Alexander Braginsky

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Alexander Braginsky
Photo: 2003
Background information
Birth name	Alexander Braginsky
Born	May 29, 1944 (1944-05-29) (age 64) Russia
Occupation(s)	Pianist Teacher
Instrument(s)	Piano

Alexander Iosifovich Braginsky (Russian: Александр Иосифович Брагинский, Aleksandr Iosifovič Braginskij; May 29, 1944) is a Russian-born pianist, living in America.

[edit] Life and Work

He studied at the Moscow conservatory with Alexander Borisovich Goldenweiser, and, after Goldenweiser's death in 1961, with Theodore Gutman. In the early 1970s he left Russia with his wife, Tatiana Remenikova, never to visit again until 2004. After first spending a couple of years in the United Kingdom he then moved to the USA.

He currently teaches piano at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis and at the Hamline University, St. Paul. In addition to his busy teaching schedule Braginsky continues to perform, mostly as a soloist and a chamber musician (with his cellist wife). He has recorded a number of works, including Shostakovich's 24 Preludes (op.34), Piano Sonata No.2 (op.61), and Sonata for Violoncello and Piano (op.40). A number of composers had their works premiered by Braginsky, including the Minnesota-based Stephen Paulus and Libby Larsen.

Always a keen proponent of new approaches to old traditions, Braginsky was quick to realize the possibility of effectively combining his piano artistry with the then-emerging computer technology of the late 1980s, adding a novel dimension to his performances^[1]. In 2002 Braginsky founded the international Piano-e-Competition^[2] that occurs every two years and features the Disklavier-Pro pianos, produced by Yamaha.

He has taught a number of notable pianists, some receiving wide critical acclaim^[3].