Pianist, Composer. His 1922 arrangement of "The Song of the Volga Boatmen", written for singer Fyodor Chaliapin, made the old Russian folk tune internationally famous. American bandleader Glenn Miller recorded a chart-topping jazz version in 1941, and its dolorous melody was used to underscore scenes of heavy manual labor in Hollywood films of that decade, often for comic effect. It is still a favorite recital piece for bass vocalists. Fyodor Fyodorovich Keneman was born in Moscow. He studied with Nikolai Zverev at the Moscow Conservatory and graduated with a first prize in piano in 1898. That year he began his long professional association with Chaliapin, serving as his most frequent accompanist and penning dozens of songs, arias and folksong arrangements for him to perform. After "The Volga Boatmen", their biggest hit was "The King Went Forth to War" (1918), a Keneman original. The partnership ended in 1922 when Chaliapin emigrated to France. Keneman was a professor of piano at the Moscow Conservatory from 1912 until his retirement in 1932.
Pianist, Composer. His 1922 arrangement of "The Song of the Volga Boatmen", written for singer Fyodor Chaliapin, made the old Russian folk tune internationally famous. American bandleader Glenn Miller recorded a chart-topping jazz version in 1941, and its dolorous melody was used to underscore scenes of heavy manual labor in Hollywood films of that decade, often for comic effect. It is still a favorite recital piece for bass vocalists. Fyodor Fyodorovich Keneman was born in Moscow. He studied with Nikolai Zverev at the Moscow Conservatory and graduated with a first prize in piano in 1898. That year he began his long professional association with Chaliapin, serving as his most frequent accompanist and penning dozens of songs, arias and folksong arrangements for him to perform. After "The Volga Boatmen", their biggest hit was "The King Went Forth to War" (1918), a Keneman original. The partnership ended in 1922 when Chaliapin emigrated to France. Keneman was a professor of piano at the Moscow Conservatory from 1912 until his retirement in 1932.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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