Sad day for fans of Nikolai Medtner. One of his great champions, Hamish Milne, has died.

Medtner was a good friend of Sergei Rachmaninoff. Both artists emerged from the same piano class at the Moscow Conservatory. Rachmaninoff was a lifelong advocate of Medtner’s music. Though undeniably Rach was the more successful of the two, Medtner developed a reputation as something of a pianist’s pianist.

In fact, Rachmaninoff believed wholeheartedly in his friend’s superior talent. He once described him as “the greatest composer of our time.” Rach dedicated his Piano Concerto No. 4 to Medtner. Medtner returned the kindness by dedicating his own Piano Concerto No. 2 to Rachmaninoff. He also provided emotional support for Rach during his frequent periods of self-doubt.

Medtner made another important friend in Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar Bahadur, twenty-fifth Maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore. Bahadur founded a Medtner Society in London to record all of the composer’s works.

Milne did his very best to carry on the tradition. A glance at his discography reveals an obvious preference for Medtner’s music. In addition, he recorded underplayed gems by Anatoly Alexandrov, William Sterndale Bennett, Ferruccio Busoni, Hermann Goetz, Sergei Lyapunov, Julius Reubke, Carl Maria von Weber, and Haydn Wood. He was the first pianist to set down a comprehensive survey of Medtner’s music since the composer’s own recordings, released all the way back in the 78 era.

At the time of his death, Milne was 80 years-old.

Medtner, Dithyramb, Op. 10, No. 2

Piano Sonata in G minor:

Interview with Melanie Spanswick: