Nikita Magaloff
Encyclopedia
Nikita Magaloff (26 December 1992) was a Georgian
-Russia
n pianist.
He was born in Saint Petersburg
to a Georgian noble family named Maghalashvili
. Magaloff and his family left Russia in 1918 for Finland and then Paris, where he studied with Isidor Philipp
, chair of the piano department at the Paris Conservatory. He also numbered Ravel
and Prokofiev
among his friends there.
He was best known for his espousal of the music of Chopin
, recording the complete piano works - the first time anyone had done so. While these recordings have been criticised for their failure to plumb the depths of Chopin's works, they were innovative for their textual fidelity and unsentimentality. Magaloff, for example, preferred and recorded Chopin's own manuscript versions of the waltzes rather than the familiar versions published posthumously by Julian Fontana
.
His interpretations of Mendelssohn
are also striking, finding a vein of melancholy that is often missed.
Magaloff's playing carried the hallmarks of Philipp's elegant, refined style, though he himself rejected the sentimental interpretations of Philipp's generation (he was especially critical of Paderewski
whom he believed had "falsified Chopin"). He once described himself to the critic and writer Piero Rattalino as 'a vieux style pianist'.
His playing, however, underwent a change in his later years, becoming more passionate, daring and challenging. He remarked, in an interview with Eugenio Scalfari
"at the age of seventy, I have come to the conclusion that only the sentiment and fear of death can induce an immoderate passion for life." His last recordings bear eloquent tribute to this 'immoderate passion for life'.
In 1949 he took over his friend and colleague Dinu Lipatti
's master class at the Geneva Conservatory after Lipatti's early death, and continued teaching until 1960. Among his many pupils were the pianists Martha Argerich
, Maria Tipo
, Ingrid Haebler
and Valery Sigalevitch
, and the organist Lionel Rogg
.
Nikita Magaloff was married to Irene, the daughter of the violinist Joseph Szigeti
. He died in Vevey
, Switzerland
on 26 December 1992.
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
-Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n pianist.
He was born in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
to a Georgian noble family named Maghalashvili
Maghalashvili
Maghalashvili or Maghaladze is a Georgian noble family; according to Cyril Toumanoff, an offshoot of the medieval house of Mkhargrdzeli....
. Magaloff and his family left Russia in 1918 for Finland and then Paris, where he studied with Isidor Philipp
Isidor Philipp
Isidor Philipp was a French pianist, composer, and distinguished pedagogue of Hungarian descent. He was born in Budapest and died in Paris.-Biography:...
, chair of the piano department at the Paris Conservatory. He also numbered Ravel
Maurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
and Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
among his friends there.
He was best known for his espousal of the music of Chopin
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
, recording the complete piano works - the first time anyone had done so. While these recordings have been criticised for their failure to plumb the depths of Chopin's works, they were innovative for their textual fidelity and unsentimentality. Magaloff, for example, preferred and recorded Chopin's own manuscript versions of the waltzes rather than the familiar versions published posthumously by Julian Fontana
Julian Fontana
Julian Fontana was a Polish pianist, composer, lawyer, author, translator, and entrepreneur, best remembered as a close friend and musical executor of Frédéric Chopin.-Biography:...
.
His interpretations of Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
are also striking, finding a vein of melancholy that is often missed.
Magaloff's playing carried the hallmarks of Philipp's elegant, refined style, though he himself rejected the sentimental interpretations of Philipp's generation (he was especially critical of Paderewski
Ignacy Jan Paderewski
Ignacy Jan Paderewski GBE was a Polish pianist, composer, diplomat, politician, and the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland.-Biography:...
whom he believed had "falsified Chopin"). He once described himself to the critic and writer Piero Rattalino as 'a vieux style pianist'.
His playing, however, underwent a change in his later years, becoming more passionate, daring and challenging. He remarked, in an interview with Eugenio Scalfari
Eugenio Scalfari
Eugenio Scalfari is an Italian journalist, editor of the news magazine L'espresso , former member of parliament in the Italian Chamber of Deputies , co-founder of the newspaper La Repubblica and its editor from 1976 to 1996.-Biography:A law graduate with a interest in journalism and politics,...
"at the age of seventy, I have come to the conclusion that only the sentiment and fear of death can induce an immoderate passion for life." His last recordings bear eloquent tribute to this 'immoderate passion for life'.
In 1949 he took over his friend and colleague Dinu Lipatti
Dinu Lipatti
Dinu Lipatti was a Romanian classical pianist and composer whose career was cut short by his death from Hodgkin's disease at age 33. He was elected posthumously to the Romanian Academy.-Biography:...
's master class at the Geneva Conservatory after Lipatti's early death, and continued teaching until 1960. Among his many pupils were the pianists Martha Argerich
Martha Argerich
Martha Argerich is an Argentine pianist.-Early life:Argerich was born in Buenos Aires and started playing the piano at age three...
, Maria Tipo
Maria Tipo
-Biography:Tipo was born in Naples. She was taught originally by her mother, Ersilia Cavallo, who was a pupil of Ferruccio Busoni, she went on to study under Alfredo Casella and Guido Agosti.At only seventeen, she won the Geneva international piano competition...
, Ingrid Haebler
Ingrid Haebler
Ingrid Haebler is an Austrian pianist. Studied at the Salzburg Mozarteum, Vienna Music Academy, Geneva Conservatory and privately in Paris with Marguerite Long. She toured worldwide, but is best known for a series of recordings from the 1950s to 1980s...
and Valery Sigalevitch
Valery Sigalevitch
Valery Sigalevitch is a Russian classical concert pianist.-Biography:...
, and the organist Lionel Rogg
Lionel Rogg
Lionel Rogg is a Swiss organist, composer and teacher of musical theory. Among many other distinctions, he has recorded the complete organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach three times....
.
Nikita Magaloff was married to Irene, the daughter of the violinist Joseph Szigeti
Joseph Szigeti
Joseph Szigeti was a Hungarian violinist.Born into a musical family, he spent his early childhood in a small town in Transylvania. He quickly proved himself to be a child prodigy on the violin, and moved to Budapest with his father to study with the renowned pedagogue Jenő Hubay...
. He died in Vevey
Vevey
Vevey is a town in Switzerland in the canton Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Geneva, near Lausanne.It was the seat of the district of the same name until 2006, and is now part of the Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut District...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
on 26 December 1992.