Alexander Ilyich Siloti (also
Ziloti, ,
Aleksandr Iljič Ziloti) (9 October 1863, near
Kharkiv - 8 December 1945,
New York) was a
Russian pianist,
conductor and
composer. (
Spelling note: A truer transliteration of his surname into English would be
Ziloti; however, it is usually seen in its
German transliteration
Siloti. Initial s in German is pronounced z.)
Biography
Alexander Siloti was born on his father's estate near Kharkiv,
Ukraine (then part of
Imperial Russia). He studied piano at the
Moscow Conservatory with
Nikolai Zverev from 1871, then from 1875 under
Nikolai Rubinstein, brother of the more famous
Anton Rubinstein; from that year he also studied counterpoint under
Sergei Taneyev, harmony under
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and theory under Nikolai Hubert. He graduated with the Gold Medal in Piano in 1881. Siloti went to
Weimar, Germany to further his studies with
Franz Liszt, co-founding the Liszt-Verein in
Leipzig, and making his professional debut on 19 November 1883. Returning to Russia in 1887, Siloti taught at the Moscow Conservatory, where his students included
Alexander Goldenweiser, Leonid Maximov, and his first
cousin Sergei Rachmaninoff. During this period he also began work as editor for Tchaikovsky, particularly on the
First and
Second piano concertos.
Siloti married Vera Tretyakova, herself a pianist and the daughter of wealthy industrialist and art collector
Pavel......
Read More