Стаття присвячена пам’яті видатного українського піаніста і педагога, професора В. В. Топіліна; в ній відзначені віхи його творчого шляху, наведені імена відомих музикантів, з якими Топілін свого часу концертував, стисло викладені основні положення його педагогічного кредо, вказані прізвища його учнів, які згодом стали відомими композиторами, виконавцями, педагогами.
The article is devoted to the memory of the outstanding Ukrainian pianist and teacher, professor V. Topilin. He graduated from the Kharkiv Conservatory in 1928, toured Ukraine as a soloist and concertmaster. In 1930 he began his creative collaboration with the outstanding violinist D. Oistrach. He performed with well-known European musicians, among them were M. Polyakin, M. Mareshal, G. fon Karayan. The war, which began in 1941, destroyed all the plans of a talented musician. Only in 1954 he returned to music, taking up piano pedagogy. Since 1962, Topilin has been working at the Kyiv Conservatory. Rational and emotional things combined extremely harmoniously in performance of Topilin. Piano texture of any complexity always sounded clear and relief. The repertoire of the pianist included works by many composers from Bach to Shostakovich. Topilin-teacher attached great importance to the education of the student's personality, the aesthetic for him was always inextricably linked with the ethic. He believed that the professional level of the pianist is determined by three factors: knowledge of music, taking into consideration peculiarities of piano and of own performing apparatus. Topilin emphasized the "conductor" view on the work performed, with a clear idea of it's sound, because it was the specificity of sound tasks that determined the rationality and feasibility of piano movements. Many students of Topilin became worthy followers of their teacher's affair.
