Nikolai Zaremba
Encyclopedia
Nikolai Ivanovich Zaremba was a Russia
n musical theorist and composer.
Zaremba was born in the province of Vitebsk
in 1821. He was one of the original professors at the St. Petersburg Conservatory when it was founded in 1862. In 1867, he succeeded Anton Rubinstein
as the director of the conservatory and held the post until 1871. He died in St. Petersburg in 1879.
His most famous student at the conservatory was Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
. Others included Vasily Safonov.
Zaremba's extreme conservatism colored both his teaching in general and what he expected from his students in particular. Along with Anton Rubinstein
, and opposed to the forward-looking tendencies of The Five
, Zaremba remained suspicious, even hostile, to new trends in music. Instead, he attempted to preserve what they saw as the best in the Western tradition in the immediate past. Zaremba idolized Beethoven
, particularly the late works, but his personal tastes had progressed no further than Mendelssohn
. If anyone were to ask him about Hector Berlioz
, Robert Schumann
— or, closer to home, Mikhail Glinka
— Zaremba would probably have had to admit to knowing nothing.
Tchaikovsky biographer David Brown writes that Zaremba's chief deficit was a complete lack of true inventiveness musically or of any other sort of imagination. Sticking to the composition handbook of his teacher, Adolph Bernhard Marx, Zaremba sent his students from there to study strict counterpoint and church modes as explained by Bellerman. Because of his lack of inventiveness, Zaremba's only way to improve a student's composition was to impose the straight-and-narrow rules of composition which he apparently learned so thoroughly himself.
Zaremba apparently had few, if any, creative energies of his own, having composed little and published nothing. He reportedly wrote at least one symphony, a quartet in the style of Joseph Haydn
, and an oratorio entitled John the Baptist. For a professor of composition at a conservatory, this meagerness of output could be considered unusual.
This lack of compositional output may have contributed to the undistinguished opinion held generally about Zaremba — a viewpoint Tchaikovsky shared ultimately as well. Since Zaremba was the one who encouraged Tchaikovsky initially to apply himself more seriously in his musical studies — telling him, among other things, that he had unquestionable talent — and pushed him to work industriously, such a lack of compositional effort on Zaremba's part might have been doubly perplexing to Tchaikovsky.
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 musical theorist and composer.
Zaremba was born in the province of Vitebsk
Vitebsk
Vitebsk, also known as Viciebsk or Vitsyebsk , is a city in Belarus, near the border with Russia. The capital of the Vitebsk Oblast, in 2004 it had 342,381 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth largest city...
in 1821. He was one of the original professors at the St. Petersburg Conservatory when it was founded in 1862. In 1867, he succeeded Anton Rubinstein
Anton Rubinstein
Anton Grigorevich Rubinstein was a Russian-Jewish pianist, composer and conductor. As a pianist he was regarded as a rival of Franz Liszt, and he ranks amongst the great keyboard virtuosos...
as the director of the conservatory and held the post until 1871. He died in St. Petersburg in 1879.
His most famous student at the conservatory was Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
. Others included Vasily Safonov.
Zaremba's extreme conservatism colored both his teaching in general and what he expected from his students in particular. Along with Anton Rubinstein
Anton Rubinstein
Anton Grigorevich Rubinstein was a Russian-Jewish pianist, composer and conductor. As a pianist he was regarded as a rival of Franz Liszt, and he ranks amongst the great keyboard virtuosos...
, and opposed to the forward-looking tendencies of The Five
The Five
The Five, also known as The Mighty Handful or The Mighty Coterie , refers to a circle of composers who met in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the years 1856–1870: Mily Balakirev , César Cui, Modest Mussorgsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Borodin...
, Zaremba remained suspicious, even hostile, to new trends in music. Instead, he attempted to preserve what they saw as the best in the Western tradition in the immediate past. Zaremba idolized Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
, particularly the late works, but his personal tastes had progressed no further than 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...
. If anyone were to ask him about Hector Berlioz
Hector Berlioz
Hector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts . Berlioz made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his Treatise on Instrumentation. He specified huge orchestral forces for some of his works; as a...
, Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
— or, closer to home, Mikhail Glinka
Mikhail Glinka
Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka , was the first Russian composer to gain wide recognition within his own country, and is often regarded as the father of Russian classical music...
— Zaremba would probably have had to admit to knowing nothing.
Tchaikovsky biographer David Brown writes that Zaremba's chief deficit was a complete lack of true inventiveness musically or of any other sort of imagination. Sticking to the composition handbook of his teacher, Adolph Bernhard Marx, Zaremba sent his students from there to study strict counterpoint and church modes as explained by Bellerman. Because of his lack of inventiveness, Zaremba's only way to improve a student's composition was to impose the straight-and-narrow rules of composition which he apparently learned so thoroughly himself.
Zaremba apparently had few, if any, creative energies of his own, having composed little and published nothing. He reportedly wrote at least one symphony, a quartet in the style of Joseph Haydn
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
, and an oratorio entitled John the Baptist. For a professor of composition at a conservatory, this meagerness of output could be considered unusual.
This lack of compositional output may have contributed to the undistinguished opinion held generally about Zaremba — a viewpoint Tchaikovsky shared ultimately as well. Since Zaremba was the one who encouraged Tchaikovsky initially to apply himself more seriously in his musical studies — telling him, among other things, that he had unquestionable talent — and pushed him to work industriously, such a lack of compositional effort on Zaremba's part might have been doubly perplexing to Tchaikovsky.
Sources
- Brown, David, Tchaikovsky: The Early Years, 1840-1874 (New York, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1978)
- Holden, Anthony, Tchaikovsky: A Biography (New York: Random House, 1995)
- Poznansky, Alexander, Tchaikovsky: The Quest for the Inner Man (New York, Schirmer Books, 1991)
- Strutte, Wilson, Tchaikovsky, His Life and Times (Speldhurst, Kent, United Kingdom: Midas Books, 1979)
- Warrack, John, Tchaikovsky (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1973)