Lev Oborin
Encyclopedia
Lev Nikolayevich Oborin ' onMouseout='HidePop("88531")' href="/topics/Moscow">Moscow
, 5 January 1974) was a Russia
n pianist. He was the winner of the first International Chopin Piano Competition in 1927.
The family moved a lot during his early childhood. When they settled down in Moscow in 1914, he was sent to music school. He studied with Yelena Gnessin, a pupil of Ferruccio Busoni
. At the same time, he studied composition with Alexander Gretchaninov
and achieved admirable results.
In 1921, Oborin was accepted into Moscow Conservatory
as a student of piano and composition. He completed his piano studies in 1926. In the same year, news reached Moscow of the First International Frédéric Chopin Piano Competition, to be held in Warsaw
in 1927, and his piano teacher Konstantin Igumnov
immediately thought of him. After winning first prize in the competition, he gave concerts in Poland
and in Germany
. Until 1945 he performed exclusively in Russia and taught at the Moscow Conservatory at the same time.
In 1935 he played his first concert with the violinist David Oistrakh
, with whom he continued to collaborate all of his life.
Aram Khachaturian
dedicated his Piano Concerto in D flat
to Oborin, and wrote "When I was working on my concerto I dreamed of hearing it played by Lev Oborin. My dream came true in the summer of 1937. The wonderful performance by this outstanding pianist ensured its success".
During the years 1941 to 1963, Oborin played in a piano trio
with David Oistrakh and the cellist Sviatoslav Knushevitsky
, achieving international fame. Khachaturian's three concertos, one each for piano, violin and cello, were written for the individual members of this trio.
He gave first public performances of the works of several modern composers, including Khachaturian, Shebalin
, Myaskovsky
, Prokofiev
(including the Violin Sonata No. 1
with Oistrakh), and Shostakovich
.
He trained many pianists, including Vladimir Ashkenazy
(winner of the second prize at the 1955 Chopin Competition), Anatoly Dokumentov
, Mikhail Voskresensky
, Dmitri Sakharov, Alexander Bakhchiev, Andrei Egorov, Lev Natochenny
, Boris Berman
and Olga Kiun.
Oborin was a member of the jury of the Fourth and Fifth International Chopin Competitions, and of other competitions in Moscow, Lisbon
, Paris
, Leeds
and Zwickau
.
He died in 1974, aged 66.
was featured in a 1956 Soviet film
Spring on a Street Across the River (Весна на Заречной улице) in a radio broadcast.
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, 5 January 1974) was a Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n pianist. He was the winner of the first International Chopin Piano Competition in 1927.
The family moved a lot during his early childhood. When they settled down in Moscow in 1914, he was sent to music school. He studied with Yelena Gnessin, a pupil of Ferruccio Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni was an Italian composer, pianist, editor, writer, piano and composition teacher, and conductor.-Biography:...
. At the same time, he studied composition with Alexander Gretchaninov
Alexander Gretchaninov
Alexander Tikhonovich Gretchaninov was a Russian Romantic composer.-His life:Gretchaninov started his musical studies rather late because his father, a businessman, had expected the boy to take over the family firm...
and achieved admirable results.
In 1921, Oborin was accepted into Moscow Conservatory
Moscow Conservatory
The Moscow Conservatory is a higher musical education institution in Moscow, and the second oldest conservatory in Russia after St. Petersburg Conservatory. Along with the St...
as a student of piano and composition. He completed his piano studies in 1926. In the same year, news reached Moscow of the First International Frédéric Chopin Piano Competition, to be held in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
in 1927, and his piano teacher Konstantin Igumnov
Konstantin Igumnov
Konstantin Nicolayevich Igumnov was a Russian virtuoso pianist and the teacher of many famous Russian pianists.Igumnov studied under Nikolai Zverev, and at Moscow Conservatory under Alexander Siloti and Pavel Pabst. He took theory and composition courses from Sergei Taneyev, Anton Arensky and...
immediately thought of him. After winning first prize in the competition, he gave concerts in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Until 1945 he performed exclusively in Russia and taught at the Moscow Conservatory at the same time.
In 1935 he played his first concert with the violinist David Oistrakh
David Oistrakh
David Fyodorovich Oistrakh , , David Fiodorović Ojstrakh, ; – October 24, 1974, was a Soviet violinist....
, with whom he continued to collaborate all of his life.
Aram Khachaturian
Aram Khachaturian
Aram Ilyich Khachaturian was a prominent Soviet composer. Khachaturian's works were often influenced by classical Russian music and Armenian folk music...
dedicated his Piano Concerto in D flat
Piano Concerto (Khachaturian)
Aram Khachaturian's Piano Concerto in D-flat major, Op. 38, was composed in 1936. It was his first work to bring him recognition in the West, and it immediately entered the repertoire of many notable pianists....
to Oborin, and wrote "When I was working on my concerto I dreamed of hearing it played by Lev Oborin. My dream came true in the summer of 1937. The wonderful performance by this outstanding pianist ensured its success".
During the years 1941 to 1963, Oborin played in a piano trio
Piano trio
A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in classical chamber music...
with David Oistrakh and the cellist Sviatoslav Knushevitsky
Sviatoslav Knushevitsky
Sviatoslav Nikolayevich Knushevitsky was a Russian classical cellist. He was particularly noted for his partnership with the violinist David Oistrakh and the pianist Lev Oborin in a renowned piano trio from 1940 until his death...
, achieving international fame. Khachaturian's three concertos, one each for piano, violin and cello, were written for the individual members of this trio.
He gave first public performances of the works of several modern composers, including Khachaturian, Shebalin
Vissarion Shebalin
Vissarion Yakovlevich Shebalin was a Soviet composer.-Biography:Shebalin was born in Omsk, where his parents were school teachers. He studied in the musical college in Omsk. He was 20 years old when, following the advice of his professor, he went to Moscow to show his first compositions to...
, Myaskovsky
Nikolai Myaskovsky
Nikolai Yakovlevich Myaskovsky was a Russian and Soviet composer. He is sometimes referred to as the "father of the Soviet symphony".-Early years and first important works:...
, Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
(including the Violin Sonata No. 1
Violin Sonata No. 1 (Prokofiev)
Sergei Prokofiev's Violin Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op 80, written between 1938 and 1946 , is one of the darkest and most brooding of the composer's works.The work is about 30 minutes long and is in four movements:...
with Oistrakh), and Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
.
He trained many pianists, including Vladimir Ashkenazy
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy is a Russian-Icelandic conductor and pianist. Since 1972 he has been a citizen of Iceland, his wife Þórunn's country of birth. Since 1978, because of his many obligations in Europe, he and his family have resided in Meggen, near Lucerne in Switzerland...
(winner of the second prize at the 1955 Chopin Competition), Anatoly Dokumentov
Anatoly Dokumentov
Anatoly Nikolayevich Dokumentov Anatoly Nikolayevich Dokumentov Anatoly Nikolayevich Dokumentov (Russian: Анато́лий Никола́евич Докуме́нтов, (December 19, 1937) is a Russian pianist and composer.-Biography:Dokumentov was born in Kostroma, USSR in doctor’s family....
, Mikhail Voskresensky
Mikhail Voskresensky
Mikhail Voskresensky is a Russian pianist, b. 1935.He was a disciple of Lev Oborin. Voskresensky was awarded 3rd prizes at the inaugural editions of the Robert Schumann Competition and the Van Cliburn Competition...
, Dmitri Sakharov, Alexander Bakhchiev, Andrei Egorov, Lev Natochenny
Lev Natochenny
Lev Natochenny is a Russian-American classical pianist and professor of piano.Born in Moscow, Natochenny graduated from the Moscow "Tchaikovsky" Conservatoire, where he was taught by Lev Oborin...
, Boris Berman
Boris Berman
Boris Berman is a Russian pianist and pedagogue .He was a student of Lev Oborin at the Moscow Conservatory. He made his debut in Moscow in 1965. He joined an early music ensemble, at the time the only one in Russia, as a harpsichordist. At the same time he worked with contemporary composers such...
and Olga Kiun.
Oborin was a member of the jury of the Fourth and Fifth International Chopin Competitions, and of other competitions in Moscow, Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Leeds
Leeds International Pianoforte Competition
The Leeds International Piano Competition informally known as The Leeds takes place every three years in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1961 by Marion, Countess of Harewood and Fanny Waterman, who is today its Chairman and Artistic Director. The competition was first held in 1963...
and Zwickau
Zwickau
Zwickau in Germany, former seat of the government of the south-western region of the Free State of Saxony, belongs to an industrial and economical core region. Nowadays it is the capital city of the district of Zwickau...
.
He died in 1974, aged 66.
In film
Oborin´s performance of Piano Concerto No. 2Piano Concerto No. 2 (Rachmaninoff)
The Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18, is a concerto for piano and orchestra composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff between the autumn of 1900 and April 1901. The second and third movements were first performed with the composer as soloist on 2 December 1900...
was featured in a 1956 Soviet film
Cinema of the Soviet Union
The cinema of the Soviet Union, not to be confused with "Cinema of Russia" despite Russian language films being predominant in both genres, includes several film contributions of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union reflecting elements of their pre-Soviet culture, language and history,...
Spring on a Street Across the River (Весна на Заречной улице) in a radio broadcast.
Honours and awards
- Stalin Prize, second class (1943) - for a concert and performing activities
- People's Artist of the USSRPeople's Artist of the USSRPeople's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to citizens of the Soviet Union.- Nomenclature and significance :...
(1964) - Glinka State Prize of the RSFSRGlinka State Prize of the RSFSRThe Glinka State Prize of the RSFSR was a prize awarded to musicians of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic from 1965-1990....
(1966) - for a concert and performing activities - Two Orders of Lenin (1946, in connection with the 80th anniversary of the Moscow ConservatoryMoscow ConservatoryThe Moscow Conservatory is a higher musical education institution in Moscow, and the second oldest conservatory in Russia after St. Petersburg Conservatory. Along with the St...
; 1966, in connection with the 100th anniversary of the Moscow Conservatory) - Order of the Red Banner of LabourOrder of the Red Banner of LabourThe Order of the Red Banner of Labour was an order of the Soviet Union for accomplishments in labour and civil service. It is the labour counterpart of the military Order of the Red Banner. A few institutions and factories, being the pride of Soviet Union, also received the order.-History:The Red...
- Order of the Badge of Honour (1937)