Fate creative heritage Anton Grigorievich Rubinstein in general and piano works particularly paradoxical. He was one of the most prolific (if not the most prolific) Russian composer of his time; during Anton Grigorievich’s lifetime, his works were performed more often than the works of many compatriots - and the reason was not only that he was the director of Russian concerts musical society, his music aroused interest among his contemporaries, but over time, many of his works began to be perceived primarily as a fact of the history of music. Rubinstein's "polywriting" had reverse side: “I respect your works, but with some critical reservations,” wrote to the composer. “Your extreme productivity has not yet left you the leisure necessary to give your writings a stronger stamp of individuality and to be able to complete them.”

The number of works created by Anton Rubinstein for piano exceeds two hundred. Such attention to the instrument is not surprising - after all, he was an excellent pianist, highly valued by his contemporaries. Sergei Ivanovich Taneyev speaks of the “burning feeling of beauty” generated by Rubinstein’s playing. notes "phenomenal control of the pedal", "intense artistic interest» Rubinstein's interpretations. The figure of the composer-pianist was typical for European musical world XIX century, but in Russia it was Rubinstein who became the first musician of this kind. His piano works reflected not only the spiritual, but also the pianistic appearance of the author. Being a performer own works, the composer created them based on his performing style - they have many powerful chords, scale movement and arpeggios are combined with octave presentation. According to contemporaries, the merits of Rubinstein's piano works were fully revealed in the author's performance.

Rubinstein's piano work is distinguished by a diverse genre palette: concertos for piano and orchestra, sonatas, plays - individual and combined into cycles. Liszt’s reproach, perhaps, can be attributed to the greatest extent to Rubinstein’s sonatas - they are not particularly original, they were not included in the “golden fund” of Russian piano music, but their historical significance is great, because the sonata genre had a hard time taking root on Russian soil (the only completed sonata left a feeling of dissatisfaction, tried to create sonatas, but none of them were completed). Rubinstein did not doubt the possibility of creating sonatas by Russian composers. His sonatas paved the way for sonatas of Russian composers of subsequent generations.

Throughout my entire creative path Anton Rubinstein composed pieces for piano. The composer wrote the first of them, entitled “Ondine,” at the age of thirteen; it was published a year after its creation and received approval.

Rubinstein's piano pieces have a distinct genre basis. From his youth until his death, he created polkas, tarantellas, mazurkas, barcarolles, krakowiaks, polonaises, waltzes, elegies, czardas, and ballads. Dance genres Rubinstein did not seek to saturate them with deep psychological content, but brought their style closer to concert style. The same can be said about the genre, which is generally characteristic of Russian music - fantasies on the themes folk songs(“Luchinushka” and “Down along Mother Volga”).

Rubnstein has a lot piano pieces, which are called “Melody” or “Romance” ( greatest fame acquired Melody in F major Op. 3 No. 1 - so much so that the writer Pyotr Dmitrievich Boborykin gave his memoirs about the composer the title “Melodie en fa”). The melodiousness of Rubinstein’s plays is so pronounced that two of them - “Melody” in F major and “Romance” from the “St. Petersburg Evenings” cycle - turned into romances (although the author did not plan this): the first play was published by publisher Jurgenson with text by A. Ramadze, The second one very naturally fell on the poem “Night” by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. The history of music knows many examples when songs or romances became the object of piano transcriptions, but the transformation of an instrumental piece into a romance is a very rare phenomenon.

Rubinstein was the first Russian composer to begin creating cycles of piano pieces. Often these are simply collections of unrelated miniatures, but there are also cycles in the true sense of the word. Plays can be combined by genre(Three Serenades, Six Preludes), by style direction(Suite Op. 38, containing Prelude, Minuet, Gigue, Sarabande and others ancient genres), thematically (“Costume Ball”, Collection national dances for piano).

There are many interesting pages in Rubinstein's piano heritage, and even those works that today can only be viewed in a historical sense had great value. Continuers of his traditions in piano music steel and .

To the 150th anniversary of the Moscow Conservatory
He is an exemplary worker and out of the ordinary
over there artistic
individuality... It would be unfair
measure it by a common yardstick.
Franz Liszt

Thinking about what Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein did for the development of Russian music, you involuntarily begin to draw a parallel with the titans of the Renaissance. Versatility and tirelessness, analyticalness and focus on the future, temperament and critical instinct, the talent of a teacher and discoverer - this is not a complete list of those properties that resulted in the emergence of a phenomenon in Russian culture, which has the name - Anton Rubinstein.

Anton Rubinstein is widely known as a pianist, composer, conductor, musical public figure. This large figure had a huge influence on musical and cultural life not only Russia, but also Europe. A personality comparable in scale to the titans of the Renaissance, the owner of an unsurpassed pianistic talent, whose performing talent was considered by some musicians to be higher than Liszt’s talent. Rubinstein was never content with his pianistic fame alone. All his life he was in a creative search, tirelessly improving not so much the technique of his playing, but his ability to interpret piece of music. He, like no one else, opposed the pompous virtuosity that captured the European pianistic school of the second half of the 19th century century, false artistry and a superficial interpretation of the composer’s intention: “Virtuosity in general has always had an influence on composing - it enriches the means for composing and expands the horizons of expression...”

While playing, he completely devoted himself to the performance, immersing himself in it completely, captivating the listeners, revealing to them all the philosophical depths of the music.

It is no secret that Rubinstein did not value opera above all else, vocal music, but instrumental. Only in her did he see the highest manifestation musical art. Rubinstein's deep conviction that when words and music are combined there is a simplification, a distortion of the musical concept, runs like a red thread through all his educational, performing and composing activities.

As a pianist, Rubinstein ranks among the greatest exponents of piano performance of all time. Among his contemporaries he can only be compared with one Liszt

The main features of Rubinstein's performing personality were his full-blooded, courageous and strong-willed nature, enormous temperament and exceptional depth of penetration into the author's concept. The general character of Rubinstein's pianism, inextricably linked with his educational and conducting activities, his appearance as a performer-speaker addressing a large audience with a passionately excited musical speech - all this was a historically new, progressive phenomenon in Russian piano performance, in contrast to the intimate, homely or outwardly brilliant salon pianism that was widespread in the first half of the 19th century.

Amazing brightness musical images performed by Rubinstein imperiously subjugated the audience: “... It seemed as if a powerful wave of magnetism was emanating from him, and he was applauded, because the audience could not help but applaud. He took possession of her with authority and determination,” recalled S.V. Rachmaninov, a remarkable successor of Rubinstein’s traditions in Russian pianism.

After the opening of the St. Petersburg Conservatory (1862), Rubinstein began performing less as a pianist and touring, devoting himself entirely to musical and social activities. However, in 1885-1886. and in 1888-1889. conducted a series of so-called historical concerts that were educational in nature (St. Petersburg, Moscow, Vienna, Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Brussels, Prague, Paris, London, New York). In total, the cycle featured 877 works by 57 authors. The art of Rubinstein the pianist received universal recognition from his contemporaries, including F. Chopin, G. Berlioz, G. Verdi, Clara Schumann, C. Saint-Saëns, G. Wieniawski, Pauline Viardot, M. Ippolitov-Ivanov, M. Balakirev, M. Mussorgsky, C. Cui, I. Turgenev, S. Nadson, V. Stasov, A. Benois, and even K. Pobedonostsev.

Rubinstein's compositional heritage includes over 200 works (14 operas, ballets, 6 symphonies, 4 overtures, 5 piano, 2 cello and 1 violin concertos, choirs, sonatas, oratorios, cantatas, romances, etc.). Rubinstein the composer experienced strong influence German romanticism. However, the composer's commitment to the Russians musical traditions, plots and images was also very strong: he was a promoter of the work of Russian composers (in particular M. Glinka) in Europe and America. Rubinstein opened for Russian classical music genres new to her. His first three symphonies were written in the early 1850s, before the appearance of works by the greatest Russian symphonists N. Rimsky-Korsakov, A. Borodin and P. Tchaikovsky. Rubinstein's piano concertos anticipated the masterpieces of P. Tchaikovsky and S. Rachmaninov. The first example of the genre in Russian music was his concerto for violin and orchestra. To his best achievements in the field instrumental music belongs to the Fourth Piano Concerto, which is still performed today. Great popularity in wide circles During the composer's lifetime, music lovers acquired a number of his small piano works and romances. In these genres, Rubinstein’s connection with existing intonations was most clearly revealed and the strengths of his talent were revealed - lyricism and the associated dominance of the melodic principle. Opera creativity Rubinstein is very diverse in subject matter and genre. The genre of lyrical opera that most suited his talent, the best example of which is “The Demon” - the brightest and popular work Rubinstein.

As a conductor, Rubinstein was against the accepted placement of the orchestra: “Placing an orchestra is generally a difficult matter: a symphony requires one thing, an oratorio another, an opera something else…”. He was a supporter of the non-standard seating of orchestra players for that time: “... second violins next to the first, then violas, cellos and double basses up the stage on the left side, and the same composition, starting with the first violins from right side…, then wind instruments, starting with the flute and oboe in the middle of the stage..., and there are timpani and other percussion instruments.”

It is impossible to underestimate the gigantic contribution multifaceted talent A.G. Rubinstein in the development of Russian music: new ways of pianism, the formation of professional music education, the creation of a national performing style. Rubinstein solved the problems facing Russian music of that time and largely predetermined its future.

In conclusion, I would like to recall the words of Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninov about the synthesis of all types of activities by Anton Rubinstein: “No matter how wonderful a musician the performer is... he will never be able to achieve the full depth of sensation and reproduction of the full scale musical colors, which is an integral property of the composer’s talent. For a composer who is also a conductor, this acute feeling color allows you to introduce colors into the performance that are different from those intended by the composer.” .

Bibliography.

Barenboim L. Anton Grigorievich Rubinstein. State music publishing house L-d, 1957. T.1.
Rachmaninov S.V. Literary heritage, volume 1. Comp. and ed. FOR. Apetyan All-Union Publishing House " Soviet composer", Moscow, 1978.
Rubinstein A. Music and its representatives. – St. Petersburg: Publishing house “Union of Artists”, 2005, 160 p. ISBN 5-8128-0050-2

composer, pianist, conductor, music teacher. 1829–1894

Anton Rubinstein was born on November 28, 1829 in the Transnistrian village of Vykhvatinets, Podolsk province. He was the third son in a wealthy Jewish family. Rubinstein's father, Grigory Romanovich Rubinstein, came from Berdichev, and at the time of the birth of his children he was a merchant of the second guild. Mother - Kaleria Khristoforovna Rubinstein - a musician, came from Prussian Silesia.

On July 25, 1831, 35 members of the Rubinstein family, starting with their grandfather, the merchant Ruven Rubinstein from Zhitomir, converted to Orthodoxy in St. Nicholas Church in Berdichev. The impetus for baptism, according to the later recollections of the composer’s mother, was the Decree of Emperor Nicholas I in 1827 on the conscription of children for 25 years. military service cantonists in the proportion of 7 for every 1000 Jewish children. The laws of the Pale of Settlement ceased to apply to the family, and a year later the Rubinsteins settled in Moscow, where their father opened a small pencil and pin factory. Around 1834, my father purchased a house on Ordynka.

In the welcoming home of the Rubinsteins, students, officials, and teachers constantly gathered, and music sounded. The sound atmosphere of Moscow in those years was determined by the songs and romances of Alyabyev, Varlamov, everyday dances. Anton Rubinstein received his first piano lessons from his mother, and at the age of seven he became a student French pianist A.I. Willuana.

Already in 1839, Rubinstein performed in public for the first time, and soon, accompanied by Villuan, he went on a large concert tour of Europe. He played in Paris, where he met Frederic Chopin and Franz Liszt, and in London he was warmly received by Queen Victoria. On the way back, Willuan and Rubinstein visited Norway, Sweden, Germany and Austria with concerts.

After spending some time in Russia, in 1844 Anton Rubinstein, together with his mother and younger brother Nikolai, went to Berlin, where he began to study music theory under the guidance of Siegfried Dehn, from whom Mikhail Glinka had taken lessons several years earlier. In Berlin, creative contacts between Anton Rubinstein and Felix Mendelssohn and Giacomo Meyerbeer were formed.

In 1846, his father died, brother Nikolai and his mother returned to Russia, and Anton moved to Vienna. Upon returning to Russia in the winter of 1849, thanks to the patronage of Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, widow of Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich, Anton Rubinstein was able to settle in St. Petersburg and engage in creativity. He also often performs as a pianist at court, having great success with members of the imperial family and personally with Emperor Nicholas I.

In 1850, Anton Rubinstein made his debut as a conductor, and in 1852 his first major opera"Dmitry Donskoy", then he writes three one-act operas on subjects of Russian nationalities.

After another trip abroad in the summer of 1858, Rubinstein returned to Russia, where in 1859 he sought the establishment of the Russian Musical Society. This was possible only with the support of Elena Pavlovna. She financed this project with large donations, including proceeds from the sale of diamonds that she personally owned. Anton Rubinstein takes part in concerts and acts as a conductor. The first symphony concert under his direction took place on September 23, 1859.

Primary classes of the conservatory opened in Elena Pavlovna's palace in 1858. The following year, the Society opened music classes, in 1862 transformed into the first Russian conservatory. Rubinstein became its first director, conductor of the orchestra and choir, and professor of piano and instrumentation. Among his students was P.I. Tchaikovsky.

Inexhaustible energy allowed Anton Rubinstein to successfully combine this work with active performing, composing and musical educational activities.

Rubinstein’s activities did not always find understanding: many Russian musicians, among whom were members of the “ Mighty bunch"led by V.V. Stasov, were afraid of the excessive “academicism” of the conservatory and did not consider its role important in the formation of the Russian music school. Court circles were opposed to Anton Rubinstein, a conflict with which forced him to resign as director of the conservatory in 1867. Anton Rubinstein continues to give concerts, enjoying great success.

The year 1871 was marked by the appearance of Anton Rubinstein's largest work, the opera The Demon, which was first staged only four years later.

In the 1871–1872 season, Rubinstein directed concerts of the Society of Friends of Music in Vienna. The following year, Anton Rubinstein’s triumphant tour to the USA took place together with violinist Henryk Wieniawski.

Returning to Russia in 1874, Anton Rubinstein settled in his villa in Peterhof. The Fourth and Fifth symphonies, the operas “The Maccabees” and “Merchant Kalashnikov” belong to this period of the composer’s work; the latter was banned by censors a few days after the premiere. In the 1882–1883 season, he again took over the controls symphony concerts Russian Musical Society, and in 1887 again headed the Conservatory. In 1885–1886, he gave a series of “Historical Concerts” in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Vienna, Berlin, London, Paris, Leipzig, Dresden and Brussels, performing almost the entire existing solo piano repertoire.

According to the memoirs, “Rubinstein’s monetary generosity is remarkable; according to a rough calculation, they donated about 300,000 rubles for various good deeds, not counting free participation in concerts in favor of all sorts of students whom Anton Grigorievich always patronized, and not taking into account those distributions that no one saw or counted.”

Rubinstein Anton Grigorievich
Born: November 16 (28), 1829.
Died: November 8 (20), 1894.

Biography

Anton Grigorievich Rubinstein (November 16 (28), 1829, Vykhvatinets, Podolsk province - November 8 (20), 1894, Peterhof) - Russian composer, pianist, conductor, music teacher. Brother of pianist Nikolai Rubinstein.

As a pianist, Rubinstein ranks among the greatest exponents of piano performance of all time. He is also the founder of professional music education in Russia. Through his efforts, the first Russian conservatory was opened in 1862 in St. Petersburg. Among his students is Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. A number of works he created took pride of place among the classic examples of Russian musical art.

Inexhaustible energy allowed Rubinstein to successfully combine active performing, composing, teaching and musical educational activities.

Anton Rubinstein was born in the Transnistrian village of Vykhvatinets, Podolsk province (now Vykhvatintsy, Rybnitsa region of the Transnistrian Moldavian Republic), the third son in a wealthy Jewish family. Rubinstein's father - Grigory Romanovich (Ruvenovich) Rubinstein(1807-1846) - came from Berdichev, from his youth, together with his brothers Emmanuel, Abram and half-brother Konstantin, he was engaged in renting land in the Bessarabia region and by the time of the birth of his second son Yakov (future doctor, 1827 - September 30, 1863) was a merchant of the second guild . Mother - Kaleria Khristoforovna Rubinstein (nee Clara Lowenstein or Levinstein, 1807 - September 15, 1891, Odessa) - musician, came from Prussian Silesia (Breslau, the family later moved to Warsaw). The younger sister of A. G. Rubinstein - Lyubov Grigorievna Weinberg (1833-1903), piano teacher music classes K.F. von Lagler - was married to Odessa lawyer, college secretary Yakov Isaevich Weinberg, brother of writers Pyotr Weinberg and Pavel Weinberg. Another sister, Sofia Grigorievna Rubinstein (1841 - January 1919), became a chamber singer and music teacher.

On July 25, 1831, 35 members of the Rubinstein family, starting with their grandfather, the merchant Ruven Rubinstein from Zhitomir, converted to Orthodoxy in St. Nicholas Church in Berdichev. The impetus for baptism, according to the later recollections of the composer’s mother, was the Decree of Emperor Nicholas I on the conscription of children for 25 years of military service by cantonists in the proportion of 7 for every 1000 Jewish children (1827). The laws of the Pale of Settlement ceased to apply to the family, and a year later (according to other sources in 1834), the Rubinsteins settled in Moscow, where their father opened a small pencil and pin factory. Around 1834, my father bought a house on Ordynka, in Tolmachevoy Lane, where he was born youngest son Nikolai.

Rubinstein received his first piano lessons from his mother, and at the age of seven he became a student of the French pianist A. I. Villuan. Already in 1839, Rubinstein performed in public for the first time, and soon, accompanied by Villuan, he went on a large concert tour of Europe. He played in Paris, where he met Frederic Chopin and Franz Liszt, and in London he was warmly received by Queen Victoria. On the way back, Willuan and Rubinstein visited Norway, Sweden, Germany and Austria with concerts.

After spending some time in Russia, in 1844 Rubinstein, together with his mother and younger brother Nikolai, went to Berlin, where he began to study music theory under the guidance of Siegfried Dehn, from whom Mikhail Glinka had taken lessons several years earlier. In Berlin, Rubinstein's creative contacts with Felix Mendelssohn and Giacomo Meyerbeer were formed.

In 1846, his father dies, and his mother and Nikolai return to Russia, and Anton moves to Vienna, where he makes a living by giving private lessons. Upon returning to Russia in the winter of 1849, thanks to the patronage of Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, Rubinstein was able to settle in St. Petersburg and engage in creative work: conducting and composition. He also often performs as a pianist at court, having great success with members of the imperial family and personally with Emperor Nicholas I. In St. Petersburg, Rubinstein met composers M. I. Glinka and A. S. Dargomyzhsky, cellists M. Yu. Vielgorsky and K. B. Schubert and other major Russian musicians of that time. In 1850 Rubinstein made his debut as a conductor, in 1852 his first major opera “Dmitry Donskoy” appeared, then he wrote three one-act operas based on the subjects of the nationalities of Russia: “Revenge” (“Hadji-Abrek”), “Siberian Hunters”, “Fomka” -fool." His first projects to organize in St. Petersburg date back to the same time. music academy, which, however, were not destined to come true.

In 1854, Rubinstein again went abroad. In Weimar, he meets Franz Liszt, who speaks approvingly of Rubinstein as a pianist and composer and helps stage the opera “Siberian Hunters.” December 14, 1854 took place solo concert Rubinstein in the Leipzig Gewandhaus Hall, which was a resounding success and marked the beginning of a long concert tour: the pianist subsequently performed in Berlin, Vienna, Munich, Leipzig, Hamburg, Nice, Paris, London, Budapest, Prague and many other European cities. In May 1855, in one of the Viennese music magazines Rubinstein’s article “Russian Composers” was published, which was disapprovingly received by the Russian musical community.

In the summer of 1858, Rubinstein returned to Russia, where, with the financial support of Elena Pavlovna, in 1859 he sought to establish the Russian Musical Society, in whose concerts he himself acted as a conductor (the first symphony concert under his direction was held on September 23, 1859). Rubinstein also continues to actively perform abroad and takes part in a festival dedicated to the memory of G. F. Handel. The following year, music classes were opened at the Society, which in 1862 were transformed into the first Russian conservatory. Rubinstein became its first director, conductor of the orchestra and choir, and professor of piano and instrumentation (among his students was P.I. Tchaikovsky).

Inexhaustible energy allowed Rubinstein to successfully combine this work with active performing, composing and musical educational activities. Every year visiting abroad, he meets Ivan Turgenev, Pauline Viardot, Hector Berlioz, Clara Schumann, Niels Gade and other artists.

Rubinstein’s activities did not always find understanding: many Russian musicians, among whom were members of the “Mighty Handful” led by M. A. Balakirev and A. N. Serov, were afraid of the excessive “academicism” of the conservatory and did not consider its role important in the formation of Russian musical schools. Court circles were also opposed to Rubinstein, a conflict with which forced him to resign as director of the conservatory in 1867. Rubinstein continues to give concerts (including with own writings), enjoying enormous success, and at the turn of the 1860s - 70s he became close to the “kuchkists”. The year 1871 was marked by the appearance of Rubinstein’s largest work, the opera “The Demon,” which was banned by censorship and first staged only four years later.

In the 1871-1872 season, Rubinstein led concerts of the Society of Friends of Music in Vienna, where he conducted, among other works, Liszt's oratorio "Christ" in the presence of the author (it is noteworthy that the organ part was performed by Anton Bruckner). The following year, Rubinstein made a triumphant tour in the United States together with violinist Henryk Wieniawski.

Returning to Russia in 1874, Rubinstein settled in his villa in Peterhof, taking up composition and conducting. The Fourth and Fifth symphonies, the operas “The Maccabees” and “Merchant Kalashnikov” (the latter was banned by censorship a few days after its premiere) belong to this period of the composer’s work. In the 1882-1883 season, he again took the helm of the symphony concerts of the Russian Musical Society, and in 1887 he again headed the Conservatory. In 1885-1886 he gave a series of “Historical Concerts” in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Vienna, Berlin, London, Paris, Leipzig, Dresden and Brussels, performing almost the entire existing solo piano repertoire from Couperin to contemporary Russian composers.

Rubinstein died on November 20, 1894 in Peterhof and was buried in the Nikolskoye cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, later reburied in the Necropolis of Masters of Arts.

Charitable activities

As critic A.V. Ossovsky writes, “Rubinstein’s monetary generosity is remarkable; according to a rough calculation, he donated about 300,000 rubles for various good deeds, not counting free participation in concerts in favor of all kinds of students whom A.G. always patronized, and not taking into account those distributions that no one saw or counted "

Memory

The Supreme Council is named after Rubinstein music college in Tiraspol, as well as the former Trinity Street in St. Petersburg, where the composer lived from 1887 to 1891.
There is a museum in the village of Vykhvatintsy, Rybnitsa district of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic. And the museum has a corner in memory of Rubinstein.
In Peterhof, the city last days composer, a street and a music school are named after him.
There is a memorial plaque installed on the house at 38 Troitskaya Street in St. Petersburg.

Essays

Among Rubinstein's works there are 5 spiritual operas (oratorios):
"Paradise Lost"
"Tower of Babel"
"Moses"
“Christ” (until 2011 it was considered irretrievably lost)
one biblical scene in 5 paintings - “Shulamith”,
13 operas:
“Dmitry Donskoy” (1849; based on the tragedy by V. A. Ozerov, staged in 1852 - Bolshoi Theater, St. Petersburg).
"The Demon" (1875).
"Merchant Kalashnikov" (1880).
"Nero" (1877).
"Parrot".
"Siberian Hunters, or the Fortieth Bear" (in German).
"Feramors" (1862).
"Hadji Abrek".
"Fomka the Fool."
"Children of the steppes".
"The Maccabees" (1875).
"Among the Robbers"
"Goryusha" (1889).

Ballet "The Vine"

Six symphonies (the most famous is the Second with program name“Ocean”), five piano concertos, concertos for cello, violin and orchestra, more than 100 romances, as well as sonatas, trios, quartets and other chamber music.

Theme with Variations Among literary works - diary entries under common name“The Box of Thoughts”, which first saw the light only ten years after the death of the author.

Yuri Bezelyansky

Anton Rubinstein was born on November 28, 1829 in the town of Vykhvatinets, Podolsk province. When the boy was five years old, the family moved from the banks of the Dniester “in a huge truck with the whole family” to Moscow, where they rented big house. The father of the future composer, Grigory Romanovich Rubinstein, from the “Zhytomyr first guild merchant son” turned into the “Moscow third guild merchant of the Golutvinskaya Sloboda.” Father Rubinstein was not a very successful entrepreneur, but at the same time he never lost his good nature and love of life. His wife, Anton's mother Kaleria Khristoforovna, was from Prussian Silesia and “received a decent education, especially music.” She taught the children, and there were five of them, to play the piano. At the age of ten, Anton Rubinstein gave his first public concert in Petrovsky Park. Then the teacher took him abroad. They traveled all over Europe. Anton performed in concerts, including at royal courts, and was introduced to all the then famous musicians, in particular Franz Liszt, who named the boy from Russia the heir to his playing.

In the meantime, Anton Rubinstein was establishing himself in Europe as a child prodigy, his younger brother Nikolai was growing up (he was born on June 2 (14), 1835 in Moscow), and he, like the elder Anton, was seated at the piano. As contemporaries noted, Nikolai Rubinstein studied with even greater ease and was considered even more talented than his older brother. The boys began performing together; the poet Afanasy Fet was present at one such joint concert in 1843. “The boys’ brilliant game lasted about an hour,” Fet recalled, and then they were given sweets, fruit and some toys. “These boys were the Rubinstein brothers, whom I later happened to meet more than once during the period of their glory.” At that concert, Anton was 13 years old, and Nikolai was eight.
Both Anton and Nikolai played the piano masterfully. Prince Odoevsky said about his younger brother: “Give him whatever music you want - he reads it like newspapers...”
Talent was talent, but the work was hard and persistent. “We, that is, the children,” Nikolai Rubinstein later recalled, “were woken up at six o’clock in the morning, even in winter, and after a cup of milk I had to sit down at the piano and play the exercises for the allotted time. The mother sat down with her work in the adjacent room, from which a piano could be seen through a small window. It used to be that the room in the morning was dark, cold, sometimes you were overcome by sleep, but as soon as you dozed off, you immediately heard a knock on the window, you instantly woke up from your drowsiness, because you knew that the knock would not go in vain.” The pedagogical punishment was strict: canings and slaps. It’s unlikely that they teach this way today, but in those days everything was exactly like that. And no almond-mongering.
In 1844, Kaleria Khristoforovna took her sons to Europe to continue their musical education. We drove through St. Petersburg, where the boys gave a concert at the royal court. The younger played a nocturne of his composition. The imperial couple was delighted, and Nicholas I blessed the young Rubinstein brothers: “Study, don’t play around, you will do honor to the Russians.” We should pay tribute to the foresight of Nicholas I: he foresaw that the Rubinstein brothers would bring glory to Russian musical culture.
From St. Petersburg to Berlin, Paris. Concerts as a way to earn money for the future music education. Acquaintance with composers Mendelssohn, Meyerbeer. Frederic Chopin was delighted with the brothers. Of course, the mother was happy high praise. But happiness does not come alone - the news came about the death of her husband. Kaleria Khristoforovna with younger Nikolai returned to Russia, and Anton went on concerts around Europe.
Since the brothers separated temporarily, we will also separate the story about them. First, let's talk about the elder Anton, and then we will return to the younger Nikolai.
“Great men build their own pedestal,” wrote Victor Hugo. And here is what Anton Rubinstein himself said: “I have always been interested in exploring whether and to what extent music can not only convey individuality and spiritual mood of this or that writer, but also to be an echo or echo of the time, historical events, states public culture etc. And I came to the conviction that it could be such an echo down to the smallest detail...”
After parting with his mother and brother, Anton Rubinstein moved to Vienna and there made a career solely through his own efforts, thanks to the hard work developed in childhood, independence and strength of character, and, of course, talent. He became a true professional musician, a brilliant pianist and, in essence, the first Russian musician to achieve worldwide fame while performing on various countries Europe and USA.
Rubinstein Sr. combined the talents of a pianist, conductor and composer. He left a considerable musical legacy: 13 operas and four sacred opera-oratorios, six symphonies and several dozen works for orchestra and chamber music ensembles, more than 200 piano pieces and almost as many romances. Yes, he wrote a lot, but not everything he wrote was of equal value: Anton Grigorievich was sometimes hampered by the speed of the composing process, and he sometimes did not bring his works to perfection.
From the work of Anton Rubinstein, the oratorio “Babylonian Pandemonium” and operas should be highlighted. The first opera was dedicated to the Battle of Kulikovo, then others followed: “Fomka the Fool”, “Siberian Hunters”, “Children of the Steppes”, “Nero” (the famous epithalamus), “Merchant Kalashnikov”. But everything was eclipsed by the opera “The Demon,” written in 1871 and staged at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg on January 13, 1875 (premiere in Bolshoi Theater- October 23, 1879). The opera was composed according to poem of the same name Lermontov. Grandiose passions, emotional outbursts. The role of Prince Gudal was played by Fyodor Chaliapin, who also released a gramophone record with the aria “On the ocean of air / Without a rudder and without sails, / Quietly floating in the fog / Choirs of slender luminaries.” And the same Chaliapin, with restrained, quiet passion, wrote the words of one of Anton Rubinstein’s “Persian Songs”: “Oh, if only it were like this forever...”
Anton Grigorievich reached the top as a public figure, as a teacher, as the creator of the St. Petersburg Conservatory. The idea originated in the summer of 1858 in the village of Bogorodskoye near Moscow (now Sokolniki). The Rubinstein family gathered there: mother, sisters, brothers. “There was no end to music making.” And Anton and Nikolai were seriously working on a plan to create a society in Russia for “the dissemination of music and the development of taste for this art through concerts, competitions, incentives, and the like.” The general plan belonged to the older brother, the plan of practical actions belonged to the younger brother. Anton’s field of activity was St. Petersburg, Nikolai’s was Moscow.
On May 1, 1859, with the support of Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna and under the leadership of Anton Rubinstein, the Russian Musical Society was founded in St. Petersburg, and on September 8, 1862, the first conservatory in Russia was opened in the city on the Neva. Anton Rubinstein invested his money in the construction of a new conservatory building at Theater Square against Mariinsky Theater. He became the first director of the conservatory, collected brilliant composition teachers. The first graduation from the St. Petersburg Conservatory took place in 1865, and among the graduates was Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, a student of Anton Grigorievich.
For more than half a century, about 2 thousand people graduated from the St. Petersburg Conservatory, among whom were many Jews (Osip Gabrilovich, Samuil Maikapar, Shlema Lezerson, Iuzel Achron and many others, including Leibla Strok, aka Oscar Strok, author of the famous tango songs “Black Eyes” etc.).
Anton Grigorievich devoted a lot of energy to the St. Petersburg Conservatory and left it several times, gave concerts throughout Europe, returned again and continued the noble cause of popularizing classical music in Russia. The loads were enormous. The strength was only enough for 65 years of life. Anton Grigorievich Rubinstein died on November 8 (20), 1894 at his dacha in Peterhof near St. Petersburg.
His younger brother Nikolai Grigorievich Rubinstein lived even shorter - only 45 years. When Polina Viardot came to Russia and a Moskovskie Vedomosti correspondent asked her which pianist “is now leading in Europe,” she replied: “Isn’t it a sin for you to ask about this? You have two houses best pianist Europe - the Rubinstein brothers."
Nikolai Rubinstein, like his brother Anton, is a pianist, yes, but also a persistent educator, a gifted teacher, and a talented organizer. In 1860, he organized the Moscow branch of the Russian Musical Society. Music classes were opened, and on their basis the Moscow Conservatory arose, of which Nikolai Grigorievich became the director. He attracted many talented teachers to his classes, including Tchaikovsky. At that time, Moscow, according to Pyotr Ilyich, “was a wild country in relation to music.” Nikolai Rubinstein overcame this savagery with his energy and talent. In 1865, Nikolai Grigorievich established the Artistic Circle, which brought together almost the entire intelligentsia of Moscow, including the famous historians Zabelin and Klyuchevsky.
The era of lordly estate music playing has ended. Thanks to the efforts of the Rubinstein brothers, music has turned from a pleasant pastime of noble ladies into one of the brightest phenomena national culture. And what a huge influence Nikolai Rubinstein had on Tchaikovsky! “I would, of course, never have made a name for myself if I had not had at hand such an excellent interpreter as you,” Tchaikovsky wrote with gratitude to Nikolai Rubinstein.
In 1871, a new building was purchased for the conservatory - the Vorontsov mansion on Bolshaya Nikitskaya, where it is still located (the building has been rebuilt). Rubinstein and Tchaikovsky lived here in separate apartments.
In 1878, Nikolai Rubinstein organized concerts of Russian music at the World Exhibition in Paris, in which he performed as a conductor and pianist. The concerts were a triumphant success.
On March 17, 1879, Nikolai Grigorievich conducted Tchaikovsky’s opera “Eugene Onegin”, performed for the first time by conservatory students. Well, then “Eugene Onegin” conquered all the stages. It would take a long time to list the merits and achievements of Nikolai Rubinstein. “People like him, that is, people with frantic energy and, moreover, forgetting themselves for the sake of what they love, are a terrible rarity,” noted Tchaikovsky. In his personal needs, Nikolai Grigorievich was very modest, his salary was much lower than for other leading professors, and accordingly, the furnishings in his apartment were unpretentious. In short, unmercenary. But he was an unmercenary man of irresistible charm, who had a strong, almost hypnotic effect on those around him. As someone wrote: “He did not look at rank, rank and person, / He did not humiliate the merits of others, / He lived unmercenarily, like God’s bird, / The despicable did not accumulate metal.”
Nikolai Rubinstein was, according to contemporaries, a real “master of musical Moscow.” “And how cute Rubinstein is!” - Leo Tolstoy exclaimed when meeting Nikolai Grigorievich. The students idolized him.
Nikolai Rubinstein was invited to work in America, but he refused: he could not imagine himself outside of Moscow. In 1880 he became one of the main organizers of the Pushkin celebrations in Belokamennaya. The musical part of the Pushkin holiday turned out brilliant. But Rubinstein Jr. undermined his health with his ascetic labors. On the advice of doctors, in February 1881 he went to Nice for treatment, made a stop in Paris and died at the Grand Hotel on March 12 (24). The body of Nikolai Rubinstein was transported to Moscow and buried next to Gogol in the cemetery of the Danilov Monastery. In 1939, the ashes were transferred to Novodevichye. Tchaikovsky responded to Rubinstein's death with a trio for piano, violin and cello, "In Memory of the Great Artist."
This, in brief, is the fate of the two Rubinstein brothers - Anton and Nikolai. They were painted by many artists, and from all the canvases the inspired faces of noble masters and music organizers who gave their lives to Russia look at us.
And let us bow our heads in memory of our brothers.
Yuri BEZELYANSKY, Russia