Dina Ugorskaja (26 August 1973 – 17 September 2019) was a Soviet-born German
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 ...
.
Life
Dina Ugorskaja was born in
Leningrad
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
and grew up in a family of musicians. Her father was the pianist
Anatol Ugorski
Anatol Ugorski (in , born 28 September 1942 in Rubtsovsk, Altai Krai, Soviet Union) is a classical pianist of Russian origin who lives in Germany.
Biography
Anatol Ugorski was born into a poor background and is the eldest of five children. In ...
.
[ Maja Elik (1933–2012), her mother, was a musicologist who was born in ]Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...
, where she and Ugorski were studying at the time. Ugorskaja grew up in Beltsy, Moldavian SSR
The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic ( ro, Republica Sovietică Socialistă Moldovenească, Moldovan Cyrillic: ) was one of the 15 republics of the Soviet Union which existed from 1940 to 1991. The republic was formed on 2 August 194 ...
. Her parents had first met in 1967 when they worked together on the Soviet premiere of Arnold Schoenberg's ''Pierrot Lunaire
''Dreimal sieben Gedichte aus Albert Girauds "Pierrot lunaire"'' ("Three times Seven Poems from Albert Giraud's 'Pierrot lunaire), commonly known simply as ''Pierrot lunaire'', Op. 21 ("Moonstruck Pierrot" or "Pierrot in the Moonlight"), is a m ...
''. Elik, who was working for a music publisher, had been engaged to produce a Russian translation of the work's German text.
Ugorskaja's first piano teacher was her father. She made her public debut when she was seven, performing at the Leningrad Philharmonia in 1980. Between 1980 and 1990 she attended the specialist music academy of the Leningrad Conservatory
The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory (russian: Санкт-Петербургская государственная консерватория имени Н. А. Римского-Корсакова) (formerly known as th ...
, studying piano and composition. Her piano teachers were her father and Maria Mekler, while she studied composition with, Yevgeny Irshay, the head of the piano faculty.[ Ugorskaja also studied singing with a focus on early music.] She was 14 when she appeared in Leningrad for her concerto debut, performing Ludwig van 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 classic ...
's Piano Concerto No. 4.[?] In 1989, Ugorskaja made her public debut as a composer with the first performance of her string quartet at the Leningrad Philharmonia Hall.
The Perestroika years in the Soviet Union were accompanied by an increase in lawlessness and increasingly open antisemitism. Ugorskaja found herself targeted by racist threats from supporters of Pamyat
The Pamyat Society (russian: Общество «Память», russian: Obshchestvo «Pamyat», ; English language, English translation: "''Memory''" Society), officially National Patriotic Front "Memory" (NPF "Memory"; russian: Национал ...
, a Russian ultra-nationalist organization. When Ugorskaja was 16, she and her family relocated to East Berlin,[ where they arrived without their identity papers in order.][Irene Dische im Begleitheft zur CD mit Ugorskis Diabelli-Variationen (DG 435 615-2)] At the time of her emigration to East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
in 1988, the country was in the process of Die Wende
The Peaceful Revolution (german: Friedliche Revolution), as a part of the Revolutions of 1989, was the process of sociopolitical change that led to the opening of East Germany's borders with the West, the end of the ruling of the Socialist Unity ...
, which eventually resulted in German reunification that augured well for her father's international career. Ugorskaja also enjoyed professional opportunities. She immediately applied for admission into the Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler"
' (, plural: ') is the generic term in German for institutions of higher education, corresponding to ''universities'' and ''colleges'' in English. The term ''Universität'' (plural: ''Universitäten'') is reserved for institutions with the right to ...
.[ She studied there between 1990 and 1992; her teachers were ]Annerose Schmidt
Annerose Schmidt (5 October 1936 – 10 March 2022) was the professional name used by Annerose Boeck, a German pianist. She received official recognition as a concert pianist from what later became the East German state in 1948, which was the yea ...
and Galina Iwanzowa.[ Subsequently she moved on to the ]Hochschule für Musik Detmold
The Hochschule für Musik Detmold is a university-level music school situated in Detmold, Germany.
Academics
The Hochschule offers performance degrees in composition, all orchestral instruments, piano, voice, opera, art-song, conducting, as we ...
where she studied again under Iwanzowa, and also as participated in a masterclass with Nerine Barrett. In 2001, she graduated to the post-graduate level concert exams (''"Konzertexamen"'') degree.[ Ugorskaja retained close links with Hochschule für Musik Detmold, where she taught piano from 2002 until 2007, and held an associate professorship.]
In 2007, she relocated to Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
. In October 2016, she accepted a post as professor of piano and harpsichord at the Ludwig van Beethoven Institute of the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna
The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, abbreviated MDW) is an Austrian university located in Vienna, established in 1817.
With a student body of over three thousa ...
.[ Ugorskaja died of ]cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
at her home in Munich on Tuesday 17 September 2019.[ A memorial service was held for her at the Beethoven Institute on 27 November 2019.]
Career highlights
Dina Ugorskaja gave concerts in 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 ...
, Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
, France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
and Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
. She played at the Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
Gewandhaus
Gewandhaus is a concert hall in Leipzig, the home of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. Today's hall is the third to bear this name; like the second, it is noted for its fine acoustics.
History
The first Gewandhaus (''Altes Gewandhaus'')
The f ...
concert hall and at the Schwetzingen Festival
The Schwetzingen Festival (German: Schwetzinger Festspiele, now Schwetzinger SWR Festspiele) is an early summer festival of opera and other classical music presented each year from May to early June in Schwetzingen, Germany.
In 1952, the broadc ...
. She also performed at a large number of other festivals, including the "Hitzacker Days of Music" (''"Sommerliche Musiktage Hitzacker"'') festival and the Dijon
Dijon (, , ) (dated)
* it, Digione
* la, Diviō or
* lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920.
The earlies ...
Music Festival.[ Notable conductors with whom she appeared included ]Vladimir Jurowski
Vladimir Mikhailovich Jurowski (; born 4 April 1972) is a Russian conductor. He is the son of conductor Michail Jurowski, and grandson of Soviet film music composer Vladimir Michailovich Jurowski.
Early life
Born in Moscow, Jurowski began h ...
, Peter Gülke and Frank Beermann. She performed regularly with the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra
The MDR-Sinfonieorchester (in English, MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra) is a German radio orchestra based in Leipzig. It is the radio orchestra of Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk, the public broadcaster for the German states of Thuringia, Saxony ...
and the North West German Philharmonic Orchestra).[
She teamed up with her father to issue a recording of concertos for two pianos by ]Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wor ...
( Concerto in C minor: BWV
The (BWV; ; ) is a catalogue of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was first published in 1950, edited by Wolfgang Schmieder. The catalogue's second edition appeared in 1990. An abbreviated version of that second edition, known as BWV2 ...
1060), Mozart's Concerto No. 10 in E-flat major
E-flat major (or the key of E-flat) is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has three flats. Its relative minor is C minor, and its parallel minor is E minor, (or enharmonically ...
and the Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throughout his life as a major compo ...
's Concertino for two pianos op.94. Further recordings followed, including one of the 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 classic ...
First Piano Concerto with the Pforzheim
Pforzheim () is a city of over 125,000 inhabitants in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, in the southwest of Germany.
It is known for its jewelry and watch-making industry, and as such has gained the nickname "Goldstadt" ("Golden City") ...
-based South-west German Chamber Orchestra conducted, as in the case of her earlier two-piano concerto recordings with her father, by Vladislav Czarnecki.[
]
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ugorskaja, Dina
1973 births
2019 deaths
Musicians from Saint Petersburg
Musicians from Berlin
Musicians from Vienna
German classical pianists
20th-century classical pianists
21st-century classical pianists
Academic staff of the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna
Russian emigrants to Germany
Soviet people of Moldovan-Jewish descent
German women classical pianists
20th-century Russian women musicians
20th-century German musicians
21st-century German musicians
20th-century women pianists
21st-century women pianists