Figure 1.--Yevgeny looks to be about 10 years old here. Note the white shirt and red Young Pioneer kerchief. |
HBC knows virtually nothing about child prodigy Yevgeny Kissin at this time. The first images we have noted show him playing the piano at about age 10. He usually appears to have worn his Young Pioneer uniform of white shirt and red kerchief. His hair seems rather long compared to that worn by boys in the Soviet Union in the 1960s and 70s. He showed
his talent on the piano at a very early age. I heard Kissin on the
radio playing a sonata by Haydn. It was absolutely wonderful! One
reviewer marveled in 1988, "He is now 27 years old and already in the Brockhaus encyclopedia! He is active in the European concert scene in the 1990s. One HBC reader reports that Kissin is one of the
greatest pianist of our time.
His mother was a pianist, his father an engineer who abandoned his career when the family moved to the West in 1992. He has an elder sister.
Evgeny Kissin was born in Moscow in 1971.
HBC knows virtually nothing about child prodigy Yevgeny Kissin at this time.
Yevgeny began playing the piano by ear at the age of two!. At six,
he entered Moscow Gnessin School of Music for Gifted Children where he studied with Anna Pavlovna Kantor. He showed his talent on the piano at a very early age. The first images we have noted show him playing the piano at about age 10.
Yevgeny came to international attention in 1984 when, at the
age of 12, he performed the two Chopin piano concertos in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory with the Moscow State Philharmonic under the direction of Dmitri Kitaenko. In 1987, he made his West European debut at the Berlin Festival. His performance of Tchaikovsky's 1st Piano Concerto with Herbert von Karajan and the
Berlin Philharmonic was a triumph.
He usually appears to have worn his Young Pioneer uniform of white shirt and red kerchief. His hair seems rather long compared to that worn by boys in the Soviet Union in the 1960s and 70s.
His subsequent European tour with the Moscow Virtuosi and Vladimir Spivakov was sold out. In 1990, he gave his debut in the USA, with a the two Chopin concertos with the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Zubin Metha. Ten days later, he shone in the debut recital to open Carnegie Hall's centenary season. In 1995, he became the youngest-ever Musical America Instrumentalist of the Year. In 1997, he received the prestigious Triumph Award for Excellence for his contribution to Russia's Culture. In 1997, he was the first pianist to
give a solo recital at the BBC Proms.
Kissin now only plays 60 concerts a year. Therefore,
each concert is an event for him - and for the public, since all are sold out. In an interview, Kissin said that he feels closest to pianist Yakov Flier (1912-1978): He may not be one of the greatest musicians, but Kissin listens to his recordings and feels close to him. Kissin is not only an outstanding performer and improviser, but also a composer.
I heard Kissin on the
radio playing a sonata by Haydn. It was absolutely wonderful! One
reviewer marveled in 1988, "He is now 27 years old and already in the Brockhaus encyclopedia! He is active in the European concert scene in the 1990s. One HBC reader reports that Kissin is one of the
greatest pianist of our time.
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