Yevsei Singer

Yevsei Singer

1911 (St. Petersburg) — 1977 (Novosibirsk)

Yevsei Singer was a Soviet pianist and teacher, born in St. Petersburg on January 10, 1911. He studied piano at the Third Music College in Leningrad, then graduated from the Leningrad Conservatory’s performance faculty in 1931. From 1934 to 1936, he pursued postgraduate study under Samariy Savshinsky.

From 1930 to 1934, Singer worked as an ensemble pianist for Roskino and led trios at the Spartak and Agitator cinemas. He was also a solo pianist for the Leningrad Radio Center and a pianist and accompanist for the Leningrad regional concert bureau. He taught at the Saratov Conservatory from 1936 to 1945, heading its special piano department from 1938. After appointments at the Leningrad Conservatory and the Almaty Conservatory, he joined the Novosibirsk Conservatory in 1957. He led its special piano department from 1958 to 1963 and was a professor there from 1958 until his death. He also taught at music schools in Novosibirsk.

Singer gave solo recitals, performed concertos with orchestras, and played chamber music. His repertoire included works by Chopin, Schumann, Scriabin, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, and other composers. In Almaty, he presented concerts devoted to Scriabin and performed concertos by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and Otar Taktakishvili. In Novosibirsk, he took part in concert series devoted to Beethoven’s piano sonatas, Prokofiev’s piano sonatas, and the history of the Russian piano sonata. He also helped establish chamber music performance in Novosibirsk, including concert cycles with Yevgeny Shustin and Leonid Rukhankin.

As a performer, Singer was noted for flexible control of musical timing, clear phrasing, a singing tone, and attention to the separate layers of the musical texture. His programming also included rarely performed and new works. He combined performance and commentary in the television series Conversations at the Piano. His musical works included piano pieces, a suite based on Chechen themes, arrangements of Kazakh material, and music for Eugène Labiche’s vaudeville The Slap.

Singer was also a music scholar and critic. In 1960, he became the first faculty member of the Novosibirsk Conservatory to earn a candidate degree in arts studies, with a dissertation on French pianism in the 19th century. His research included studies of Scriabin, Schumann, and the history of music education in Siberia. His 1976 book examined French piano art up to the middle of the 19th century.

As a teacher, Singer drew on the traditions of the St. Petersburg piano school and the methods of his teacher, Savshinsky. He emphasized individual instruction, gradual artistic and technical development, and students’ ability to analyze their own work. He also gave lessons and master classes and advised music schools across Siberia. Singer died in Novosibirsk on June 29, 1977. Since 2020, the Novosibirsk State Conservatory has held an international piano competition named in his honor.

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