Lev Nikolaevic Naumov
(1925-2005), the last of the three assistants of Heinrich Neuhaus,
suddenly passed away on August 22 in Moscow.
Few months ago, on February 12, the whole
academic body of the Conservatory, and his pupils and admirers
celebrated him on the occasion of his 80° birthday.
Lev Naumov was born in Rostov, and he learned
music at the Conservatory of Moscow, to which he remained tied-up
during his whole life. Here he graduated in 1950 in composition with
Vissarion Scebalin and Anatolij Aleksandrov, and in piano with the
great Heinrich Neuhaus.
Neuhaus itself asked immediately for Lev Naumov
as an assistant in his class. Prof. Naumov thus taught in his own alma
mater since 1955, that is for 50 years! As a composer, Naumov wrote,
among his various works, a Symphony, a Cantata, a string Quartet,
a piano Sonata, various cycles of Lieds on lyrics of Japanese poets,
and of the Russian poet Dmitrij Kedrin.
The pianist Valerij Voskobojnikov graduated in
1963 with the help of Prof. Lev Naumov, which accompanied him at the
piano in the Third Bela Bartok Concert. He remembers him with deep
gratitude and true affection. Their last meeting went up in Moscow in
November 2003, when both were in the jury of the Second festival of
the young pianists, devoted to their common teacher Heinrich Neuhaus.
Recently Lev Naumov published a book, just
entitled "Under the sign of Neuhaus", in which he recollects
his own long didactic experience, his love for music, his colleagues,
his preferred composers, and the unforgettable Neuhaus.
Among his various pupils during these years, it
is worth to remember some of them, at least the more renowned in the
international scene: Vladimir Viardo, Andrej Gavrilov, Evgenij Korolev,
Aleksej Ljubimov, Boris Petrushanskij, Lekso Toradze, Vasilij Lobanov,
Aleksandr Ciajkovskij, Konstantin Scerbakov, Aleksandr Kobrin, and
many many others ...
Lev Naumov has also been once in Italy,
particularly on invitation of Sviatoslav
Richter, in order to hold master class at the Asolo Festival.
