of the Great Artist”, Romance in F minor, Waltz in F minor, Lullaby and other pieces, imbued with amazing simplicity and chastity, warmth and sincerity. I. is the creator of one of the owls. world famous pianism school. His pedagogical main method on the comprehensive identification and development of the individual. characteristics of a pianist. I. was characterized by special flexibility and insight in assessing the strengths and capabilities of students, on whom he had a fruitful influence. Among the students: N. A. Orlov, I. A. Dobrovein, V. N. Argamakov, An. N. Alexandrov, L. N. Oborin, Y. V. Flier, A. B. Dyakov, M. I. Grinberg, I. I. Mikhnovsky, A. L. Yocheles, Ya. I. Milshtein, A. D. and M. D. Gottlieb, K. X. Adzhemov, A. A. Babajanyan, O. D. Boshnyakovich, N. L. Shtarkman, B. M. Davidovich, M. S. Gambaryan and others. State. USSR Ave. (1946).
Essays: To the 60th anniversary of the Moscow State Conservatory, “Music and Revolution”, 1927, No. 4; Problems of performance, "Soviet Art", 1932, April 21; Creativity, not craft, ibid., 1932, November 26; About Chopin, ibid., 1935, November 11; About Tchaikovsky's piano works, "SM", 1940, No. 5-6; My performing and pedagogical principles. (Synopsis of the report) (Introductory article; publication by Ya. I. Milshtein), "SM", 1948, No. 4. Literature: Ya. M. (Milshtein Ya. I.), "SM". 1948, No. 2 (obituary); his “Soviet Art”, 1948, March 27 (obituary); by him, K. N. Igumnov, M., 1949; his, Performing and pedagogical principles of K. N. Igumnov, in the book: Masters of the Soviet pianistic school, M., 1954; him, K.N. Igumnov and issues of piano pedagogy, in the book: Issues of piano performance, vol. 1, M., 1965; Rabinovich D., K.N. Igumnov, in his book: Portraits of Pianists, (M., 1962). 1970; Adzhemov K., Konstantin Nikolaevich Igumnov, in his book: Unforgettable, 1972, p. 19-37; Wreath to Konstantin Nikolaevich Igumnov, "SM", 1973, No. 5 (memoirs of L. Oborin, Y. Flier, A. Gottlieb, A. Babajanyan, M. Grinberg, M. Zverev, P. Romanovsky, I. Kozlovsky, Y. Milyntein ). Ya. I. Milshtein.

Igumnov Konstantin Nikolaevich (05/01/1873 – 03/24/1948)

K. N. Igumnov bright representative and a successor to the traditions of the Russian performing school. His teachers at the Moscow Conservatory, from which he graduated in 1894, were A. Siloti and P. Pabst (piano), S. Taneyev, A. Arensky, M. Ippolitov-Ivanov (music theory and composition), V. Safonov ( chamber ensemble). And soon, after finishing his studies, he took a prominent place among Russian concert pianists. Already a seasoned musician, Igumnov himself spoke about his development: “My performing path is complex and tortuous. I divide it into the following periods: 1895-1908 - the academic period; 1908-1917 - the period of the emergence of quests under the influence of artists and writers (Serov, Somov, Bryusov, etc.); 1917 - 1930 - a period of revaluation of all values, passion for color to the detriment of rhythmic pattern, abuse of rubato; 1930-1940 - the gradual formation of my current views. However, I fully realized them and “found myself” only after the Great Patriotic War" This is how difficult and tortuous the path of the famous pianist and teacher was.

What is his style? What are Igumnov’s principles of interpretation and repertoire inclinations?

His colleagues, friends, students, contemporaries unanimously noted special treatment pianist to the piano, it was as if he was conducting a dialogue with all the listeners through the sounds of the piano. Let us give a number of statements about Igumnov the performer. “Igumnov as a pianist is a completely exceptional phenomenon,” the rector of the Moscow Conservatory said in an interview with the newspaper “Soviet Art” in 1933. – True, he does not belong to the family of piano masters who are distinguished by their brilliant technique, powerful sound, and orchestral interpretation of the instrument. Igumnov belongs to pianists like Field, Chopin, i.e. to the masters who came closest to the specifics of the piano, did not look for artificially induced orchestral effects in it, but extracted from it what is most difficult to extract from the external rigidity of the sound - melodiousness. Igumnovsky’s piano sings, as rarely does any of the great modern pianists.”

His student, Professor Y. Milshtein, who spent a lot of time studying the legacy of his teacher, recalled his playing this way: “Few could compete with Igumnov in the beauty of sound, distinguished by its extraordinary richness of color and amazing melodiousness. Under his hands the piano acquired properties human voice. Thanks to some special touch, as if merging with the keyboard (by his own admission, the principle of fusion was the basis of his touch), and also thanks to the subtle, varied, pulsating use of the pedal, he produced a sound of rare charm. Even with a strong blow, his carcass did not lose its charm: it was always noble. Igumnov preferred to play more quietly, but not to “scream”, not to force the sound of the piano, not to go beyond its natural limits.” A. Alschwang also speaks about this: “He gained popularity thanks to the breathtaking sincerity of his playing, live contact with the audience and excellent interpretation of the classics... Many rightly note the courageous severity in K. Igumnov’s performance. At the same time, K. Igumnov’s sound is characterized by softness and closeness to speech melody. His interpretation is distinguished by its liveliness and freshness of colors.”

But what does the pianist himself say? How did he work on the interpretation, where did he get his inspiration? Igumnov was a man of few words by nature, and very rarely “opened up” to an audience. But one day he shared his thoughts characterizing his performing principles: “I think that every musical performance is live speech, a coherent story... But just telling is not enough. It is necessary that the story has a certain content and that the performer always has something that would bring him closer to this content. And here I can't think musical performance abstractly: I always want to resort to some everyday analogies. In short, I draw the content of a story either from certain ideas or from a certain historical era. For me it is certain that in every significant work something is sought out that connects the performer with real life. I can’t imagine music for music’s sake, without human experiences... That’s why it is necessary that performed work found some kind of response in the personality of the performer, so that it would be close to him. You can, of course, reincarnate, but there must always be some connecting threads. It cannot be said that I necessarily imagined the program of the work. No, what I imagine is not a program. These are just some feelings, thoughts, comparisons that help evoke moods similar to those that I want to convey in my performance. These are like a kind of “working hypotheses” that make it easier to comprehend the artistic concept.”

Which composers were close to K. Igumnov? It should be noted that Igumnov was selective in choosing authors. He performed only those authors who were close to him in spirit: “If a composer is alien to me and his works do not provide me personally with material for performing creativity,” shares Igumnov, “I cannot include him in my repertoire (for example, piano works Balakirev, French impressionists, late Scriabin, some plays Soviet composers)". So who is close to the pianist? First of all, these are works foreign composers romantics (Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms, Chopin, Liszt) and Russian piano classics, presented primarily piano works P.I. Tchaikovsky. “Nowhere,” recalls Y. Milstein, “even in Chopin, Schumann and Liszt, is Igumnov’s special style of playing, full of simplicity, nobility and chaste modesty, expressed as successfully as in the works of Tchaikovsky. It is impossible to imagine that the subtlety of execution can be brought to a more high degree perfection. It is impossible to imagine greater smoothness and thoughtfulness of melodic outpourings, greater truthfulness and sincerity of feelings. Igumnov's performance of these works differs from others, just as an extract differs from a diluted mixture. Indeed, everything about him is amazing: every nuance here is a role model, every stroke is a subject of admiration.”

Thus, K. Igumnov’s performing style was original and original, he did not adapt to fashion trends changing pianistic art, was not “like everyone else” and always remained true to himself, his artistic taste and artistic intuition. Very exact description his best students Y. Milshtein and Y. Flier give his play: “A sincere and demanding artist, Igumnov was alien to any affectation, pose, or external gloss. For the sake of colorful effect, for the sake of surface shine, he never sacrificed artistic sense... Igumnov did not tolerate anything extreme, harsh or excessive. His playing style was simple and laconic.” Igumnov’s aesthetic principles were also stable, despite his search for himself throughout his life. “His sympathies as an artist and teacher have long been on the side of music that is clear, meaningful, truly realistic in its core (he simply did not recognize anything else), his “credo” of a musician-interpreter has always revealed itself through such qualities as the spontaneity of the performer’s embodiment of the image, penetration and subtlety of poetic experience."

Can't help but notice him pedagogical activity. Among his students a large number of concert pianists who have gained wide fame and worldwide vocation. Here are some names: N. Orlov, I. Dobrovein, L. Oborin, Y. Flier, A. Dyakov, A., and M. Gottlieb, M. Grinberg, I. Mokhnovsky, A. Yocheles, O. Boshnyakovich, N. Shtarkman , B. Davidovich. Igumnov began teaching after graduating from the conservatory at the music school in Tbilisi (1898-1899), and in 1899 he became a professor at the Moscow Conservatory. And in the period from 1924 to 1929 he served as rector. Igumnov was alien to dogmatism and authoritarianism towards his students. For him, the lesson is, first of all, creative process, search best interpretation, the most faithful touch to the instrument, and no template. “My pedagogy,” said Konstantin Nikolaevich, “is closely connected with my performance, and this causes a lack of stability in my pedagogical attitudes.” Hence it is clear why all his students are so different from each other in their performing arts, their interpretation of the same works is so contrasting. But the only thing that unites all the teacher’s students is a reverent attitude towards music. And the words of Y. Flier very accurately characterize the basis of his pedagogical views: “Konstantin Nikolaevich could forgive the student false notes, but he did not forgive and did not tolerate false feelings.”

In 1946, Konstantin Nikolaevich was awarded the title of People's Artist of the USSR, and in the same year he was awarded the USSR State Prize.

In conclusion, I would like to note that K.N. Igumnov was “a man of rare charm, simplicity and nobility. No honors or glory could shake his deepest modesty. There was not a shadow of that vanity in him that sometimes plagues some artists.”

Literature: Y. Milshtein “Konstantin Nikolaevich Igumnov” (Moscow, 1975), D. Rabinovich “Portraits of Pianists” (Moscow, 1962; 2nd ed. 1970)

IN psychological literature There are two main points of view on a creative personality. According to one, creativity or creative ability is, to one degree or another, characteristic of every normal person. It is as integral to a person as the ability to think, speak and feel. Moreover, the implementation creative potential regardless of its scale, it makes a person mentally normal. To deprive a person of such an opportunity means to cause neurotic states in him. According to the second point of view, not every (normal) person should be considered a creative person, or creator. This position is associated with a different understanding of the nature of creativity. Here, in addition to the unprogrammed process of creating something new, the value of the new result is taken into account. It must be universally significant, although its scale may be different. The most important characteristic of a creator is a strong and persistent need for creativity. A creative person cannot live without creativity, seeing in it the main goal and main meaning of his life

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Psychological characteristics personality of K.N. Igumnov.

In the psychological literature, there are two main points of view on the creative personality. According to one, creativity or creative ability is, to one degree or another, characteristic of every normal person. It is as integral to a person as the ability to think, speak and feel. Moreover, the realization of creative potential, regardless of its scale, makes a person mentally normal. To deprive a person of such an opportunity means to cause neurotic states in him. According to the second point of view, not every (normal) person should be considered a creative person, or creator. This position is associated with a different understanding of the nature of creativity. Here, in addition to the unprogrammed process of creating something new, the value of the new result is taken into account. It must be universally significant, although its scale may be different. The most important characteristic of a creator is a strong and persistent need for creativity. A creative person cannot live without creativity, seeing in it the main goal and main meaning of his life

A creative personality is a type of personality characterized by perseverance, high level creativity-oriented, motivational - creative activity, which manifests itself in organic unity with a high level creativity, allowing her to achieve progressive, social and personally significant results in one or more types of activity (V. Andreev).

Psychologists view creativity as a high level logical thinking, which is an impetus for activity, “the result of which is created material and spiritual values.”

The following can be made common features and features creative personality, accepted by many researchers of this problem:

1. Man is endowed with freedom of choice.

2. The human creator acts main reason your behavior.

3. Home driving force is the need to confirm your thoughts, ideas, skills.

4. Man is a creator, tuned to internal and external development.

5. A creative person has a breadth of consciousness and self-awareness.

6. A person's actions, especially his thoughts and actions, greatly influence where he ranks in the scale of good and evil; under their influence he becomes humane or inhumane.

The life and art of K.N. Igumnov cannot be considered separately; they seem to be fused together. Life had value for him only because it gave him the opportunity to do what he loved. Unfortunately, Konstantin Nikolaevich did not keep a diary, and avoided any statements of an “intimate” and personal nature. Therefore, make up psychological picture the personality of K.N. Igumnov can be based on the memories of his relatives, students and friends.

In his book, Y. Milshtein notes that Kostya was “more withdrawn than sociable, more thoughtful than cheerful, but he was not distinguished by any impressionability. WITH early years he was drawn to music in all its forms.” These and other statements from students and close people, as well as some facts from the biography of K.N. Igumnov, suggest the predominance of a melancholic temperament.A melancholic person is a person endowed with a subtle soul.As a child, he is a very impressionable, soft and obedient child who is somewhat withdrawn and shy. He doesn't have many friends. He is not a leader for a large team, but he can easily attract several followers. He is sensitive and compassionate to grief loved one. Emotions are deeply hidden and break through only at the peak of excitement.Melancholic people have a rich imagination, subtle style and excellent taste. These are talented deep people with a fine mental organization. Under favorable circumstances, melancholic people can overcome the disadvantages of this temperament and creatively use the advantages: high sensitivity nervous system, a subtle reaction to the slightest shades of feelings, deep emotional experiences, characterized by great stability.

The following main features of the creative personality of K.N. Igumnov are highlighted:

The emergence of a directed interest in a certain field of knowledge, even in childhood (passionate interest in music in childhood);

High work capacity (long hours of “exercise” throughout life, sometimes to the detriment of health);

Subordination of creativity to spiritual motivation;

Perseverance (K.N. Igumnov could hone his skills by working on one piece for many days);

Passion for work (work in Teflis, intensive concert activity during the war);

Courage of thought, tendency to take risks;

Fantasy (K.N. Igumnov invited students to imagine artistic images while working on a piece of music);

Problem vision;

Ability to think;

Ability to find contradiction;

Ability to transfer knowledge and experience to new situation(work to transform the pedagogical activities of the conservatory in 1917-1924);

Independence;

Alternativeity;

Flexibility of thinking;

Ability to self-government (overcoming the creative crisis of 1908-1917);

Correct figurative speech (it is noted that in K.N. Igumnov’s speech, in addition to its correctness, there was an artistic side. No wonder hegreat poets and prose writers were close, praising the beauty of Russian nature);

Openly expressing one’s opinion on professional issues (this applied to both Konstantin Nikolaevich himself and his students).

A graphological analysis of his handwriting will help to better reveal the personality of K.N. Igumnov. To achieve a more reliable result, handwriting elements were used in the analysis.

Graphology (from ancient Greek γράφω - “I write” and λόγος - “study”) is the doctrine according to which there is a stable connection between handwriting and individual characteristics personality.

Handwriting studies (forensic handwriting studies) is a branch of criminology that studies the development of a person’s written and motor skills, developing methods for studying handwriting in order to solve the problems of forensic handwriting examination.

Let's look at a fragment of the letter:

Straight lines indicate an adequate attitude to the current situation on this moment time. About the ability to move forward despite difficulties. Sometimes it is difficult for such a person to make spontaneous decisions. However, the opposite is known from the biography of K.N. Igumnov. An emotional person who tries to control any manifestations of his emotions, as well as all his words and actions. Restrained. High self-criticism, high moral and ethical level.This is a person who is extremely critical of himself, ready for self-sacrifice. Doesn't like to attract attention to himself. There is a tendency towards a pessimistic outlook on life.Stable spaces of the same width indicate that a person treats social inequality with respect and understanding and behaves appropriately when meeting new people. In addition, the same size of intervals between words is considered a sign of reliability and stability in interpersonal relationships. The width of the letters indicates the presence of a life goal. Strokes that return to the main line of writing with obvious periodicity indicate the presence of a sense of rhythm. This feature handwriting suggests the presence musical ear. The bright element of the letter “d” speaks of a creative personality.

In the formation, formation and development of a creative personality important role family plays. The family of K.N. Igumnov was the most respected in the city of Lebedyan. It was famous not only for its charitable deeds, but also for the deep spirituality and religiosity of all its members. Over the course of several years, the Igumnov family laid the spiritual and moral foundations not only in their children, but throughout the entire city. It is not surprising that Costa retained an amazing love for his homeland throughout his life. The family situation gave impetus to further development boy's abilities.

"Lebedyan is very important period in my life, a period that laid the foundations for further artistic development and left an imprint in many ways" (K.N. Igumnov).

The development of an individual’s creative abilities is significantly influenced by collective creative activity. Firstly, it enhances the individual's creative motivation. Secondly, higher efficiency is revealed in solving problems that require an extraordinary approach in group activities.

The right environment in the gymnasium, and subsequently at the conservatory, did not allow the nascent talent to fade away - the talent of a teacher. The presence of skillful teachers who are able to captivate with their professionalism and spiritual qualities helped K.N. Igumnov to reveal himself as a musician and a person.

The democratic style of educational communication forms the communicative skills of children, allowing the teacher to implement not only the teaching, but also the developing and nurturing functions of education.

The friendly environment encouraged young Konstantin Nikolaevich to self-improvement and the development of creative abilities. K.N. Igumnov’s friendly environment at the time of studying at the conservatory: Scriabin - friendly, sociable, fun-loving; Rachmaninov is closed, stern, even gloomy. K.N. Igumnov got along better with Scriabin; they balanced each other well in temperament.

But the most important thing was a passionate desire to do what I loved, to achieve professionalism and a reverent attitude towards music. Psychologists believe that the main driver of the formation and development of a creative personality is the personality itself. Her desire, goals and motives. K.N. Igumnov’s student, Professor K. Adzhemov recalled his words spoken during his illness, when doctors forbade him to play: “But what is the meaning of my life? To play...”

Bibliography:

1. Berdyaev N. The meaning of creativity / N. Berdyaev, - M.: Progress, 1989.

2. Vygotsky L.S. Imagination and creativity in childhood- M.: Education, 1991.

3. L. A. Vinberg, M. V. Shvankova. Handwriting examination. - Volgograd: Higher Investigative School of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs, 1977.

4. Galin A.L. Psychological characteristics of creative behavior. - Novosibirsk: 2001.

5. Gatanov Yu.B. Development of a personality capable of creative self-realization. // Psychological Science and education, - 1998. - No. 1.

6. Gambaryan M. Forever beloved teacher // Soviet music, 1980, № 7.

7. Geraimchuk I.M. Philosophy of creativity. - M.: Eksmo, 2006.

8. Intelligence and creativity / ed. A.N. Voronin, - M.: Progress, - 1999.

9. Maidanov A.S. Methodology scientific creativity/ A.S. Maidanov, - M.: LKI, 2007.

10. Milshtein Y. Konstantin Nikolaevich Igumnov. – M., Music, 1975.

11. Nikolaenko N.N. Psychology of creativity / ed. L.M. Shipitsyna, - St. Petersburg: Rech, 2005.

12. Ponomarev Ya.A. Psychology of creativity. - M.: Academy, 1998.

13. Pryazhnikov N.S. Activation methods spiritual potential personality, - M.: MODEK, 2008.

14. Practical graphology: how to find out a person’s character by handwriting. Compiled by: E. L. Isaeva - M., Progress, 2002.

15. Tikhomirov O.K. Psychological research creative activity. - M.: Eksmo, 2000.

16. Yaroshevsky M.G. Psychology of creativity and creativity in psychology // "Questions of Psychology", - No. 6, 1985.

Igumnov K.N.

Konstantin Nikolaevich Igumnov(April 17 (May 1), 1873, Lebedyan - March 24, 1948, Moscow) - Russian pianist and teacher, one of the founders of the Russian pianistic school. National artist USSR (1946), Doctor of Art History (1940), rector of the Moscow Conservatory. P.I. Tchaikovsky (1924 - 1929). A subtle interpreter of piano works by P. I. Tchaikovsky.

Biography

Born on April 19 (May 1), 1873 in Lebedyan, Tambov province (now Lipetsk region), in merchant family. Father, Nikolai Ivanovich, was known as well-read, educated person, who loved music and literature.

The boy's musical abilities showed up early. From the age of four he was taught to play the piano. On January 14, 1881, when he was eight years old, he already performed in a mixed concert, performing, together with his teacher, Fantasia on themes from Verdi’s opera “Il Trovatore.”

While studying at a gymnasium, Konstantin Igumnov gave a concert with a friend in 1886. M. Morshanskaya, who was present at that concert, recalled:

“I remember being a high school student. At that time I was on summer vacation in Lebedyan. My mother and I came to a concert of high school students. Strong impression I was struck by a tall, thin young man. He has among long face the aquiline nose stood out. I was amazed by his playing: the long musical fingers, the bent figure of Konstantin Igumnov, it seemed that he was musical organ, who extracted wonderful sounds of music from the piano with great virtuosity.”

In 1887, his parents took the 14-year-old boy to Moscow and enrolled him in the fifth grade of the First Moscow Classical Gymnasium. In parallel with his studies at the gymnasium, he took private piano lessons from famous teacher N. S. Zverev (from whom S. Rachmaninov and A. Scriabin studied at the same time). In 1888, K. Igumnov entered the Moscow Conservatory as a volunteer in the class of A. I. Ziloti, then P. A. Pabst; At the same time, he studied polyphony with S.I. Taneyev and tried his hand at composition. He studied at Moscow University (in 1892 - 1895, first at the Faculty of Law, then at the Faculty of History and Philology), but did not complete the course. In 1894 he graduated from the Moscow Conservatory with a gold medal and then made his debut as a soloist. Participated in International competition pianists named after A.G. Rubinstein in Berlin (1895), where he received a commendable review. Subsequently, he constantly gave concerts, mainly in Moscow, gave private piano lessons, and was one of the most popular teachers in Moscow.

In 1898 he accepted an invitation to become a teacher at Tiflis music school Imperial Russian musical society; in 1899 he became a professor at the Moscow Conservatory, continuing to perform both in Russia and abroad. According to contemporaries, Igumnov’s pianism avoided extremes: slightly muted dynamics, soft touch, melodious, velvety sound, and nobility of interpretation were typical of him.

After October revolution In 1917, Igumnov became a member of the Music Council at the People's Commissariat for Education (concert department). Reform took place with his participation music education; in particular, courses in aesthetics, cultural history, and literary history were created at the conservatory, and a chamber ensemble class was introduced. Since 1919 - permanent member of the educational and artistic committee of the conservatory; in the spring of 1924 he was elected director for five years.

The pianist's concert repertoire of the 1930s included a series of monographic concerts: Beethoven, Liszt, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov (Igumnov was the first performer of the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini in Russia, 1939), Medtner, Taneyev; Igumnov especially often played as a soloist and ensemble player of Tchaikovsky’s works, becoming their unsurpassed interpreter.

Memory

In the name of K.N. Igumnov are named:

Lipetsk Regional School of Arts

- International competition-festival of young pianists (Lipetsk)

Children's music school in Moscow on the street. Pokrovka, 39

In Igumnov’s homeland in the city of Lebedyan, on the house on Sovetskaya Street, where he was born and lived, on May 19, 1973, in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of his birth, a memorial bas-relief was installed, which was later replaced by a new bas-relief by sculptor E. Wolfson.

On May 1, 2013, on the 140th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding Russian pianist and teacher, a bust of K.N. Igumnov by the Lipetsk sculptor was unveiled in Lebedyan, on Sovetskaya Street opposite the building of Lebedyanskaya children's music school No. 1, which bears his name. V. Chelyadina.

Sources

Y.I.Milshtein "Konstantin Nikolaevich Igumnov", M., 1975

“Igumnov was a man of rare charm, simplicity and nobility. No honors or glory could shake his deepest modesty. There was not a shadow of that vanity in him that sometimes plagues some artists.” This is about Igumnov the man. “A sincere and demanding artist, Igumnov was alien to any affectation, pose, or external gloss. For the sake of a colorful effect, for the sake of superficial shine, he never sacrificed artistic meaning... Igumnov did not tolerate anything extreme, harsh, excessive. His playing style was simple and laconic.” This is about Igumnov the artist.

“Strict and demanding of himself, Igumnov was also demanding of his students. Astute in assessing their strengths and capabilities, he constantly taught artistic truth, simplicity and naturalness of expression. He taught modesty, proportionality and economy in the means used. He taught speech expressiveness, melodious, soft sound, plasticity and relief of phrasing. He taught the “living breath” of musical performance.” This is about Igumnov the teacher.

“Basically and most importantly, Igumnov’s views and aesthetic principles remained, apparently, quite stable... His sympathies as an artist and teacher have long been on the side of music that is clear, meaningful, truly realistic in its core (he simply did not recognize anything else), his “ the credo of the “musician-interpreter has always revealed itself through such qualities as the spontaneity of the performing embodiment of the image, the penetration and subtlety of poetic experience.” It's about artistic principles Igumnova. The above statements belong to students outstanding teacher- To Y. Milshtein and Y. Flier, who knew Konstantin Nikolaevich very well throughout for long years. Comparing them, you involuntarily come to the conclusion about the amazing integrity of Igumnov’s human and artistic nature. In everything he remained true to himself, being a personality and an artist of deep originality.

He absorbed the best traditions Russian performing and composing schools. At the Moscow Conservatory, from which he graduated in 1894, Igumnov studied piano first with A. I. Ziloti, and then with P. A. Pabst. Here he studied music theory and composition with S. I. Taneyev, A. S. Arensky and M. M. Ippolitov-Ivanov and chamber ensemble with V. I. Safonov. At the same time (1892-1895) he studied at the Faculty of History and Philology of Moscow University. Muscovites met the pianist Igumnov back in 1895, and he soon took a prominent place among Russian concert performers. In his declining years, Igumnov drew up the following diagram of his pianistic development: “My performing path is complex and tortuous. I divide it into the following periods: 1895-1908 - the academic period; 1908-1917 - the period of the emergence of quests under the influence of artists and writers (Serov, Somov, Bryusov, etc.); 1917-1930 years - period revaluation of all values; passion for color to the detriment of rhythmic pattern, abuse of rubato; 1930-1940 - the gradual formation of my current views. However, I fully realized them and “found myself” only after the Great Patriotic War. This also applies to the principles of interpretation and the artist’s repertoire inclinations.

All experts unanimously note Igumnov’s special attitude towards the instrument, his rare ability to conduct live speech with people using the piano. In 1933, the then director of the Moscow Conservatory, B. Pshibyshevsky, wrote in the newspaper “Soviet Art”: “Igumnov as a pianist is a completely exceptional phenomenon. True, he does not belong to the family of piano masters who are distinguished by their brilliant technique, powerful sound, and orchestral interpretation of the instrument. Igumnov belongs to pianists like Field and Chopin, i.e., to the masters who came closest to the specifics of the piano, did not look for artificially induced orchestral effects in it, but extracted from it what is most difficult to extract from the external rigidity of the sound - melodiousness. Igumnovsky’s piano sings like few of today’s great pianists.” A few years later, A. Alschwang joined this opinion: “He gained popularity thanks to the breathtaking sincerity of his playing, lively contact with the audience and excellent interpretation of the classics... Many rightly note the courageous severity in K. Igumnov’s performance. At the same time, Igumnov’s sound is characterized by softness, close to speech melody. His interpretation is distinguished by its liveliness and freshness of colors.” These same features were repeatedly pointed out by Professor Y. Milshtein, who began as Igumnov’s assistant and did a lot to study the legacy of his teacher: “Few could compete with Igumnov in the beauty of sound, distinguished by its extraordinary richness of color and amazing melodiousness. Under his hands, the piano acquired the properties of a human voice. Thanks to some special touch, as if merging with the keyboard (by his own admission, the principle of fusion was the basis of his touch), and also thanks to the subtle, varied, pulsating use of the pedal, he produced a sound of rare charm. Even with the strongest blow, his carcass did not lose its charm: it was always noble. Igumnov preferred to play more quietly, but not to “scream”, not to force the sound of the piano, not to go beyond its natural limits.”

How did Igumnov achieve his amazing artistic revelations? It was not only his natural artistic intuition that led him to them. Laconic by nature, he once opened the “door” to his creative laboratory: “I think that every musical performance is a living speech, a coherent story... But just telling is not enough. It is necessary that the story has a certain content and that the performer always has something that would bring him closer to this content. And here I cannot think of musical performance abstractly: I always want to resort to some everyday analogies. In short, I draw the content of the story either from personal impressions, or from nature, or from art, or from certain ideas, or from a certain historical era. For me there is no doubt that in every significant work something is sought out that connects the performer with real life. I can’t imagine music for music’s sake, without human experiences... That’s why it is necessary that the work being performed finds some kind of response in the personality of the performer, so that it is close to him. You can, of course, reincarnate, but there should always be some connecting personal threads. It cannot be said that I necessarily imagined the program of the work. No, what I imagine is not a program. These are just some feelings, thoughts, comparisons that help evoke moods similar to those that I want to convey in my performance. These are kind of “working hypotheses” that make it easier to comprehend the artistic concept.”

December 3, 1947 Igumnov in last time went on stage Great Hall Moscow Conservatory. The program for this evening included Beethoven's Seventh Sonata, Tchaikovsky's Sonata, Chopin's B-minor Sonata, Lyadov's Variations on a Theme by Glinka, and Tchaikovsky's play "Passionate Confession", unknown to the general public. The encore included performances of Rubinstein's Impromptu, Schubert's "Musical Moment" in C sharp minor and Tchaikovsky's Lullaby - Pabst. This farewell program included the names of those composers whose music was always close to the pianist. “If you still look for what is basic, constant in Igumnov’s performing appearance,” K. Grimich noted in 1933, “then most striking are the numerous threads connecting his performing work with the romantic pages of piano art... Here - not in Bach, not in Mozart, not in Prokofiev, not in Hindemith, but in Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms, Chopin, Liszt, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov - the advantages of Igumnov’s performance are most convincingly revealed: restrained and impressive expressiveness, subtle mastery of sound, independence and freshness of interpretation.”

Indeed, Igumnov was not, as they say, an omnivorous performer. He remained true to himself: “If a composer is alien to me and his works do not provide me personally with material for performing creativity, I cannot include him in my repertoire (for example, piano works by Balakirev, French impressionists, the late Scriabin, some plays by Soviet composers).” And here it is necessary to especially highlight the pianist’s constant appeal to Russian piano classics, and first of all, to the work of Tchaikovsky. We can say that it was Igumnov who revived many of the works of the great Russian composer on the concert stage.

Everyone who has ever listened to Igumnov will agree with the enthusiastic words of Y. Milstein: “Nowhere, even in Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, is Igumnov’s special style of playing, full of simplicity, nobility and chaste modesty, expressed as successfully as in the works of Tchaikovsky. It is impossible to imagine that the subtlety of execution could be brought to a higher degree of perfection. It is impossible to imagine greater smoothness and thoughtfulness of melodic outpourings, greater truthfulness and sincerity of feelings. Igumnov's performance of these works differs from others, just as an extract differs from a diluted mixture. Indeed, everything about him is amazing: every nuance here is a role model, every stroke is a subject of admiration.” To evaluate Igumnov’s pedagogical activity, it is enough to name some of the students: N. Orlov, I. Dobrovein, L. Oborin, Y. Flier, A. Dyakov, M. Grinberg, I. Mikhnevsky, A. Yocheles, A. and M. Gottlieb, O. Boshnyakovich, N. Shtarkman. These are all concert pianists who have gained wide fame. He began teaching soon after graduating from the conservatory, for some time he was a teacher at a music school in Tbilisi (1898-1899), and in 1899 he became a professor at the Moscow Conservatory; in 1924-1929 he was also its rector. In his communication with his students, Igumnov was far from any dogmatism; every lesson he taught was a living creative process, the discovery of inexhaustible musical riches. “My pedagogy,” he says, “is closely connected with my performance, and this determines the lack of stability in my pedagogical attitudes.” Perhaps this explains the amazing dissimilarity, sometimes contrasting contrast, of Igumnov’s pets. But, perhaps, all of them are united by a reverent attitude towards music, inherited from their teacher. Saying goodbye to his teacher on the sad day of the funeral service. Y. Flier deeply correctly identified the main “subtext” of Igumnov’s pedagogical views: “Konstantin Nikolaevich could forgive a student for false notes, but he did not forgive and did not tolerate false feelings.”

Talking about one of his last meetings with Igumnov, his student Professor K. Adzhemov recalled: “That evening it seemed to me that K.N. was not entirely healthy. In addition, he said that the doctors do not allow him to play. “But what is the meaning of my life? Play..."

Lit.: Rabinovich D. Portraits of pianists. M., 1970; Milshtein Ya, Konstantin Nikolaevich Igumnov. M., 1975.

Grigoriev L., Platek Ya.