Vladimir Belov

Vladimir Sergeyevich Belov (26 July 1906 – 22 January 1989) was a Soviet pianist and music educator whose career was closely connected with the Moscow Conservatory. He was born in Kirzhach (then Vladimir Governorate) and died in Moscow.

He was the son of the choral conductor Sergey Pavlovich Belov, who taught in seminaries and worked in Kirzhach, Kostroma, and Simbirsk. Belov began studying music at the Simbirsk Music Technical School with E. M. Savyolova, a pupil of Anna Yesipova. In 1922 he continued his studies at the Moscow Conservatory with S. A. Kozlovsky, and from 1924 studied with the pianist and pedagogue Felix Blumenfeld.

From 1925 Belov worked as an accompanist (collaborative pianist) in the classes of S. M. Kozolupov, K. G. Mostras, B. O. Sibor, and other teachers. After graduating from the conservatory in 1929, he became an assistant in Blumenfeld’s class; after Blumenfeld’s death in January 1931, Belov led the class through its examinations, among the graduates being Maria Grinberg.

Belov later served as an assistant in the class of Heinrich Neuhaus and from 1935 was an associate professor in the piano department. He also taught at the music school affiliated with the conservatory, and in 1970–1971 taught at the Kyiv Conservatory. Among his students in different years were the pianists and teachers Stanislav Neuhaus and Boris Zemlyansky, as well as composers Andrei Volkonsky, Edison Denisov, and Alexander Kondratyev (Baltin).

Between 1928 and 1938 Belov performed as a piano soloist with the Moscow Philharmonic and other concert organizations and toured throughout the Soviet Union. Later, for various reasons, his solo career largely ceased, and he concentrated primarily on teaching and editorial work.

Belov produced a number of piano transcriptions (including works associated with Frédéric Chopin, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Yuri Shaporin). He also prepared edited editions of certain piano works by Chopin, Franz Liszt, and Blumenfeld, noted for the detail and thoroughness of their additional performance indications.

His memoirs about Blumenfeld were published in the book “Memoirs of the Moscow Conservatory” (1966), and his recollections of Stanislav Neuhaus appeared in the collection “Stanislav Neuhaus. Memoirs. Letters. Materials” (1988). Recordings of Blumenfeld’s études performed by Belov were included on the 1990 Melodiya LP “Students of Blumenfeld,” alongside recordings by Simon Barere, Vladimir Horowitz, and Maria Grinberg.

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