Vasily Ilyich Safonov (; 27 February 1918), also known as Wassily Safonoff, was a Russian

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

, teacher,

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

Biography

Vasily Safonov, or Safonoff as he was known in the West during his lifetime, was born at (also known as Itschory, Itsyursk, or Itsiursk), Russian

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

(now in

Chechnya Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federa ...

), son of the

Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...

General Ilya Ivanovich Safonov. Safonov was educated at the Imperial Alexandra Lyceum, Saint Petersburg, and at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory of Music from 1881 until 1885 under Louis Brassin. He graduated as Bachelor of Laws, and won the gold medal as a pianist of the Conservatory. He was also a pupil of

Theodor Leschetizky Theodor Leschetizky (sometimes spelled Leschetitzky; ; 22 June 1830 – 14 November 1915) was a Polish pianist, professor, and composer active in Austria-Hungary. He was born in Landshut in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, then a crown land ...

and

Nikolai Zaremba Nikolai or Nicolaus Ivanovich von Zaremba (; ) was a Russian musical theorist, teacher and composer. His most famous student was Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, who became his pupil in 1861. Others included Fyodor Dostoevsky's nephews, the children of hi ...

. Safonov had several daughters. Anna Vasilyevna Timiryova (1893–1975) was a poet who spent much of her life in labor camps or in exile. Varvara Vasilievna Safonova (1895–1942), a painter, died during the

siege of Leningrad The siege of Leningrad was a Siege, military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the city of Leningrad (present-day Saint Petersburg) in the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World War II from 1941 t ...

. Yelena Vasilievna Safonova (1902–1980), studied painting, designed theatre costumes, and published children's books. From 1932 to 1958 she lived in exile in the city of

Kursk Kursk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur (Kursk Oblast), Kur, Tuskar, and Seym (river), Seym rivers. It has a population of Kursk ...

. Safonov was never a particularly successful composer in his own right, but was a master music educator, becoming director of the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory () is a higher musical educational institution located in Moscow, Russia. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in musical performance and musical research. Th ...

in 1889. He was the director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York. Safonov-and-pupils

He was the teacher of some of the best Russian pianists, notably

Alexander Scriabin Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin, scientific transliteration: ''Aleksandr Nikolaevič Skrjabin''; also transliterated variously as Skriabin, Skryabin, and (in French) Scriabine. The composer himselused the French spelling "Scriabine" which was a ...

Nikolai Medtner Nikolai Karlovich Medtner (; – 13 November 1951) was a Russian composer and pianist. After a period of comparative obscurity in the 25 years immediately after his death, he is now becoming recognized as one of the most significant Russian com ...

Josef Lhévinne Josef Lhévinne (13 December 18742 December 1944) was a Russian pianist and piano teacher. Lhévinne wrote a short book in 1924 that is considered a classic: ''Basic Principles in Pianoforte Playing''. Asked how to say his name, he told ''The L ...

and Rosina Bessie (later Lhévinne). He also taught the noted teacher and theorist Madame

Maria Levinskaya Maria Epstein Levinskaya (born circa 1885 – 6 August, 1960), often known as Madame Levinskaya, was a Russian pianist, a pupil of Vasily Safonov at the Moscow Conservatory. But she also worked with many other teachers - 19 in all, including Leopol ...

, and

Marthe Servine Marthe Servine (1862 in Paris – 1960) was a French-American composer and pianist, primarily known for her works for solo piano, and songs. Biography Marthe Servine was born in Paris to French parents.Straus, Noel"Concert is given by Roth ...

, a French-American composer and pianist. After retiring from teaching, Safonov became well known as a conductor. He was the conductor of the first Moscow performance of

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...

's ''Pathétique'' Symphony (No. 6), on 4/16 December 1893, seven weeks after its premiere under the composer's baton and six weeks after his death. He conducted nearly all the principal orchestras in Europe, including the philharmonic orchestras of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

and Prague, the

Lamoureux Orchestra The Orchestre Lamoureux () officially known as the Société des Nouveaux-Concerts and also known as the Concerts Lamoureux) is an orchestral concert society which once gave weekly concerts by its own orchestra, founded in Paris by Charles Lamoure ...

of Paris, the London Symphony, the

Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia The Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (Orchestra of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia) is an Italian symphony orchestra based in Rome. Resident at the Parco della Musica, the orchestra primarily performs its Rome concerts in ...

and the

New York Philharmonic Society The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...

. Safonov is the first known modern conductor to have dispensed with the use of the

baton Baton may refer to: Stick-like objects *Baton, a type of club *Baton (law enforcement) *Baston (weapon), a type of baton used in Arnis and Filipino Martial Arts *Baton charge, a coordinated tactic for dispersing crowds of people *Baton (conducti ...

, which came about when he forgot to take his baton to a rehearsal on a certain occasion; he chose to use his hands alone, and decided that from then on a baton was entirely unnecessary.''

Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and th ...

'', 5th ed., 1954, vol. VII, p. 359 Safonov died in

Kislovodsk Kislovodsk (; ; ) is a spa city in Stavropol Krai, in the North Caucasus region of Russia which is located between the Black and Caspian Seas. It is part of the Caucasian Mineral Waters region. Demographics Population: Etymology The Rus ...

on 27 February 1918, aged 66.

His voice

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Safonov, Vasily Ilyich 1852 births 1918 deaths 19th-century classical pianists 19th-century male musicians from the Russian Empire Composers from the Russian Empire Conductors (music) from the Russian Empire Music educators from the Russian Empire Classical pianists from the Russian Empire Piano educators Honorary members of the Royal Philharmonic Society Saint Petersburg Conservatory alumni Music directors of the New York Philharmonic Pupils of Nikolai Zaremba Academic staff of Moscow Conservatory