Evgeny Kissin

Russian pianist Evgeny Kissin was born in Moscow on 10 October 1971. He began to study piano with Anna Kantor at the Gnessin State Musical College for Gifted Children when he was six, and made his debut performance when he was ten - playing Mozart's Concerto No 20 with the Ulyanovsk Symphony Orchestra. At eleven he gave a recital in Moscow, and at twelve he recorded Chopin's two concertos with the Moscow Philharmonic. He soon began to perform outside of Russia - first Eastern Europe, then Japan, Berlin and Lichfield. Before he was twenty, he had appeared with Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic, at Carnegie Hall, and with Zubin Mehta and the New York Philharmonic. He later give the first ever solo piano recital at the Henry Wood Proms in London, and was the first concerto soloist to play in the opening concert of the same festival.

He has made many recordings, for which he has received many awards. He was the subject of Christopher Nupen's documentary film Evgeny Kissin: The Gift of Music. Kissin also gives recitals of Yiddish and Russian poetry. He took British citizenship in 2002 and Israeli citizenship in 2013.

 

A selection of articles about Evgeny Kissin

Classical music news. May 2022 Newsletter - Our May 2022 PDF newsletter has just been published

Listening to Tchaikovsky - Béla Hartmann asks some searching questions about the pressure being placed on Russian artists following Putin's invasion of Ukraine

CD Spotlight. An Unforgettable Recital - Ona Jarmalavičiūtė listens to Evgeny Kissin's Chopin recital from the 1985 December Nights Music Festival. 'From the very beginning of his career at the top of his game, Evgeny Kissin presents a performance that is, simply put, wild.'

Ensemble. On the Mountain Top - Giuseppe Pennisi was at the opening concert of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia's season

Mount Olympus - Andrew Schartmann listens to Evgeny Kissin

CD Spotlight. A Flowing Delivery - Bach Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin, heard by Howard Smith. '... vital technical flair ...'

CD Spotlight. Superbly Measured - Music by Haskell Small and Mussorgsky, reviewed by Howard Smith. '... indisputably fine pianism ...'

Record box. Architectural dimensions - John Bell Young listens to Evgeny Kissin's Mussorgsky