The Russian Piano School and the Pupils of Alexander Scriabin

My long-standing fascination with the music of Alexander Scriabin may not merely be only coincidental: I can consider myself a 6th-generation pupil of the composer-pianist himself (certainly on biographic terms, if not on pianistic or musical accomplishment).

Here, I would like to illustrate the "tree" that shows the generations of teachers and pupils:

1) Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin (1872 Moscow - 1915 Moscow)
           |
2) Alexander Joachimovitch Horowitz (1877 - 1927)* / Maria Nemenowa / Alexandra Malinowskaja / Juri Pomeranzew / Olga Essaulowa / Antonina Loiko (all from the class of 1902)
          |  
3) Iosif Yosef Moiseevitch Margulis (1891 Kharkiv, Ukraine - 1956 Kharkiv) **
          |
4) Vitalij Iosifovitch Margulis (1928 Kharkiv - 2011 Los Angeles)
          |
5) Bernd Glemser (*1962 Dürbheim, Germany) / Jura Margulis (*1968) / Igor Kamenz (*1968) / Rolf Plagge (*1959) / Grigory Gruzman et al.
          |
6) Alexander Kirsch (*1971 Den Haag, Netherlands) / Wolfram Schmitt-Leonardy (*1967) et al.

From the left: A. Loiko, A Horowitz, O. Essaulowa, A. Scriabin, J. Pomeranzew, A. Malilnowskaja & M. Nemenowa 

(photo from 1902)

Interestingly, this teacher/pupil-"tree" can be followed up further all the way to Beethoven:

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)

           |

Carl Czerny (1791 - 1857)

          |

Theodor Leschetizky (1830 - 1915)

          |

Vasiliy Safonov (1852 - 1918) /  Lyubov Petrovna Scriabina (née Schetinina) (1850–1873)*** et al.

          |

Alexander N. Scriabin

Of course, some of the pupils listed may have only spent a short period of time with their named teachers and moved on to complete their studies elsewhere, but for the purpose of establishing some form of relationship, the above shown connections are historically proven.

An interesting, albeit incomplete, collection of musical personalities and their pupils can be found on Wikipedia - List of Music Students by Teacher.

_ _ _ _ _

*  uncle of  Vladimir Horowitz (1903-89)

** Iosif Margulis, father of Vitalij; however, until recently there was no information available on this person, other than that he likely lived and worked in the Kharkiv area of the Ukraine. Lately, his dates of birth and death and a photograph appeared on www. geni.com:

Likewise, there is insufficient biographical information available on Alexander Horowitz, other than him being a close friend of Scriabin and taking his later world-famous nephew - aged just 10 - to play in front of the composer himself; I have no information about his other pupils or where he taught.

There are also no recordings available by neither Alexander Horovitz nor Iosif Margulis, unlike Scriabin who recorded some of his own works on piano rolls.

***Scriabin's mother; however, as she died when the boy was just one year old, she cannot be considered his teacher.