Karl Kipp

Karl Avgustovich Kipp (Russian: Карл Августович Кипп; November 11 [O.S. October 30] 1865 – March 26, 1925) was a Russian pianist and teacher. He was a professor at the Moscow Conservatory for three decades, and was widely acclaimed for teaching virtuosic piano technique. He influenced dozens of notable pianists including Sergei Rachmaninoff, Yuri Bryushkov, and Vsevolod Zaderatsky.^[1]

Kipp was born Ludwig Karl August in Saint Petersburg, or possibly Minsk, to a family of Volga Germans in the Russian Empire in 1865.^[2] He began to study music in Minsk, where he completed his secondary education.

In 1880, he entered the Moscow Conservatory, studying under Russian pianists Pavel Pabst and Eduard Langer. He graduated in 1888.

Soon after completing his studies in Moscow, Kipp discovered an interest in music education. He began his career teaching at the Russian Musical Society in Tambov, where he performed in concerts.^[3] In 1892, he returned to the Moscow Conservatory as a piano teacher for younger students. He became a professor in 1909, dedicating himself entirely to instructing senior students.^[4] Among his most notable students were Yuri Bryushkov,^[5] Vsevolod Zaderatsky,^{[6] [7]} Lyubov Orlova, Mikhail Raukhverger, Leonid Polovinkin  [ru], Abram Shatskes,^[8] Xenia Prochorowa,^[9] Boris Goldovsky,^{[10] [11]} and Boleslav Yavorsky.

Kipp performed piano concerts in Moscow for decades, mainly chamber music within private circles. On December 9, 1907, he performed Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20 under Sergei Vasilenko, with critics lauding his excellent technique and musicality. Kipp played in ensembles with violinists including Jan Hřímalý. He cited the Polish-American pianist Josef Hofmann as an inspiration.

His teaching of virtuosic piano techniques was widely praised, with Alexander Borovsky calling him the "sorcerer professor".^[12] Nikolai Medtner jokingly referred to his students, all with impeccable technique, as "Kipp's trotters",^[13] and Alexander Goldenweiser likened his significance as a teacher to that of his renowned predecessor, Nikolai Zverev.

He died on March 26, 1925, aged 59. He was buried at the Vvedenskoye Cemetery in Moscow.^[14]

Kipp married Russian singer Maria Iosifovna Nikolaevskaya (1890–1973). The couple had a daughter, Irina Karlovna Kipp, in 1914.

In his apartment, there hung a large photograph of Rachmaninoff by his piano with the inscription: "To the god of technique—a grateful Sergei Rachmaninoff".

• 1865 births
• 1925 deaths
• 19th-century classical pianists from the Russian Empire
• 19th-century male musicians from the Russian Empire
• 20th-century Russian classical pianists
• 20th-century Russian male musicians
• Academic staff of Moscow Conservatory
• Burials at Vvedenskoye Cemetery
• Moscow Conservatory alumni
• Musicians from Saint Petersburg
• Russian people of Volga German descent
• Soviet classical pianists
• 19th-century male pianists
• 20th-century male pianists

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