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Blumental Konstantin (1925-1989)

Personal data
SurnameBlumental
NameKonstantin
Birth year1925
Birth month2
Birth day6
Birth placeRiga
Death year1989
Death month1
Death day5
Death placeRiga
SexM

Blumental (Blūmentāls) Konstantin ( Konstantīns) (Khona) (6 February 1925, Riga – 5 January 1989, Riga) - pianist and educator.

In his childhood, Konstantin Blumental studied piano under J. Maevskis. In 1939, he enrolled in the junior department of the Latvian Conservatory, studying under L. Homan-Dombrovska. With the onset of World War II in 1941, he was evacuated to Chkalov (now Orenburg) and subsequently to Tashkent. During 1941–1944, he continued his studies at the Leningrad Conservatory in Tashkent and, from 1944 to 1949, at the Moscow Conservatory under Professors V. Sofronitsky and K. Igumnov. In 1960, he completed his postgraduate studies at the Leningrad Conservatory with P. Serebryakov.

Returning to Latvia in 1949, Konstantin Blumental taught and served as an accompanist at the Liepāja Music School until 1954. He performed both solo and symphonic concerts in Liepāja, collaborating with conductors such as V. Vikmanis, J. Dreimanis, K. Bunka, and K. Ozols. From the early 1950s, he also performed in Riga.

Starting in 1954, Konstantin Blumental joined the Latvian Conservatory as a lecturer, initially teaching compulsory piano and later specializing in piano performance. He was appointed Associate Professor in 1977 and eventually became a full professor, leading the piano department from 1962. During 1968–1969, he also taught at the Emīls Dārziņš Music School.

Konstantin Blumental regularly gave solo concerts in Riga's concert halls and appeared on radio and television. As a soloist, he performed in symphonic concerts under conductors such as L. Vīgners, E. Tōns, T. Reiters, R. Matsov (Estonia), D. Gokieli (Georgia), and F. Glushchenko (Ukraine). He toured extensively in cities across the Soviet Union, including Moscow, Leningrad, Tallinn, Vilnius, and Kaunas. In 1975 he was honoured as a Meritorious Artist of the Latvian SSR.

His repertoire was extensive, featuring works by composers like Frédéric Chopin, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Ludwig van Beethoven. He frequently performed pieces by Latvian composers Jāzeps Vītols and Jānis Ivanovs, encompassing all of Ivanovs' piano compositions.

SKV, 32―34; Pad. Latv mūzikas darbinieki. R., 1965. Lpp. 60―62.