From the History of Russian Accompaniment: F. M. Blumenfeld as an Accompanist
The article describes the accompanist practice of the outstanding musician F. M. Blumenfeld (1863-1931). This aspect of his achievement has so far been neglected by researchers. However, accompaniment was an essential component of the pianist’s work, and his professional career cannot be completely described if it is ignored. the article aims to identify sources of Blumenfeld’s accompanist gift against the background of his relations with soloists, while general issues of the theory and history of accompaniment are discussed. Materials used in this publications are part of the course of lectures “History and Theory of the Art of Accompaniment” read by the author in the Herzen Pedagogical University; they may be interesting to both scholars and general public interested in the history of Russian music and performing art.