Grigory Romanovich Ginzburg (russian: Григо́рий Рома́нович Ги́нзбург; 29 May 1904 in

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...

– 5 December 1961 in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

) was a Soviet

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 ...

Biography

Ginzburg first studied with his mother before being accepted as a student in Alexander Goldenweiser's class at

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (russian: Московская государственная консерватория им. П. И. Чайковского, link=no) is a musical educational inst ...

. In 1927 he gained fourth prize in the

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

I International Chopin Piano Competition The I International Chopin Piano Competition ( pl, I Międzynarodowy Konkurs Pianistyczny im. Fryderyka Chopina) was the inaugural edition of the International Chopin Piano Competition, held from 23 to 30 March 1927 in Warsaw. Soviet pianist Lev ...

. He was recognized as one of the finest musicians in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

and toured Europe several times. He became an important professor at the Moscow Conservatory in 1929. Some of his best-known students are Gleb Axelrod,

Sergei Dorensky Sergei Leonidovich Dorensky (russian: Серге́й Леони́дович Доре́нский; 3 December 1931 – 26 February 2020) was a Russian pianist. He was trained under Grigory Ginsburg at the Moscow Conservatory. Dorensky was awarded ...

Regina Shamvili Regina Shamvili is an American concert pianist and an artist of the United States Department of State, born in Tbilisi, Georgia. Shamvili graduated from both the Tbilisi State Conservatory and the Moscow Conservatory. Studied with suc ...

and

Sulamita Aronovsky Sulamita Aronovsky, born in Lithuania in 1929, died in 2022, is a classical pianist and piano teacher who spent her formative years in Russia, moving to London in 1971. Her teachers include Lev Barenboim, Abram Schatzkes, Grigory Ginsburg and ...

. Ginzburg was best known for his piano touch that had ties with the tradition of 19th century players such as

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

. His eclectic repertoire and his art of transcription made of him one of the most unique performers in piano history.

Discography

* ''Grigory Ginzburg: Live Recordings, 3 volumes (6CDs)'', Vox Aeterna, 2006 * ''Russian Piano School: Goldenweiser & Ginzburg'', RCD, 2004 *''Great Pianists of The 20th Century, Vol.37 Grigory Ginsburg'', Philips, 1999 *''The Gregory Ginzburg Legacy, 10 Volumes (11CDs)'', Arlecchino *''Grigory Ginzburg ロシアピアノの巨匠達, 3 volumes'', Triton *''Russian Piano School Vol.12 - Liszt Opera Paraphrases'', BMG/Melodiya *''Tchaikovsky / Rachmaninov Piano Concertos - Grigory Ginsburg, Lev Oborin, Konstantin Ivanov'', Vista Vera *''Great Artists in Moscow Conservatoire: Liszt - Grigory Ginzburg'', Moscow State Conservatory *''Frederic Chopin: Piano music 1 - Gregory Ginzburg'', Monopole *''Russian Treasure - Liszt, Rubinstein'', Multisonic *''Russian Treasure - Tchaikovsky, Schumann'', Multisonic *''Grigory Ginzburg: His Early Recordings, 2 Volumes'', APR *''Grigory Ginzburg Studio Recordings (4CDs)'', Vox Aeterna *''Keyboard Fireworks by Liszt'', Sterling Classics *''The Art of Grigori Ginsburg (3CDs)'', Venezia (CDVE00018) *''Rubinstein & Liszt Piano Works - Grigori Ginzburg'', Mobile Fidelity *''Tchaikovsky / Arensky Piano Concertos'', Russian Disc *''Liszt Piano Concertos'', Russian Disc *''Dvorak / Kabalevsky Piano Concertos'', Russian Disc *''Mozart / Rubinstein Piano Concertos'', Russian Disc *''Russian Pianists II'', Green Door *''「ショパン・コンクールの歴史第一集」'', DIW Classics *''Legendary Russian Pianists'', Brilliant Classics *''The Great Piano Music of the World 7: Liszt - G. Ginsburg'', Melodiya (for the educational purpose, not for sale) *Melodiya LP :Bach: Violin Sonata BWV 1017 (vn L. Kogan) :Bach/Busoni: Toccata and Fugue BWV 565 :Beethoven: Für Elise :Beethoven: Violin Sonata No.1 & No.3 (vn L. Kogan) :Beethoven/Liszt: Ruinen von Athen Fantasia (Cond. A. Gauk / Radio Symphony Orchestra) :Bellini/Liszt: Norma Fantasia :Chopin: Ballade No.4 :Chopin: Etudes Op.10-1&3 :Chopin: 12 Etudes Op.25 :Chopin: 4 Impromptu :Chopin: Mazurka No.17, No.16, No.48, No.52, No.14, No.57 & No.13 :Chopin: Polonaise No.2, No.3, No.6 & No.12 :Chopin: Waltz No.2, No.3, No.5 & No.7 :Gerter: Waltz :Gershwin: 3 Preludes :Grieg: Cello Sonata Op.36 (vc Y. Slobodkin) :Grieg: Piano Sonata Op.7 :Haydn: Violin Sonata (Arr. from Piano Sonata No.26)(vn L. Kogan) :Haydn: Violin Sonata No.4 & No.7 (vn L. Kogan) :Gounod/Liszt: Waltz from Faust :Liszt: Au Lac de Wallenstadt, Au bord d'une source, Le mal du pays, Les cloches de Genève & Vallée d'Obermann :Liszt: Concert Etudes No.2 La Leggierezza & No.3 Un sospiro :Liszt: Concert Etude No.2 Gnomenreigen :Liszt: Gondliera & Tarantella :Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsodies No.17 & No.18 :Liszt: Polonaise No.1 :Liszt/Busoni: Totentanz (Cond. N. Anosov / State Symphony Orchestra) :Medtner: Sonata Reminiscence Op.38-1 :Mozart: Fantasia KV 475 :Mozart: Piano Concerto No.25 (Cond. K. Kondrashin / Radio Symphony Orchestra) :Mozart: Piano Sonata No.8 :Mozart: Violin Sonata KV 376 (vn L. Kogan) :Mozart/Liszt: Don Giovanni Fantasia :Mozart/Liszt/Busoni: Figaro Fantasia :Myaskovsky: Song and Rhapsody Op.58 :Paganini/Liszt: Paganini Etude No.3, No.4 & No.5 :Paganini/Schumann: Paganini Etude Op.3 No.1 & No.2 :Prokofiev: Piano Sonata No.3 :Rachmaninov: 6 Duets Op.11 (pf. A. Goldenweiser) :Rachmaninov: Suite No.1 Op.5 (pf. A. Goldenweiser) :Rameau/Godowsky: 2 Menuets, Rigaudon & Elegie :Rossini/Ginzburg: Cavatina of Figaro :Rubinstein: Etude Op.23-2 :Rubinstein: Piano Concerto No.4 (Cond. A. Shereshevsky / State Orchestra) :Ruzhitsky/Ginzburg: Kasanova Fantasia :Schubert/Liszt: Erlkönig, Aufenthalt, Gretchen am Spinnrade :Schumann: ABEGG Variations :Schumann: Toccata :Scriabin: 6 Etudes Op.8-6,3,1,7,11,12 :J.Strauss II/Grünfel: Waltz Frühlingsstimmen :J.Strauss II/Schulz-Evler: Arabesque on theme by Waltz 'An der shönen blauen Donau' :J.Strauss II/Tausig: Waltz Caprice No.2 :Verdi/Liszt:

Rigoletto Paraphrase "Bella figlia dell'amore" ("Beautiful daughter of love") is a vocal quartet from act 3 (No. 16) of Giuseppe Verdi's 1851 opera ''Rigoletto''. It has been described as a "masterful quartet that is an intricate musical depiction of four personalit ...

:Weber: Perpetuum Mobile :Weber: Rondo Brillante :Weber: Violin Sonata No.1, No.2 & No.5 (vn L. Kogan)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ginzburg, Grigory 1904 births 1961 deaths Musicians from Nizhny Novgorod People from Nizhegorodsky Uyezd Russian Jews Jewish classical pianists Soviet pianists Male classical pianists Soviet composers Stalin Prize winners Prize-winners of the International Chopin Piano Competition