The Russian Piano Tradition: The Igumnoff School (1930-1957)

Featuring

Lev Oborin
Ludwig van Beethoven
Frédéric Chopin
Franz Liszt
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

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Performer Biography

Oborin formed an internationally respected trio in 1941 with violinist David Oistrakh and cellist Sviatoslav Knushevitsky, which lasted until Knushevitsky's death in 1963.

Performer Biography

Oborin's repertoire was extensive, encompassing composers from Mozart and Beethoven to Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Ravel, and Debussy, and he also composed his own works.

Performer Biography

Oborin was a generous promoter of new Soviet music, giving first performances of works by composers like Prokofiev, Shostakovich, and Khachaturian, whose Piano Concerto is dedicated to him.

Performer Biography

Lev Oborin, the pianist on this album, entered Moscow's Gnesin Music School in 1914, where he studied composition with Alexander Gretchaninov and piano with Yelena Gnesina.

Performer Biography

After his Chopin Competition win, Oborin became an assistant to his teacher Konstantin Igumnov at the Moscow Conservatoire and later became his natural successor upon Igumnov's death in 1948.

Performer Biography

Oborin, at age 19, won first prize at the inaugural International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in January 1927, making him the foremost Soviet pianist of his generation.