Jānis Suhovs

Ivan (Jānis) Suhov (October 14, 1892 in Vilnius, Russian Empire - August 29, 1979 in Paris, France) – pianist and composer, concertmaster, conductor, teacher. From 1910 to 1917, Ivan (Jānis) Suhov studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, in the composition class of professor J. Vitols and in the piano class of professor A. Poletikas. On May 8, 1917, he received a diploma and the title of free artist, which indicated the completion of the conservatory study course. While still a student, he gained creative experience: he worked as a concert master for singers, and also taught private piano lessons. 1919-1920 g. Suhov lived in Vilnius, but in the summer of 1920 he moved to Riga. During the next ten years (1921-1931), the musician worked at the National Opera as concertmaster's repetiteur and conductor. His responsibilities included very complex and serious preparations for opera performances: as concertmaster pianist he helped the soloists learn the opera parts, and as a conductor he held technical rehearsals with the orchestra before the leading conductors began to shape the artistic side of these performances. As a result of this painstaking work, he got to know well the scores of the operas in the theater repertoire and not only them. Once this knowledge was useful to him not in ordinary everyday conditions, but in an emergency situation, and the musician passed it with honor. Namely, this is what happened: in June 1928, the conductor Emil Kuper, the choir and some soloists of the National Opera were invited to Berlin to participate in some opera performances in which the great Russian opera singer Fyodor Chaliapin was the main star. The performances were very successful, the Latvian musicians received quite a few praises after the operas "Boris Godunovs" and "Faust", but in the rehearsal before the performance of "Don Quixote" there was an argument between Fyodor Shalapina and Emil Kuper. Corypheus "caught up", an affair took place. It led to mutual resentment. As a result, the enraged Cooper left the theater, angrily throwing the conductor's baton at the console and loudly announcing that he was leaving Berlin. The opera performance could not have taken place, the tragedy of canceling the performance seemed absolutely inevitable, but Jānis Suhovs, who came to Berlin together with Latvian stage artists, came to the rescue. He confidently and talentedly conducted in Cooper's place, because he had completely mastered the score of this opera. From 1931 to 1944, Suhov's main place of work was Latvijas Radiofons: as a pianist, he participated in concerts that were broadcast on the radio. However, much more often he performed in concert halls together with many stage artists - both local and visiting artists. He accompanied many opera singers: Elsa Žebranska, Anna Grēviņa, Milda Brehmani-Štengeli, Jānis Niedras, Herta Luse, Paul Saks, Ādolf Kaktiņš, Aleksandar Viļumani, Nikolaj Vasiļiev and others; violinists Werner Taub, Arvēdas Norītis, Aleksandar Arnītis; to cellist Evaldas Berzinski. He also accompanied many guest artists who for some reason came without an accompanist, including the world-famous Fyodor Shaliapin. J. Suhov also performed across the border together with the opera singer Valeria Barsova (in Lithuania), with Dāvid Ojstrah (in Lithuania) and several times with the Meserērs (in Estonia, in the 1930s). In the period from 1925 to 1932 and from 1940 to 1944, Jānis Suhovs was a pianist, concertmaster and pedagogue (senior docent) in the Opera class of the Latvian Conservatory. In 1944, the musician emigrated from Latvia, lived in France, Paris. He worked at S. Rachmaninov's Russian Conservatory - he was a concertmaster tutor and piano class teacher. Ivan (Jānis) Suhov was an excellent and sensitive pianist accompanist. Sukhov's accompaniment testified to good taste, sensitivity and ability to support the performer. He had a developed piano playing technique. That is why he was always invited to accompany, because he was an excellent musician who knew how to listen perfectly to the ensemble partners. Periodically, Sukhov held concerts in which his own compositions were played by Rebane, Nurjane-Jakubovska, P. Saks, A. Werner, M. Tojmans and others. Musical compositions: Romances with the words of Russian and Latvian poets; Instrumental chamber music compositions: String Quartet; "Nocturne" for harp; "Tenderness" for violin and piano; Sonata, prelude for piano. Marina Mihailec Sources of information: LVA, Fund 1655, Apr. No. 1, Case 114. "Русский вестник" ("Russian Herald"), January 5, 1944. "Jaunākās zīna", 1931, No. 77, on June 4 - an evening of Jānis Suhov's compositions.