Description
The most comprehensive tribute to Konstantin Igumnov; arguably the finest example we have of Igumnov's uniquely intimate style of performance. He seems to be conducting a dialogue with all listeners through the sounds of the piano. This collection is particularly precious because all his life he resisted the recording studio's microphones in the belief that the process stifled spontaneity and inspiration, hence the rarity of recorded material; we have also included five of the six piano rolls he did for Welte-Mignon. "Igumnov as a pianist is an absolutely exceptional phenomenon...", said the rector of the Moscow Conservatory, in 1933, "[his] piano sings like a rare one of today's great pianists." Amongst his students we count Jakov Flier, Maria Grinberg, Bella Davidovich, Lev Oborin and Yakov Milstein, who said: "Few could compete with Igumnov in the beauty of sound". Though he was not as widely known internationally as some of his contemporaries, his career demonstrates that musical legacy is not measured solely by fame or virtuosity and his influence within Russia is profound.
