Alexander Snegiriov
biography - music - photos
After a long period of self imposed silence on my part, I suddenly felt a deep need of contact with my beloved professor and mentor. We took up where we had left, as if I had not disappeared from his intimate attention for all those long years in a correspondence mainly concerning thoughts about music and its performance.
One wintry day of 2003, I recieved a packet containing several photos of A. M. Snegiriov with a letter from him asking me to "keep these pictures, since I would soon not be needing them anymore..."
What I took for a mere polite excuse for an unusual narcissic gesture coming from the man I knew to be so far from such actions, only became cruelly clear one very sad late summer day, when I was informed of his death.
In memory of a man who means so much to me...
brian schembri
Beethoven : Piano Concerto nr 5 (i)
private recording
piano solo : Brian Schembri,
orchestra piano reduction : A. M. Snegiriov
Biography
Alexander Mikhailovich SNEGIRIOV was born in Kharkov, USSR on the 30th of April, 1930.
He graduated from Kharkov Secondary Special Musical School (1944-1948, professor A. Luntz) and later studied at and graduated from Kharkov Conservatoire (1948-1953, professors A. Luntz and R. Horowitz). As a post-graduate student at Moscow Conservatoire (1953-1958) he worked under artistic supervision of professors V. Nechaev and A. Shatskes. Later on A. Snegiriov did advanced professional training and guidance at Moscow Conservatoire (1974-1975) under artistic supervision of professor T. Nikolaeva.
From 1947 , A. Snegiriov performed numerous piano recitals in Kharkov, Odessa, Kiev, Poltava, Moscow and outside the USSR. He also appeared as piano soloist with symphony orchestras (conductors E. Dushchenko, A. Gulianitsky, I. Gousman), and in chamber ensembles with V. Topilin, B. Sklovsky, M. Eshchenko, V. Selitsky.
A. Snegiriov was the All-Ukrainian piano competition laureate (Kiev, 1957), and All-Union piano competition laureate (Moscow, 1957).
His repertoire included the masterpieces of Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Liszt, Schubert, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, Scriabin, Khachatourian, as well as the works of Ukrainian composers (Revutsky, Bogdanov, Nechaev, Klebanov, Kossenko).
An eminent pedagogue, he was professor at Kharkov Conservatoire (1953 -1961), and from 1961, professor at Kiev Conservatoire. In 1966-1968 – the dean of the piano department at Kiev Conservatoire. From 1983 to 1996 A. Snegiriov headed the special pianoforte chair, while in 1973 he recieved the Doctorship at Kiev Conservatoire. Among A. Snegiriov's students one can mention V. Bakis, N. Strochan, A. Molchanov, B. Schembri, O. Zdorenko, E. Lebedeva, A. Zaitseva, G. Dobrushkin, E. Basalaeva, N. Visich.
Among his activities, one should note the Ukrainian Association of pianists-laureates of international and national piano competitions of which he was founder (1993) and president (1994). A. Snegiriov published numerous reviews in newspapers and magazines on piano arts and performing. Published books include: "Pianists of Ukraine, XX century" – Kiev, 1997 (re-edited 1998, 1999, 2001, with changes and amendments).
Alexander Mikhailovich Snegiriov died on the 28 th of June, 2003, in Ukrainka, Kiev region, Ukraine.
