Chronology
The life and times of Nikolai Karlovich Medtner
1880
FEBRUARY 5
Nikolai Karlovich Medtner is born in Moscow into a family of German descent. Music surrounds him from an early age.
1888-1896
MOSCOW CONSERVATORY
Medtner studies at the Moscow Conservatory, where his principal teachers include Vasily Safonov (piano) and Sergei Taneyev (composition and counterpoint). These years shape his deep devotion to the works of J.S. Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms.
1897-1900
EARLY SUCCESS
Medtner begins his career as composer. His Piano Sonata in F Minor, Op. 5 (composed 1902-03) marked an important early step in Medtner's growing recognition in Russia as it attracted prominent musicians including Josef Hofmann and Sergei Rachmaninov.
1901-1904
MEETING RACHMANINOV
Medtner meets Sergei Rachmaninov in 1901, a friendship that will last a lifetime. Rachmaninov supports and champions Medtner's music
1904-1910
CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT
Following the early success of Op. 5, Medtner enters a remarkably productive period. He produces a succession of important piano works—including the Fairy Tales, Op. 8 and Op. 9, the Sonata-Triad, Op. 11, the Sonata in G minor, Op. 22, and soon begins work on his magnum opus, the Night Wind Sonata, Op. 25 No. 2.
1910-1917
MATURITY & TRANSFORMATION
Medtner enters a period of profound artistic maturity, producing some of his most ambitious works, including the Night Wind Sonata, Sonata-Ballade, and numerous Fairy Tales. As his musical language becomes increasingly distinctive, he also assumes a teaching position at the Moscow Conservatory. These years of artistic growth unfold against the backdrop of World War I and the growing political upheaval that would culminate in the Russian Revolution.
1917-1921
THE ROAD TO EXILE
The Russian Revolution transforms Medtner's world. Although he remains in Russia for several more years, the upheaval brings growing hardship and uncertainty, eventually leading him and his wife, Anna, to leave their homeland in 1921.
1921
EMIGRATION
Following the Revolution and years of civil war and upheaval, Medtner and his wife, Anna, leave Russia and settle in Berlin. The move marks a decisive turning point: Medtner begins his life in exile, entering an international musical world in which he would struggle to find the same recognition his music had received in Russia
1921-1924
BERLIN
Leaving Russia behind, Medtner and Anna settle in Berlin and begin the uncertain life of émigrés. His music attracts little interest, and financial difficulties increasingly weigh on him, even as he continues to compose and perform. By 1924, he looks beyond Germany for a new beginning.
1924
AMERICA AND THE WEST
Seeking new opportunities beyond Europe, Medtner undertakes his first tours of America and Canada with the help of his friend, Rachmaninov, to bring his music to new audiences. The tours provide crucial financial support during a difficult period of exile and help establish his international career, even as he remains committed to performing primarily his own music.
1924-1935
FRANCE: A DECADE IN EXILE
After his American tour, Medtner settles in France, where he remains for the next eleven years. Despite continued composition and performance, his music receives little attention in a musical culture increasingly drawn toward modernism. He supports himself largely through concert tours, including repeated visits to Britain, while continuing to develop the distinctive musical language that would shape his later work.
1935
LONDON & THE MUSE AND THE FASHION
In 1935, after several visits to Britain and a particularly receptive response from British audiences, Medtner left France and settled permanently in London. That same year, he publishes The Muse and the Fashion, a passionate defense of the foundations of musical art and a statement of his artistic convictions, in Paris with the support of his friend Rachmaninoff.
1940-1945
WAR, ISOLATION, & RESILIENCE
The outbreak of the Second World War brings new hardship to Medtner's life in London. With his German publishing income lost and his health declining, he and Anna take refuge with Edna Illes, his friend and student, at her home in Warwickshire during the war. Amid these difficult circumstances, Medtner continues to compose, completing his Third Piano Concerto and performing it at a 1943 Promenade Concert.
1946
THE MEDTNER SOCIETY
In 1946, the Maharajah of Mysore, Jayachamaraja Wodeyar Bahadur, founded the Medtner Society in London with the aim of recording Medtner’s works. The Society’s support gave Medtner an extraordinary opportunity to preserve his music through recordings, including all three piano concertos and numerous sonatas, songs, chamber works, and shorter piano pieces.
1951
DEATH & LEGACY
Nikolai Medtner died on November 13, 1951, at his home in Golders Green, London. He left behind a vast and distinctive body of work, much of it preserved through the recordings made during his final years with the support of the Medtner Society. His music would continue to find devoted advocates among performers and listeners long after his death.