Boris Berezovsky (pianist)
Encyclopedia
Boris Vadimovich Berezovsky ' onMouseout='HidePop("84840")' href="/topics/Moscow">Moscow
) is a Russia
n virtuoso pianist
.
with Eliso Virsaladze
and privately with Alexander Satz
. Following his London
début at the Wigmore Hall
in 1988, The Times described him as "an artist of exceptional promise, a player of dazzling virtuosity and formidable power."
In May 2005 he had his first solo recital in Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
in Paris
and played in the same venue in January 2006 with the Orchestre National de France
. In January 2007 he played seven recitals "Carte Blanche" in the Louvre
.
, the New York Philharmonic
, the Philadelphia Orchestra
, the Orchestre de la Monnaie, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, the NDR Hamburg
, the Hessischer Rundfunk
Symphony Orchestra, the New Japan Philharmonic
, and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. He has worked with conductors such as Kurt Masur
, Wolfgang Sawallisch
, Vladimir Ashkenazy
, Mikhail Pletnev
, Dmitri Kitajenko
, Antonio Pappano
, Gustavo Dudamel
, Charles Dutoit
.
He has a partnership with violin
ist Vadim Repin
and has worked with other colleagues including Julian Rachlin
, Michael Collins, Ralph Kirshbaum
, Boris Pergamenschikov, Brigitte Engerer, Hamish Milne
, Akiko Suwanai
, Dmitri Makhtin and Alexander Kniazev
.
He has initiated and organized the International Medtner Festival that took place 2006 and 2007 in Moscow
, Yekaterinburg
and Vladimir
, as he has championed the composer since the early 1990s and has been one of the foremost recent interpreters of Medtner's music.
Piano concertos with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra
with Thomas Dausgaard
have been greeted with high critical acclaim. He has made a considerable number of records for Teldec
, including solo discs of works by Chopin
, Schumann
, Rachmaninoff
, Mussorgsky
, Balakirev
, Medtner
, Ravel
and the complete Liszt
Transcendental Etudes
.
With the Mirare Label, he has recorded the Rachmaninoff Préludes (May 2005) as well as that composer's complete Piano Concertos with the Ural Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Dmitri Liss (August 2005). The latter were criticized as being "interpretively lightweight" with a piano tone that "turns ugly above mezzo-forte, which accounts for about 75 percent of the time". His album Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 and Khachaturian
Piano Сoncerto (Ural Philharmonic Orchestra
/Dmitry Liss
) was released on April 2006 in the UK.
The most recent recordings are Medtner Tales & Poems with Yana Ivanilova (soprano), Vassily Savenko (baritone) (Mirare 2008), Medtner Two pieces for two pianos, Op. 58, with Hamish Milne
(piano) in: Medtner Complete Piano Sonatas; Piano Works — Vol. 7 (Brilliant Classics 2008), Rachmaninoff Suite No. 1 for two pianos, Op. 5 & Suite No. 2 for two pianos, Op. 17, with Brigitte Engerer (piano) (Mirare 2008). In 2010 Berezovsky released a record of his Liszt recital (Mirare 2008). His recording of selected works by Brahms
(Piano Concerto No. 2
, Variations on a Theme of Paganini, and Hungarian Dances
Nos. 1, 2 & 4) was released in January 2011 (Mirare).
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
) is a Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n virtuoso pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
.
Biography
Berezovsky studied at the Moscow ConservatoryMoscow Conservatory
The Moscow Conservatory is a higher musical education institution in Moscow, and the second oldest conservatory in Russia after St. Petersburg Conservatory. Along with the St...
with Eliso Virsaladze
Eliso Virsaladze
Eliso Virsaladze is a Georgian pianist.She was born in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR. Her father Constantine Virsaladze was a prominent physician, so was her grandfather Spiridon Virsaladze. She received her first piano lessons at the age of 8 from her grandmother, Anastasia Virsaladze, a well-known music...
and privately with Alexander Satz
Alexander Satz
Alexander Igorevich Satz was a Russian pianist and educator.Satz's musical career is quite unusual. He did not take up music in a professional way until the age of 14, when he started taking piano lessons with Leonid Brumberg...
. Following his London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
début at the Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall is a leading international recital venue that specialises in hosting performances of chamber music and is best known for classical recitals of piano, song and instrumental music. It is located at 36 Wigmore Street, London, UK and was built to provide London with a venue that was both...
in 1988, The Times described him as "an artist of exceptional promise, a player of dazzling virtuosity and formidable power."
In May 2005 he had his first solo recital in Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées is a theatre at 15 avenue Montaigne. Despite its name, the theatre is not on the Champs-Élysées but nearby in another part of the 8th arrondissement of Paris....
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and played in the same venue in January 2006 with the Orchestre National de France
Orchestre National de France
The Orchestre national de France is a symphony orchestra run by Radio France. It has also been known as the Orchestre national de la Radiodiffusion française and Orchestre national de l'Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française .Since 1944, the orchestra has been based in the Théâtre...
. In January 2007 he played seven recitals "Carte Blanche" in the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
.
Career
Berezovsky works regularly as a soloist with orchestras including the Royal Concertgebouw OrchestraRoyal Concertgebouw Orchestra
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra is a symphony orchestra of the Netherlands, based at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. In 1988, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands conferred the "Royal" title upon the orchestra...
, the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
, the Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
, the Orchestre de la Monnaie, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, the NDR Hamburg
North German Radio Symphony Orchestra
The North German Radio Symphony Orchestra is a German orchestra, the symphony orchestra of the Norddeutscher Rundfunk in Hamburg....
, the Hessischer Rundfunk
Hessischer Rundfunk
Hessischer Rundfunk is the public broadcaster for the German state of Hesse. The main offices of HR are in Frankfurt am Main. HR is a member of the ARD.- Studios :...
Symphony Orchestra, the New Japan Philharmonic
New Japan Philharmonic
The is a symphony orchestra based in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded in 1972 with Seiji Ozawa as honorary conductor laureate. The Philharmonic's primary concert venue is the Sumida Triphony Hall. Since 2003, its music director is Christian Arming....
, and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. He has worked with conductors such as Kurt Masur
Kurt Masur
Kurt Masur is a German conductor, particularly noted for his interpretation of German Romantic music.- Biography :Masur was born in Brieg, Lower Silesia, Germany and studied piano, composition and conducting in Leipzig, Saxony. Masur has been married three times...
, Wolfgang Sawallisch
Wolfgang Sawallisch
Wolfgang Sawallisch is a retired German conductor and pianist.-Biography:Sawallisch was born in Munich, and studied composition and pianoforte there privately: at the conclusion of the war, in 1946 he continued his studies at the Munich High School for Music and passed his final examination for...
, Vladimir Ashkenazy
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy is a Russian-Icelandic conductor and pianist. Since 1972 he has been a citizen of Iceland, his wife Þórunn's country of birth. Since 1978, because of his many obligations in Europe, he and his family have resided in Meggen, near Lucerne in Switzerland...
, Mikhail Pletnev
Mikhail Pletnev
Mikhail Vasilievich Pletnev is a Russian pianist, conductor, and composer.-Life and career:Pletnev was born into a very musical family in Arkhangelsk, then part of the Soviet Union; his father played and taught the bayan, and his mother the piano...
, Dmitri Kitajenko
Dmitri Kitajenko
Dmitri Georgievich Kitayenko is a Russian conductor.He was born in Leningrad and studied at the Glinka Conservatory and those of Leningrad and Moscow. He was a prizewinner in the first Herbert von Karajan competition in 1969....
, Antonio Pappano
Antonio Pappano
Antonio Pappano is a British conductor and pianist of Italian parentage.Pappano's family relocated to England from Castelfranco in Miscano near Benevento, Italy in 1958 and at the time of his birth his parents worked in the restaurant business, but Pasquale Pappano, his father, was by vocation a...
, Gustavo Dudamel
Gustavo Dudamel
Gustavo Adolfo Dudamel Ramírez is a Venezuelan conductor and violinist. He is currently the principal conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony in Gothenburg, Sweden, and music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Los Angeles, California...
, Charles Dutoit
Charles Dutoit
Charles Édouard Dutoit, is a Swiss conductor, particularly noted for his interpretations of French and Russian 20th century music...
.
He has a partnership with violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist Vadim Repin
Vadim Repin
Vadim Repin is a Belgian Russian violinist who currently lives in Austria....
and has worked with other colleagues including Julian Rachlin
Julian Rachlin
Julian Rachlin is a Lithuanian-born violinist and violist.-Background and early life:Born in Vilnius, he emigrated in 1978 with his musician parents to Austria. In 1983, he entered the Konservatorium Wien and studied violin in the Soviet tradition with Boris Kuschnir, while also receiving private...
, Michael Collins, Ralph Kirshbaum
Ralph Kirshbaum
Ralph Henry Kirshbaum is an American cellist currently living in Los Angeles. During his career he has performed solos with major orchestras worldwide, won prizes in several international competitions, and recorded extensively....
, Boris Pergamenschikov, Brigitte Engerer, Hamish Milne
Hamish Milne
Hamish Milne is a British pianist known for his advocacy of Nikolai Medtner.Milne studied at Bishop Wordsworth's School in Salisbury and then at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he now teaches, and later in Italy under Guido Agosti...
, Akiko Suwanai
Akiko Suwanai
is a Japanese classical violinist.She was the youngest winner of the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1990. In addition, she won second place in the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition in 1989 and is a laureate of the International Japan Competition.She has studied with Toshiya Eto at the...
, Dmitri Makhtin and Alexander Kniazev
Alexander Kniazev
Alexander Kniazev is a Russian cellist and organist. He studied cello with Alexander Fedorchenko beginning at age six, and graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in 1986. He studied organ with Galina Kozlova, graduating from Nizhny Novgorod Conservatory in 1991.-External links:* Productions...
.
He has initiated and organized the International Medtner Festival that took place 2006 and 2007 in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...
and Vladimir
Vladimir
Vladimir is a city and the administrative center of Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located on the Klyazma River, to the east of Moscow along the M7 motorway. Population:...
, as he has championed the composer since the early 1990s and has been one of the foremost recent interpreters of Medtner's music.
Recordings
Berezovsky's recordings of the complete BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
Piano concertos with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra
Swedish Chamber Orchestra
The Swedish Chamber Orchestra is Scandinavia's only full-time professional chamber orchestra. It was established in May 1995 by merging a string orchestra, the Örebro Kammarorkester with a wind ensemble, the Örebro Kammarblåsare...
with Thomas Dausgaard
Thomas Dausgaard
Thomas Dausgaard , is a Danish conductor.Since 1997, Dausgaard has been Principal Conductor of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra. From 2001-2004, he was Principal Guest Conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra , and became principal conductor in 2004, the first Danish conductor to hold the...
have been greeted with high critical acclaim. He has made a considerable number of records for Teldec
Teldec
The Teldec is a German record label in Hamburg, Germany. Today the label is a property of Warner Music Group.-History:...
, including solo discs of works by Chopin
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
, Schumann
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
, Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
, Mussorgsky
Modest Mussorgsky
Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky was a Russian composer, one of the group known as 'The Five'. He was an innovator of Russian music in the romantic period...
, Balakirev
Mily Balakirev
Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev ,Russia was still using old style dates in the 19th century, and information sources used in the article sometimes report dates as old style rather than new style. Dates in the article are taken verbatim from the source and therefore are in the same style as the source...
, Medtner
Nikolai Medtner
Nikolai Karlovich Medtner was a Russian composer and pianist.A younger contemporary of Sergei Rachmaninoff and Alexander Scriabin, he wrote a substantial number of compositions, all of which include the piano...
, Ravel
Maurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
and the complete Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
Transcendental Etudes
Transcendental Etudes
The Transcendental Etudes , S.139, are a series of twelve compositions for solo piano by Franz Liszt. They were published in 1852 as a revision of a more technically difficult 1837 series, which in turn were the elaboration of a set of studies written in 1826:...
.
With the Mirare Label, he has recorded the Rachmaninoff Préludes (May 2005) as well as that composer's complete Piano Concertos with the Ural Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Dmitri Liss (August 2005). The latter were criticized as being "interpretively lightweight" with a piano tone that "turns ugly above mezzo-forte, which accounts for about 75 percent of the time". His album Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 and Khachaturian
Aram Khachaturian
Aram Ilyich Khachaturian was a prominent Soviet composer. Khachaturian's works were often influenced by classical Russian music and Armenian folk music...
Piano Сoncerto (Ural Philharmonic Orchestra
Ural Philharmonic Orchestra
Ural Philharmonic Orchestra is a full orchestra based in Yekaterinburg and considered to be one of the leading orchestras in Russia...
/Dmitry Liss
Dmitry Liss
Dmitry Liss - Russian conductor considered to be one of the best European conductors of his generation and famous for his elegant style and artistic execution, artistic director and chief conductor of the Ural Philharmonic Orchestra.-Biography:...
) was released on April 2006 in the UK.
The most recent recordings are Medtner Tales & Poems with Yana Ivanilova (soprano), Vassily Savenko (baritone) (Mirare 2008), Medtner Two pieces for two pianos, Op. 58, with Hamish Milne
Hamish Milne
Hamish Milne is a British pianist known for his advocacy of Nikolai Medtner.Milne studied at Bishop Wordsworth's School in Salisbury and then at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he now teaches, and later in Italy under Guido Agosti...
(piano) in: Medtner Complete Piano Sonatas; Piano Works — Vol. 7 (Brilliant Classics 2008), Rachmaninoff Suite No. 1 for two pianos, Op. 5 & Suite No. 2 for two pianos, Op. 17, with Brigitte Engerer (piano) (Mirare 2008). In 2010 Berezovsky released a record of his Liszt recital (Mirare 2008). His recording of selected works by Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
(Piano Concerto No. 2
Piano Concerto No. 2 (Brahms)
The Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83 by Johannes Brahms is a composition for solo piano with orchestral accompaniment. It is separated by a gap of 22 years from the composer's first piano concerto. Brahms began work on the piece in 1878 and completed it in 1881 while in Pressbaum near...
, Variations on a Theme of Paganini, and Hungarian Dances
Hungarian Dances (Brahms)
The Hungarian Dances by Johannes Brahms , are a set of 21 lively dance tunes based mostly on Hungarian themes, completed in 1869.They vary from about a minute to four minutes in length. They are among Brahms' most popular works, and were certainly the most profitable for him. Each dance has been...
Nos. 1, 2 & 4) was released in January 2011 (Mirare).
Selected CDs
- A trio consisting of Boris Berezovsky, Dmitri Makhtin, Alexander Kniazev recorded a DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
of Tchaikovsky pieces for pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
and celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
and Rachmaninoff'sSergei RachmaninoffSergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
Trio élégiaque “A la mémoire d’un grand artiste” presented on ARTE TV Channel and NHK in JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. They received for this DVD the 4 stars Diapason d'Or. - For Warner Classics International Boris Berezovsky recorded with the same trio the Shostakovitch Trio No. 2Piano Trio No. 2 (Shostakovich)The Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, Op. 67, by Dmitri Shostakovich was written in 1944, in the midst of World War II.-Composition history:The composition was dedicated to Shostakovich's good friend, Ivan Sollertinsky, a Russian polymath and avid musician, who had recently died at age 41. The work...
and Rachmaninoff Trio élégiaque No. 2 which were awarded Choc de la Musique in France, Gramophone in England, ECHO Klassik and Deutsche Schallplattenkritik in Germany. - His solo live recording Chopin/GodowskyLeopold GodowskyLeopold Godowsky was a famed Polish American pianist, composer, and teacher. One of the most highly regarded performers of his time, he became known for his theories concerning the application of relaxed weight and economy of motion in piano playing, principles later propagated by Godowsky's...
Etudes was released in January 2006 and got several awards such as the Diapason d'Or, RTL d'Or and BBC Music MagazineBBC music magazineBBC Music Magazine is a magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom by BBC Worldwide, the commercial subsidiary of the BBC. Reflecting the broadcast output of BBC Radio 3, the magazine is devoted primarily to classical music, though with sections on jazz and world music. Each edition comes...
. - His album of Paul HindemithPaul HindemithPaul Hindemith was a German composer, violist, violinist, teacher, music theorist and conductor.- Biography :Born in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Hindemith was taught the violin as a child...
Ludus Tonalis and Suite 1922 (Warner Classics) was awarded ECHO Klassik as the best solo recording of "Music of the 20th — 21st Century".
DVDs
- Boris Berezovsky — "Les Pianos de la Nuit". Liszt Transcendental EtudesTranscendental EtudesThe Transcendental Etudes , S.139, are a series of twelve compositions for solo piano by Franz Liszt. They were published in 1852 as a revision of a more technically difficult 1837 series, which in turn were the elaboration of a set of studies written in 1826:...
, S. 139. Director: Andy Sommer. Filming: 04.08.2002 (Naïve 2003) - Bois Berezovsky / Dmitri Makhtin / Alexander Kniazev — "Les Pianos De La Nuit". Tschaikovsky Seasons (No. 6); Nocturne d-moll, Op. 19, № 4; Trio a-moll "A la mémoire d’un grand artiste", Op. 50; Serenade melancholique. Director: Andy Sommer. Filming: 10.08.2004 (Naïve 2006)
- Boris Berezovsky — "Change of Plans": Interview & Performance. Beethoven 33 Variationen C-Dur on Theme Antonio Diabelli, Op. 120; Medtner Tales, Op. 14, 20, 26, 34, 35, 48, 51; Llywelyn Improvisation on "Change of Plans"; Godovsky Altes Wien; Lyadov Preludes d-moll, Op. 40, No. 3 and G-Dur, Op. 46, No. 3, Bagatel As-Dur, Op. 53, No. 3. In: "Legato — The World Of Piano", Vol. 1. Director: Jan Schmidt-Garre. Filming: 14.07.2006 (Naxos 2007)