The outstanding Russian Pianist Konstantin Igumnov and Armenia
A lot can be said about the outstanding Russian musician Konstantin Igumnov. His personality, which is an embodiment of Russian intelligence, amazing in its purity. About his artistic appearance, which was formed by literary Moscow, its opening days, and theaters. His musical upbringing, based on the traditions of Russian piano art, came from Anton and Nikolai Rubinstein, Sergei Taneyev, Vasily Safonov, and Alexander Siloti, who were his direct teachers.
You can tell about Konstantin Igumnov and as an original pianist, subtle interpreter of works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Alexander Scriabin, and Anton Rubinstein.
Finally, Konstantin Igumnov can be described as the creator of one of the largest pianistic schools that brought world recognition to Russian musical culture. This school is represented by such renowned pianists as Lev Oborin, Yakov Flier, Maria Grinberg, and Issay Dobrowen, such well-known masters of performing arts and piano pedagogy as Bella Davidovich, Alexander Jocheles, Oleg Bochniakovitch, Yakov Milstein, Naum Shtarkman, Isaac Mikhnovsky, and others.
However, we would like to touch on one of the little-known pages of the creative biography of the Russian musician — to talk about Igumnov’s close ties with Armenia that lasted for many years, to talk about the great contribution that he made to the development of the Armenian piano culture, first of all, raising a galaxy of wonderful musicians and creating his, Igumnov school in Armenian piano art, largely predetermining its active formation.
The Igumnov School is represented by the outstanding pianist and composer Arno Babajanyan, the highly gifted pianist Mariya Gambaryan who has been giving concerts for many years, the famous masters of Armenian performing arts and Armenian piano pedagogy Kathy Malkhasyan, Anna Ambakumyan, Marjan Mkhitaryan, Arevik Avdalbekyan, Elza Apresova, and others.
In Yerevan, one can say, Igumnov was also lucky: in addition to what he saw himself, he learned a lot about Armenia from a longtime acquaintance, a prominent Armenian musicologist Vasily Korganov (Ghorghanyan), “one of the highly educated and highly enlightened figures — Armenians” (A. Shahverdyan), whom he met by chance on the street, a representative of that generation of the Armenian intelligentsia, which came from different cities of Russia to Yerevan to build a new Armenia.
Naturally, during his creative life, Igumnov communicated most of all with pianists. He was creatively associated with Armenian conductors, singers, and string players. Back in Moscow, and then in Yerevan, he repeatedly performed with Konstantin Saradzhev, first as a quartet musician, then as a conductor of a symphony orchestra. The creative connections of these wonderful musicians, pupils of the Moscow Conservatory, began in the early 1900s with the organization of the «Brahms Society» by them.
Konstantin Igumnov is one of the first major Russian musicians who performed in 1927 with the then-young quartet of the Moscow Conservatory, later the famous Komitas Quartet, established by Avet Gabrielyan, Levon Ohanjanyan, Michael Teryan, and Sargis Aslamazyan, performing the piano part in the Piano Quintet in F Minor, Op. 34 by Johannes Brahms.
The source of new artistic impressions was Konstantin Igumnov’s performances in Moscow with the famous Soviet-Armenian baritone opera singer Pavel Lisitsian, with the performance of the piano part in Sergei Rachmaninoff’s romances, in Yerevan with the violinist Hrachya Bogdanyan (The Violin Sonata No. 9, Op. 47 in A major, by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is commonly known as the Kreutzer Sonata (German: Kreutzer-Sonate) after the violinist Rodolphe Kreutzer).
Konstantin Igumnov lived in Yerevan for a year and three months, as if it were not long, but this is only at first glance. Three decades later, Arno Babajayan will say: «Igumnov’s stay in Yerevan left an indelible mark on the Armenian musical culture.»
It should be remembered that Konstantin Igumnov was in his declining years, but the last decades were an exceptionally fruitful period for him, marked by a special artistic upsurge of spiritual strength, He performed a lot in different cities of the country. One after another followed his monographic concerts dedicated to Franz Liszt, Frédéric Chopin, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Robert Schumann.
As a high assessment of the fruitful musical activity, Konstantin Igumnov, among outstanding musicians such as Lev Nikolaev, Alexander Goldenweiser, and Heinrich Neuhaus, was awarded the honoris causa (honorary title) — a high degree of Doctor of Arts.
Using the characteristics given to Igumnov by his students, in particular the Armenian ones, we note that their teachers were distinguished by the “greatest demands” on themselves.
He was strict and restrained in his assessments. Never praised in the face. After the performance of Mily Balakirev’s «Islamey» was enthusiastically accepted by the audience, Arno Babajanyan admitted that he only learned from others that Konstantin Igumnov was pleased and praised him. Meanwhile, it is known that Konstantin Igumnov, who noted many brilliant talents in his class, described his students as follows: “Arno Babajanyan is a rarely talented musical person. In the presence of a composer’s talent, he has excellent performance data, both musical and technical. The exceptionally favorable physical structure of his hands promises him a quick achievement of the heights of piano technique.
Summarizing all that has been said, one can confidently predict a bright artistic future for him, given the conditions conducive to his musical growth.
Finally, one more of the fundamental principles of the Konstantin Igumnov school is an unusually sensitive attitude to the individuality of each student and persistent identification of the individual qualities of each of them. At the same time, there were no ready-made recipes, there were no dogmas. Work on a work that had been studied dozens of times in class was full of persistent searches, doubts, and amazing discoveries.
It is thanks to this method that Konstantin Igumnov’s students sharply differ from each other in their performing style, and concert repertoire.
But back to our story, Konstantin Igumnov in Yerevan. A Russian musician of such a high rank ended up in Armenia far from Moscow. There was a war. Difficult times have come, bringing with them difficult life trials. However, oddly enough, Yerevan received a new vital impulse, and cultural life came to life. Posters now and then reported about interesting concerts. The level of education in musical educational institutions has risen noticeably.
The fact is that figures of Soviet musical culture were evacuated to Yerevan, among them — famous musicians, and professors of the capital’s conservatories.
Among these figures was Konstantin Igumnov, who played an important role in the development of the national piano culture. He was surrounded by attention and care not only by his students but also by colleagues, and prominent figures of the Armenian intelligentsia.
Grateful for the memory of himself and his pedagogical work at the Yerevan State Conservatory. From those distant times, a photograph has been preserved from which Konstantin Igumnov surrounded by Armenian colleagues: Anna Mnatsakanyan, Yevgenia Khankamalyan, Maria Volkis, Konstantin Igumnov, Olga Babasyan, Yevgenia Khosrovyan, and a young pupil of the Nikolaev pianistic school Robert Andreasian. (See photo in the photo archive)
General interest was caused by his open lessons, and speeches at the department. Consultations for teachers of the conservatory and the music schools also had an attractive force.
Konstantin Igumnov speaks very positively about his students. “My memories of working with the students (Anna Ambakumyan, Alexander Arutiunian, Elza Apresova, Arno Babajanyan, Mariya Gambaryan, Yelena Ter-Ghevondyan, Yuliana Papovyan, Marjan Mkhitaryan, Ofelia Petrosyan, Lia Shamkhoryan, and Arevik Avdalbekyan) are the most detached. They are all very gifted people. Some of them have first-class data. Two of them are talented composers (Alexander Arutiunian and Arno Babajanyan).”
Konstantin Igumnov also studied with his students who were evacuated from Moscow and students of professors Maria Yudina, Lev Oborin, Abram Shatskes, and Teodor Gutman.
Remembering the time of the stay of the Russian musician in Yerevan, we would like to dwell on one event — the celebration on the occasion of his 70th birthday. The celebrations continued for three days. The hero of the day was introduced to the stage of the Small Hall of the Armphilharmonic Society by two authoritative musicians: People’s Artist of the USSR Haykanoush Danielyan and Professor Konstantin Saradzhev. The audience greeted them with applause. Fanfares sounded loudly at the end of the hall. Unable to bear it, Igumnov shed a tear and began to bow low, according to the Russian custom. The concert section of the first day ended with the hero of the day performing Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, a composer he especially loved and was close to, one — the only letter of which he kept as a dear memory, as a shrine until the end of his days.
The second-anniversary concert was given by Konstantin Igumnov’s students: Arevik Avdalbekyan, Anna Ambakumyan, Arno Babajanyan, Mariya Gambaryan, and Elza
Apresova. And here is Konstantin Igumnov’s review of the concert: «My class concert, arranged in connection with my 70th birthday, was equal in quality to the best evenings at the Moscow Conservatory…».
What a high appraisal, moreover given by the strictest and most exacting musician! On the third evening of honoring, Konstantin Igumnov’s piano recital took place. The program was crowned by two of his favorite masterpieces of piano literature — Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111 by Ludwig van Beethoven and Sonate in B (H) minor, S.178 by Franz Liszt.
Many telegrams were received from various conservatories, colleagues, and former students. Armenia awarded Konstantin Igumnov with the Certificate of Honor of the Supreme Council. Years later, the author of the capital work and the closest of the students of Yakov Milstein writes: “Igumnov did not have to regret his decision (to evacuate to Yerevan. — Shushanik Apoyan). Armenia welcomed him cordially, and the time he spent here was perhaps the most favorable for him during the evacuation period.”
Soon, after five months, Konstantin Igumnov returned to Moscow. Yerevan students follow him. After another 5 years he will come to Yerevan with concerts, and for the last time will head the State Examination Commission of the Yerevan Conservatory.
The best students of the outstanding musicians, including Arno Babajanyan and Mariya Gambaryan, took part in the evening dedicated to the anniversary of the death of Konstantin Igumnov.
Of course, the list of Armenian students is not limited to musicians living in Armenia. We have already mentioned the name of the concert pianist Mariya Gambaryan. Another illustrious student of Konstantin Igumnov is Nina Musinyan, who for many years acted as an accompanist to the outstanding Soviet cello master Daniil Shafran.
Konstantin Igumnov’s student was also an experienced Moscow accompanist, the daughter of the famous Armenian literary critic and publicist Tsolak Khanzadyan, Natalya Khanzadyan, who made a significant contribution to the musical life of Yerevan after the war.
His «grandchildren» — students of his students — Yuri Hayrapetyan, Samvel Alumyan, and Villy Sarkisyan can rightly be included in this circle.
In conclusion, we would like to quote the words of Konstantin Igumnov himself, the deep truthfulness and sincerity of which life has proved: “I am glad that fate brought me into contact with the talented Armenian people, whose culture and art have always attracted me. It is dear to me that, to the best of my ability, I tried to contribute to the development of the musical culture of Armenia.”