Nikolai Medtner: Music, Aesthetics, and Contexts

The publication of this anthology coincides with the 70th anniversary of the death of the Russian composer and pianist Nikolai Medtner (1880-1951). This is the first scholarly collection in English entirely dedicated to Medtner's life and work. The twelve contributions offer a variety of approaches to his biography and his compositions: analyses and interpretative studies are combined with hermeneutic contexts and insights into his aesthetic thinking. In four sections organized by musical genres, Medtner's solo piano music, vocal music, and piano concertos are examined, along with perspectives on his personal relationships and teaching activities. The authors are researchers and musicians from eight different nationalities, incorporating approaches from both Eastern and Western musicology, music theory, and interpretative research, as well as musical traditions from both the West and the East that are equally represented in Medtner's music.