Irina Zaritskaya (May 2, 1939 - July 30, 2001) was a

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

pianist.

Early life and education

Zaritskaya started playing the piano at the Children’s Music School in Kiev until 1953, and subsequently continued her studies at the Central Special Music School in

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 ...

with Professor Tatiana Kestner. She graduated in 1958 and entered the

, where she was accepted into

Yakov Zak Yakov Izrailevich Zak ( uk, Яків Ізраїлович Зак), (russian: link=no, Яков Израилевич Зак), ''Jiakov Israilevič Sak''; Odessa, – Moscow, 28 June 1976) was a Soviet and Russian pianist and pedagogue. People's ...

’s class and received lessons from

Yakov Flier Yakov Vladimirovich Flier (russian: Я́ков Влади́мирович Флие́р; , 1912 – December 18, 1977; last name also spelled Fliere or Fliyer) was a Jewish Russians, Russian concert pianist and teacher. Flier was born in Ore ...

. She received her graduation diploma in 1963. While still a student under

, Zaritskaya won second prize at the 1960

VI International Chopin Piano Competition The VI International Chopin Piano Competition ( pl, VI Międzynarodowy Konkurs Pianistyczny im. Fryderyka Chopina) was held from 22 February to 13 March 1960 in Warsaw. The competition was won by Maurizio Pollini of Italy, becoming the first win ...

, coming less than 1 point behind the eventual winner -

Maurizio Pollini Maurizio Pollini (born 5 January 1942) is an Italian pianist. He is known for performances of compositions by Beethoven, Chopin and Debussy, among others. He has also championed and performed works by contemporary composers such as Pierre Boulez ...

. She also won two additional awards - The Fryderyk Chopin Society Prize for the Best Performance of a Polonaise and The Polish Radio Prize for the Best Performance of a Mazurka.

Career

For many years, Zaritskaya only performed within the Soviet Union, appearing with the country’s best orchestras and conductors, including Kirill Kondrashin, Rudolf Barshai and Natan Rakhlin. In 1961, she appeared in Warsaw, playing Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4, Chopin's Piano Sonata No. 2, Kabalevsky’s Piano Sonata No. 3 and a matinée recital of six preludes. In 1972, Zaritskaya emigrated to Israel, binding her professional careers – both as a performer and teacher – with the

Rubin Academy of Music The Buchmann-Mehta School of Music (BMSM) is an institute of higher education in Tel Aviv, Israel. The school is a part of the Faculty of the Arts of Tel Aviv University and is operated in collaboration with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO). ...

. In 1985, she moved to England and settled in London. She appeared occasionally with the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

, the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

, the

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) is a British orchestra based in Birmingham, England. It is the resident orchestra at Symphony Hall: a B:Music Venue in Birmingham, which has been its principal performance venue since 1991. Its a ...

and accompanied violinist

Boris Belkin Boris Davidovich Belkin (russian: Борис Давидович Белкин; born 26 January 1948) is a Soviet-born violin virtuoso. Teachers He was taught by Yuri Yankelevich and Isaac Stern. Early years As a child prodigy he began studying ...

. She primarily taught at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

, but also at the

Yehudi Menuhin School The Yehudi Menuhin School is a Specialist school, specialist music school in Stoke d'Abernon, Surrey, England, founded in 1963 by violinist and conductor Yehudi Menuhin. The current director of music is the British classical pianist Ashley Wass. ...

and the

Purcell School The Purcell School for Young Musicians is a specialist music school for children, located in the town of Bushey, south Hertfordshire, England, and is the oldest specialist music school in the UK. The school was awarded the UNESCO Mozart Medal i ...

. Her students include

Danny Driver Danny Driver (born 1977) is a British classical pianist. Biography Danny Driver was born and grew up in London. His mother is Israeli, and his first language was Hebrew. His father is was a keen amateur violinist who studied at Oxford Universi ...

Eytan Pessen Eytan Pessen (born 30 August 1961 in Haifa, Israel) is a pianist and voice teacher, currently at the Opera houses of Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Vienna (Volksoper), Zürich and international festivals. He was former opera director of the Semper ...

,Charles Owen, Wu Qian an
Alba Ventura
Zaritskaya's final concert appearance was on 9 August 1995, at the Jubilee 50th International Chopin Festival in Duszniki where she performed works by Scriabin, Prokofiev, Kabalevsky and Chopin.

Personal life

Zaritskaya was married to violinist and current fellow and professor of the

, Dr. Felix Andrievsky. Her daughter is the pianist Alexandra Andrievsky.

References

External links

Fryderyk Chopin Information Centre
Ukrainian classical pianists Ukrainian women pianists Prize-winners of the International Chopin Piano Competition 2001 deaths 1939 births 20th-century classical pianists Ukrainian women musicians Jewish classical pianists Women classical pianists 20th-century women pianists {{Ukraine-classical-pianist-stub