Nikolay Rubinstein is a popular Russian composer and conductor. Known as one of the founders of the Moscow Conservatory (he held the post of first director).
Nikolai Rubinstein was born on June 14, 1835on the territory of Moscow in the family of a small factory owner. Previously, the family of Nicholas lived on the territory of a small village Vykhvatintsa (Pridneprovye), but three years before the birth of the boy his parents decided to move to the future capital of Russia.
In the period from 1844 to 1846 Nicholas, along with his older brother Anton and his mother lived in Berlin.
At the age of 12, Rubinstein and his family return to Moscow again, where the future musician lived for the rest of his life.
Who was Nikolai Grigorievich Rubinstein by profession? At the age of 20, the young man graduated from Moscow University and received the profession of a lawyer.
Because the whole life of a young man waspermeated with music, he toured in parallel with training for a lawyer, and in 1858 (3 years after receiving the profession) he decided to devote himself entirely to concert activity.
In 1859, Nicholas made every effort to open a special branch of the Imperial Russian Musical Society in Moscow.
The reader learned from the first lines of the article,that Nikolai Grigorievich Rubinstein founded. In 1866, the man took the post of director of the same Moscow Conservatory. He held the post until the end of his life.
Fruitful for the pianist was in 1872, at this time he played a well-known concert in Vienna and organized a concert at the World Music Exhibition in Paris.
The death of this outstanding musician was recorded in 1881 on the territory of the capital of France, but they buried a man in Moscow, in the vastness of the Novodevichy Cemetery.
The Rubinshteins (Anton and Nikolai) have always been quite friendly, because both did not imagine their lives without music.
When Nicholas turned 9 years old, he and his brother Anton were transported to Germany, to Berlin, where the boys studied music. At that time, they toured almost all European cities.
Nikolai always took the example from his older brother, even the Moscow conservatory he created was an attempt to repeat his brother's success. After all, Anton opened a conservatory in Petersburg 14 years earlier.
His musical activity Nikolai Rubinstein,interesting facts from the life of which you can learn from this article, began at the age of 4 years under the strict control of the mother, and already at the age of 7 the boy and his brother were invited to perform all kinds of concerts in Russia and in Europe.
During his stay in Berlin, the boy was engaged insuch outstanding people as Theodore Kullak (studied the basics of piano and piano) and Siegfried Den (studied the theoretical foundations of music). In Moscow, he moved to the well-known Russian music teacher Vasily Villuan.
At the age of 23, the young man has already fully determined his life goal and left the legal sphere for the sake of regular concert activity.
In 1859, Nicholas received the post of conductor of symphony orchestras in the department of the Imperial Russian Musical Society.
In 1866, he took up the post of professor of piano at the Moscow Conservatory.
For his whole life Rubinstein spent about 250 concerts in the role of a conductor. Concerts were held both in Moscow and in other cities of Russia.
And in 1870, Nikolai spent 33 concerts, and all the proceeds of the finances were donated to the Red Cross.
Abroad, the man did not like to hold concerts,the only countries for which he made exceptions were Austria and France. But even speaking at concerts abroad, he still preferred Russian music, for which he was called an ardent propagandist.
Nikolai preferred to perform already well-known musical works. During his life he composed only a few plays and romances for playing the piano.
Pianist Nikolai Rubinstein has always hadspecial talent: he could come together with any person, regardless of his age, sex and views on life. That is why in his younger years the musician was invited to join the "young editorial office" of the magazine "Moskvityanin" published by Pogodin. And then the young man became a member of the artistic circle, whose members were the most outstanding creative personalities of the time.
It is noted that in 1859, when Botkin, Tolstoyand Obolensky developed a project of the Chamber Music Society in Moscow, it was Rubinstein who was seen in his chapter. Unfortunately, or fortunately, life has developed in such a way that Nicholas devoted himself to the Moscow Conservatory.
When in 1866 Nikolai Rubinstein, biographywhich is full of interesting facts, contributed to the opening of the Moscow Conservatory in Moscow and took over the post of its director, practically no one (even his brother) believed that in this way the man would at least move the musical sphere to the masses.
But in a few years thanks to a specialmanagerial and organizational abilities of the man, the Conservatory became the best musical institution not only in Moscow, but also in practically all of Russia.
It was Nikolai Rubinshtein who contributed to this,that the conservatory was given the right to teach on their own curriculum - they were developed directly by teachers of the educational institution. In addition, there was established the only on the territory of the whole of Russia department of Old Russian church singing.
In the collective of teachers of the conservatory were the best composers and musicians of that time.
Despite the high achievements of men inMusically, far from all representatives of the authorities of that time respected Rubinstein. For the slightest mistake, Nicholas was immediately reminded of his belonging to the Jewish nationality and low rank.
This attitude was especially pronounced inthe period from 1869 to 1870 during the trial. The trial was connected with the fact that Rubinstein expelled from his office a student who violated all existing rules, some PK Shchebalskaya. At first glance, an insignificant situation was the subject of a trial because the student was the daughter of a general, and the musician was just a provincial secretary.
The decision of the court was not in favor of Nicholas. The court ruled that Rubinstein, as the lowest in rank, insulted the daughter of the general and now is obliged to pay them a fine of 25 rubles. If Nikolai did not have this money, he would have to spend 7 days in prison.
According to newspaper clippings of that time, almost all Muscovites discussed this matter, and only thanks to the intervention of the Senate the verdict was canceled.
No sooner had Nikolai Rubinstein departed from the past shame, as he was branded in despotism.
In 1879, the Council of Professors of the Moscowconservatory, it was decided to prohibit the teacher of this institution Shostakovskiy to speak in public in order not to disgrace himself or the conservatory.
But Shostakovsky did not agree with thisposition and announced that Rubinstein is a despot and an envious person, since he does not want the pianist equal in strength to become famous. Shostakovskii's words were fixed by the fact that he was also the son of a general, and his family was under the auspices of his brother Alexander II.
And again everything went according to the second circle. The persecution of the musician began in the newspapers and behind the eyes. Again, the Senate had to intervene.
Among the teachers of the Moscow Conservatory, who were among the friends of Rubinstein, there was a famous Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky.
When Peter Ilyich learned of the persecution of Rubinsteinbecause of the alleged despotism and envy, he simply could not tolerate such slander, so he wrote a letter to Russian art critic Vladimir Vasilyevich Stasov, who almost the most insulted Rubinstein.
The letter included the following lines: "Where there is light before me, good and the greatest merit, you see only darkness, harm and even certain crimes. But I want to tell you that all your accusations directed at Rubinstein are groundless. I worked under his leadership for 12 years, and it's simply incredible for me to hear vile accusations towards a bright man. Such accusations can only lead to the fact that Nicholas will abandon his offspring. If to argue from the side of his career, then it will only go up, but I do not want to ruin the affairs so soberly created by him. "
Many students of Rubinstein claimed that he was an incredible teacher, especially in the following moments:
Despite the severity of the pianist, all the students were delighted with his teaching. This is manifested in some of their sayings:
Despite the ambiguous attitude to the pianist during the life of his funeral was indeed an honor.
As a sign of mourning in the whole of Moscow, street lights were lit. At the requiem people brought a huge number of wreaths from the laurel, near the coffin was stacked a myriad of flowers.
In order that Nikolai Rubinshtein, a briefwhose biography was presented to your attention in the article, always remained in the memory and hearts of people, Tchaikovsky wrote in his honor a trio a-moll "In memory of the great artist".
This person is worthy of respect, and it really remains in the heart of every music connoisseur.
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