Anna Semyonovna Gourari (

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

Анна Семёновна Гурарий, born in

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...

Tatarstan The Republic of Tatarstan (russian: Республика Татарстан, Respublika Tatarstan, p=rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə tətɐrˈstan; tt-Cyrl, Татарстан Республикасы), or simply Tatarstan (russian: Татарстан, tt ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

) is a German classical

concert pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

. She received her first

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

education at the age of five from her parents, professors at Kazan Academy of Music. In 1979 she performed her first public concert. From that year onwards she studied at further renowned piano schools and with famous piano tutors. In 1990 she relocated together with her parents to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in order to study at the

Hochschule für Musik A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...

with Ludwig Hoffmann in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. Anna Gourari quickly gained renown by winning important competitions: * 1986 1st prize at the

Kabalevsky Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky (russian: Дми́трий Бори́сович Кабале́вский ; 14 February 1987) was a Soviet composer, conductor, pianist and pedagogue of Russian gentry descent. He helped set up the Union of Soviet Co ...

competition in

* 1989 1st prize at the First International Chopin competition in

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...

. * 1994 1st prize at the First International Clara-Schumann-Klavierconcours in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

. Jury: Martha Argerich, Alexis Weissenberg, Nelson Freire, Vladimir Ashkenazy a.o. This last prize marked the beginning of her international acceptance. As of that year, Gourari has played a significant role on the international

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety a ...

scene. She often performs together with leading

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

s under conductors such as

Lorin Maazel Lorin Varencove Maazel (, March 6, 1930 – July 13, 2014) was an American conductor, violinist and composer. He began conducting at the age of eight and by 1953 had decided to pursue a career in music. He had established a reputation in th ...

Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mehta's father was the foun ...

, etc. In 2001 she played a star role in

Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; born 5 September 1942) is a German film director, screenwriter, author, actor, and opera director, regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema. His films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with un ...

's movie ''

Invincible Invincible may refer to: Film and television * ''Invincible'' (2001 drama film), a drama by Werner Herzog about Jewish cabaret during the rise of Nazism * ''Invincible'' (2001 TV film), a fantasy / martial arts TV movie starring Billy Zane ...

''. Gourari is regarded as unconventional; her playing involves a mystical approach, but is most notably very accurate. 2007 she made six reportages about Moscow's current art and society for "Deutsche Welle TV". 2009 Album of Johannes Brahms: The Late Piano Pieces, opp. 116–119 2010 Album of Mazurkas by Chopin: The Mazurka Diary Anna Gourari has a daughter and lives with her family in Munich.

Discography

* Chopin (Piano Sonata No.3, Mazurkas) - 1998 *

Scriabin Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin (; russian: Александр Николаевич Скрябин ; – ) was a Russian composer and virtuoso pianist. Before 1903, Scriabin was greatly influenced by the music of Frédéric Chopin and composed ...

(Preludes) - 1999 *

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

(Piano Concertos for the Left Hand) with

Bamberg Symphony Orchestra The Bamberg Symphony (German: Bamberger Symphoniker – Bayerische Staatsphilharmonie) is a German orchestra based in Bamberg. It is one of the most prestigious orchestras in Germany. The orchestra was formed in 1946 mainly from German musicians e ...

Karl Anton Rickenbacher Karl Anton Rickenbacher (20 May 1940 – 28 February 2014) was a Swiss conductor. Born in Basel, Rickenbacher studied at the Berlin Conservatory with Herbert von Karajan. He took part in master classes with Pierre Boulez. He was an assistant ...

- 2001 * Chopin (Scherzi etc.) - 2001 *

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

(Piano Concerto No.3, Sonata No. 8, c-minor, "Pathétique", 32 Variations) with

Staatskapelle Dresden The Staatskapelle Dresden (known formally as the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden) is a German orchestra based in Dresden, the capital of Saxony. Founded in 1548 by Maurice, Elector of Saxony, it is one of the world's oldest and most highly re ...

, Sir

Colin Davis Sir Colin Rex Davis (25 September 1927 – 14 April 2013) was an English conductor, known for his association with the London Symphony Orchestra, having first conducted it in 1959. His repertoire was broad, but among the composers with whom h ...

- 2001 (Cover with movie scene) * Nocturnes - 2003 * Desir (Scriabin, Gubaidulina) - 2005 *

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...

: The Late Piano Pieces (opp. 116–119) - 2009 * ''Canto Oscuro'' - 2012,

ECM New Series ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music) is an independent record label founded by Karl Egger, Manfred Eicher and Manfred Scheffner in Munich in 1969. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a variety of recordings, and ECM's a ...

2255 * ''Visions fugitives'' - 2014, ECM New Series 2384 * ''Elusive Affinity'' - 2019, ECM 2612

External links

* http://www.gourari.com official website * http://members.aol.com/schumannga/1ccs.htm live recording at Clara Schumann competition {{DEFAULTSORT:Gourari, Anna Living people Studienstiftung alumni German classical pianists Women classical pianists Musicians from Kazan Soviet emigrants to Germany 21st-century classical pianists Year of birth missing (living people)