- Felix Blumenfeld
Felix Mikhailovich Blumenfeld ( _ru. Феликс Михайлович Блуменфельд; OldStyleDateDY|19 April|1863|7 April –
21 January 1931 ) was aRussia ncomposer , conductor andpianist .He was born in
Kovalevka ,Kherson ,Ukraine , and studied composition at the St. Petersburg Conservatory underNikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and piano underFedor Stein between 1881 and 1885. He then taught piano there himself from 1885 until 1918, whilst also serving as conductor of theMariinsky Theatre until 1911.This theatre saw the premieres of the operas composed by his teacher and
mentor Rimsky-Korsakov, and he was also the conductor at the Russian premiere of Wagner'sopera Tristan und Isolde .In 1908, he conducted the
Paris premiere ofMussorgsky 's opera Boris GodunovFrom 1918 to 1922, he was the director of the conservatory of
Kiev , where, amongst others,Vladimir Horowitz was a pupil in his masterclasses. He returned to theMoscow Conservatory in 1922, teaching there until his death. Other famous pupils of his includeSimon Barere andMaria Yudina . He died inMoscow .As a pianist, he played many of the compositions of his Russian contemporaries. His compositions, which showed the influence of
Frédéric Chopin andPeter Tchaikovsky , include asymphony , pieces for solo piano, an "Allegro de Concert" for piano and orchestra, andlieder . His virtuoso pieces for piano in particular are enjoying something of a renaissance in recent years.He was the uncle of
Heinrich Neuhaus .External links
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