Konstantin Eiges


Konstantin Romanovich Eiges was a Russian composer, teacher and pianist.

Early life

Eiges was born in Bogodukhov, to Jewish parents, the doctor Ruvim Manasiyevich Eiges and his wife Sofiya Iosifovna, née Eltsin. He was one of ten children, many of whom went on to artistic or academic careers; Vladimir Eiges was a professor of mathematics, Aleksandr, also a mathematician, was an authority on Anton Chekhov, Veniamin was an artist, Yekaterina was a poet and sometime girlfriend of Sergei Esenin.

Career

Eiges attended Moscow Conservatory between 1900 and 1905, where his teachers included Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, Sergei Taneyev and Adolf Yaroshevsky. He was a colleague of Sergei Rachmaninoff and Nikolai Medtner. His pupils included Alexei Stanchinsky. Most of his compositions are for piano solo, though he also wrote songs and chamber works, a cantata The Song of Oleg the Wise, and a symphonic poem, The Snowstorm. Eiges wrote numerous essays on music and philosophy, including essays on Richard Wagner and Alexander Skriabin.

Family

Eiges was the father of the composer Oleg Eiges and the artist Sergei Eiges.