Classical Music for Aficionados

@rvpiano    I take your point RV about Pogorelich and his technique when young he had a superb technique as witnessed by his Scarlatti Sonatas . They were fabulous tests for him and he left them withered and burnt-out behind him. Of course he didn't even play piano for a number of years since his wife died and of course we know what that did to him. At one point he was making jewellery and selling it in markets to survive. How the other half live, poor soul.  

Pogorelich is one of thousands. Many Ukrainian pianists study in US conservatories, primarily Juilliard and then move back to Odessa or Kiev. The Russian piano tradition is now international.

I attended a concert by Pogorelich at Carnegie years ago. He acted as though the stage was the last place he wanted to be, and almost totally ignored the presence of an audience.  He nonetheless played magnificently.

His wife was his longtime teacher and, I believe, much older than he.
I remember being surprised when he married her.

Elizabeth Leonskaja, a pianist that Richter thought very highly of, released a Schumann recording at the beginning of 2020. I have not heard this recording but many years ago I saw Elizabeth Leonskaja give a Beethoven recital at the Theatre Champs Elyse in Paris. Her musicianship and technique are evident of the Russian aesthetic.

lucky you to hear Elizabeth Leonskaja
she was born in Tbilisi Georgia, studied in Moscow, lives in Vienna
she is married to Oleg Kagan
" Elisabeth Leonskaja’s musical development was shaped or influenced to a decisive degree by her collaboration with Sviatoslav Richter. The master recognized her exceptional talent and fostered her development not only through teaching and musical advice, but also by inviting her to play numerous duets with him. A memorable musical event! The musical partnership and personal friendship between Sviatoslav Richter and Elisabeth Leonskaja endured until Richter’s death in the year 1997. In 1978 Elisabeth Leonskaja left the Soviet Union and made her new home in Vienna. Her sensational performance at the Salzburg Festival in 1979 marked the beginning of her steadily blossoming career as a concert pianist in the west.

In addition to her many solo engagements, chamber music remains an important part of her work. She has performed many times with string quartets, such as the Belcea, Borodin Artemis and Jerusalem quartets. She also had a longstanding musical friendship with the Alban Berg Quartet, and their piano quintet recordings are legendary.

" Numerous recordings bear testimony to the outstanding artistic achievements of this pianist and she has been awarded prizes such as the Caecilia Prize for her Brahms piano sonatas, or the Diapason d´Or for her recordings of works by Liszt. Other significant recordings include the Tchaikovsky Piano Concertos with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under Kurt Masur, the Chopin Piano Concertos with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra under Vladimir Ashkenazy, and the Shostakovich Piano Concertos with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Leonskaja’s most recent CD recordings appeared on the Berlin based Label eaSonus (www.easonus.com). “Paris”, with works by Ravel, Enescu and Debussy, was named the Solo Recording of the Year 2014 by the ICMA Jury. “Saudade”, an homage to Russian culture with works by Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich and Rachmaninoff, was released in November 2017. A complete recording of Franz Schubert’s piano sonatas in two volumes of four CDs each has been available since April 2016 and May 2019 respectively. A double-CD with variations and sonatas by Robert Schumann followed in January 2020."

http://www.leonskaja.com/