Youri Egorov
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Youri Egorov (May 28, 1954 – April 15, 1988) was a Soviet classical pianist.
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[edit] Early years
Born in Kazan, USSR, Youri Egorov studied music at the Kazan Conservatory from the age of 6 until age 17. One of his early teachers was Irina Dubinina, a former pupil of Yakov Zak.
At the age of 17, in 1971, Egorov took 4th Prize in Paris at the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud Competition. He next studied at the Moscow Conservatory with Yakov Zak himself. Egorov remained at the Moscow Conservatory for six years. In 1974, Egorov won the Bronze Medal at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. In 1975, he was awarded the 3rd Prize at the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition Of Belgium.
[edit] Defection and Career in the West
Feeling constrained by the Soviet system, Egorov defected from the Soviet Union in 1976 while on a concert tour in Rome, Italy.
In 1977 Egorov participated in the Van Cliburn Competition in Fort Worth, Texas. He became an audience favorite. When he was not chosen as a finalist, some disappointed and angry listeners formed a committee led by American impresario Maxim Gershunoff, to raise money for Egorov equal to the Van Cliburn top prize of $10,000. The South African Steven DeGroote took the first place award that year. Gershunoff as Egorov's American manager presented his New York recital debut in Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center on January 23, 1978. Three months later to the day, he appeared in Chicago, Illinois and a critic there dubbed his performance “the debut of the decade.” In July, 1978, Musical America Magazine selected Youri Egorov as their "Musician of the Month". He made his Carnegie Hall debut on December 16, 1978 once again under the aegis of Gershunoff. The concert was recorded live. Writing for The New York Times, Harold C. Schonberg said Egorov played "...in a free, romantic style, and his approach is quite different from that of so many competition winners."
In August 1979, two of Egorov's albums appeared on Billboard Magazine's Best-Selling Classical LP chart. Throughout the 1980s Egorov played primarily in Europe. His last American appearance was in Florida in 1986.
Egorov was featured in the book "Great Contemporary Pianists Speak for Themselves" compiled by Elyse Mach. In it, he spoke candidly on the topics of rehearsal, pre-concert nervousness, artistic restrictions in Russia, and homosexuality. Sviatoslav Richter, Dinu Lipatti, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Vladimir Horowitz and Glenn Gould are among the pianists Youri Egorov cited as having influenced him.
[edit] Death and legacy
Egorov died at his home in Amsterdam from complications of AIDS in 1988. He was 33 years old. He had made 14 recordings at the time of his death and several more were awaiting release.
Parallels have been drawn between the playing styles of Youri Egorov and Dinu Lipatti. Additionally, both men gave their final concert performances at the age of 33, each knowing at the time that he was afflicted with a fatal illness and had but months to live.
In 1989 Egorov was the subject of a VPRO Television documentary, "Youri Egorov 1954 - 1988" by Eline Flipse. The program won the special prize of the jury at the BANFF-televisiefestival in Canada and was nominated in 1990 for the Prix Italia.
Egorov's posthumously released CD, "Legacy 2: Youri Egorov", received the "Perfect Five-Star Rating" from CD Review Magazine.
[edit] Selected discography
- "Legacy 1: Schubert: Sonata in C minor DV958 / Moments Musicaux DV780" (Canal Grande CG 9213) 1992.
- "Legacy 2: Bach: Partita No.6 BWV830/ Bartók: Sonata (1926)/ Chopin: Etudes Op.10" (Canal Grande CG 9214) 1992.
- "Legacy 3: Prokoviev: Sonata No.8 Op.84 in B Major / Shostakovich: Sonata No.2 Op.64 / Babadjanjan: Bilder Für Piano" (Canal Grande CG 9215) 1992.
- "Legacy 4: Haydn: Sonata No.33 Hoboken XVI/20 / Scarlatti: 6 Sonatas / Beethoven: Andante Favori in F Major two versions record in 1982 and in 1987" (Canal Grande (CG 9216) 1992.
- "Bach: Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue in d minor BWV903/ Mozart: Fantasy in c minor KV475/ Chopin: Fantasy in f minor Op.49/ Chopin: Etude in G-flat Major Op.10 No.5/ Schumann: Fantasy in C Major Op.17, (Carnegie Hall Recital)" (Globe: GLO 6015, GLO 5002) 1979.
- "Bach: The well-tempered clavier Book 1: No.5 in D Major BWV850/ No.13 in F sharp major BWV857/ No.24 in B minor BWV869/ Italian Concerto F Major BWV971" (Astoria DP 87001).
- "Beethoven: Piano Concerto No.5 "Emperor" / Mozart: Piano Concerto No.20 in D minor KV466, Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Wolfgang Sawallisch" (Encore CDE 7 67764 2, EMI CDZ 2 52728 2, EMI CDD 7 63892 2) 1986.
- "Brahms: Klavierstücke Op.118 Intermezzo in a, Intermezzo in A and Intermezzo in f/ Schubert: Sonata in c DV958/ Schubert: Moments Musicaux DV780" (Philips Essential Recordings 464 375-2) 1999.
- "Chopin: Fantaisie in F Minor Op.49/ Ballade No. 1 in G Minor Op.23/ Nocturne in F sharp Op.15 No.2/ Nocturne in D flat Op.27 No.2/ Nocturne in E minor Op. posth.72 No.1/ Scherzo No.2 in B flat minor Op.31 & Schumann: Papillons Op.2" (EMI CDM 7643022) 1992.
- "Debussy: Préludes Books 1 & 2/ Reflets dans l'eau/ Estampes" (EMI CDC 7 49411 2, EMI 7423 5736562, CFP Silver Doubles, Classics for Pleasure 4805) 1985.
- "Mozart: Piano Concerto No.17 in G Major KV453 / Piano Concerto No.20 in D minor KV466, Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Wolfgang Sawallisch" (EMI CDZ 2 52728 2) 1986.
- "Schubert: Moments Musicaux DV780, Op94/ Piano Sonata in C No19, DV958" (Channel Classics) 1993.
- "Schubert: Sonata for violin and piano A major Op.162 posth. DV574/ Brahms: Sonata No.3 for piano and violin d minor Op.108/ Bartók: Sonata No.2 for violin and piano Op.21" with Emmy Verhey violin (ROEM 884/ WVH 023) 1990.
- "Schumann: Kreisleriana Op.16/ Novelettes, Op.21 Nos. 1 & 8" (EMI: CDM 7 69537 2) 1978.
- "Schumann: Carnaval Op.9/ Toccata Op.7/ Arabeske Op.18/ Bunte Blätter Op.99" (EMI: CDM 7 63163 2) 1989.
- "Schumann: Carnaval Op.9/ Toccata Op.7/ Arabesque Op.18/ Bunte Blätter Op.99/ Kreisleriana Op.16/ Novellettes Op.21 1 & 8/ Papillons Op.2" (EMI: 7423 5 74191 2 3) 2000.
- "Schumann: Carnaval Op.9 & Chopin: Fantaisie in F Minor Op.49/ Ballade No.1 in G Minor Op.23/ Nocturne in F sharp Op.15 No.2/ Nocturne in D flat Op.27 No.2/ Nocturne in E minor Op. posth.72 No.1/ Scherzo No.2 in B flat minor Op.31" (Royal Classics ROY 6455) 1994.
[edit] References
- Brokken, Jan. "Met Musici: Elf portretten" Uitgeverij De Arbeiderspers Amsterdam 1988. (ISBN 90-295-0794-2)
- Mach, Elyse. "Great Contemporary Pianists Speak for Themselves" Dover Publications 1991. (ISBN 0-486-26695-8)
- The New York Times. "Youri Egorov, 33, a Soviet Pianist Who Defected to Further His Art" April 20, 1988.
