Konstantin Yakovlevich Lifschitz (russian: Константин Яковлевич Лифшиц; born 10 December 1976 in

Kharkov Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine.

) is a Russian pianist of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

descent.

Career

At the age of five Lifschitz came to the Gnessin Specialized Music School 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 ...

. Tatiana Zelikman was his most important teacher. When he was 13 he gave his first recital at the

House of the Unions The House of the Unions (russian: Дом Союзов) (also called ''Palace of the Unions'') is a historic building in the Tverskoy District in central Moscow, Russia. It is situated on the corner of Bolshaya Dmitrovka and Okhotny Ryad streets ...

(Moscow) that was greeted with enthusiasm. At the final exam (1994) he played the Goldberg Variations,

Gaspard de la nuit ''Gaspard de la nuit'' (subtitled ''Trois poèmes pour piano d'après Aloysius Bertrand''), M. 55 is a suite of piano pieces by Maurice Ravel, written in 1908. It has three movements, each based on a poem or ''fantaisie'' from the collection '' ...

and works by Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin. His other teachers were Teodor Gutman, Vladimir Tropp,

Karl Ulrich Schnabel Karl Ulrich Schnabel (August 6, 1909 – August 27, 2001) was an Austrian pianist. Schnabel was the son of pianist Artur Schnabel and operatic contralto and lieder singer Therese Behr and elder brother of the American actor Stefan Schnabel. An i ...

Fou Ts'ong Fou Ts'ong (; 10 March 1934 – 28 December 2020) was a Chinese-born British pianist who was the first pianist of his national origin to achieve international recognition. He came to prominence after winning third prize and the Polish Radio Prize ...

Alfred Brendel Alfred Brendel KBE (born 5 January 1931) is an Austrian classical pianist, poet, author, composer, and lecturer who is known particularly for his performances of Mozart, Schubert, Schoenberg, and Beethoven.Stephen Plaistow"Brendel, Alfred" ''G ...

, Leon Fleischer,

Rosalyn Tureck Rosalyn Tureck (December 14, 1913 – July 17, 2003) was an American pianist and harpsichordist who was particularly associated with the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. However, she had a wide-ranging repertoire that included works by composers ...

Hamish Milne Hamish Milne (27 April 1939 – 12 February 2020) was an English pianist known for his advocacy of Nikolai Medtner. Milne studied at Bishop Wordsworth's School in Salisbury and then at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he taught, and ...

and

Charles Rosen Charles Welles Rosen (May 5, 1927December 9, 2012) was an American pianist and writer on music. He is remembered for his career as a concert pianist, for his recordings, and for his many writings, notable among them the book ''The Classical Sty ...

. Lifschitz did not participate in any piano contests. After the

Perestroika ''Perestroika'' (; russian: links=no, перестройка, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg) was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s widely associated wit ...

he started to give concerts in major European cities. Among the orchestras he played with are

I Solisti Veneti I Solisti Veneti is an Italian chamber orchestra founded in Padua in 1959 by Claudio Scimone.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 a ...

Academy of St Martin in the Fields The Academy of St Martin in the Fields (ASMF) is an English chamber orchestra, based in London. John Churchill, then Master of Music at the London church of St Martin-in-the-Fields, and Neville Marriner founded the orchestra as "The Academy of ...

Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz The Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz (State Philharmonic of Rhineland-Palatinate) is the largest and leading symphony orchestra of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, based in Ludwigshafen am Rhein. It gives concerts in Rhineland-Palati ...

Konzerthausorchester Berlin The Konzerthausorchester Berlin is a German symphony orchestra based in Berlin. The orchestra is resident at the Konzerthaus Berlin, designed by the architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel. The building was destroyed during World War II, and was rebuil ...

Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg The Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg is an Austrian orchestra, based in the town and state of Salzburg. The orchestra gives concerts in several Salzburg venues, including the ''Großes Festspielhaus'', the Great Hall of the Stiftung Mozarteum. I ...

Minnesota Orchestra The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded originally as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, the Minnesota Orchestra plays most of its concerts at Minneapolis's Orchestra Hall. History Em ...

Bern Symphony Orchestra The Bern Symphony Orchestra (Berner Symphonie-Orchester) is a Swiss orchestra based in Bern. The orchestra primarily gives concerts at the ''Kursaal'' in Bern, and also acts as the orchestra of the Bern Theatre, for opera and dance performances. ...

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 ...

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenure ...

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra The Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra (russian: Симфонический оркестр Санкт-Петербургской филармонии, ''Symphonic Orchestra of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia'') is a Russian orchestra based ...

. Conductors were

Andrey Boreyko Andrey Boreyko (russian: Андре́й Ви́кторович Боре́йко, Andrey Viktorovich Boreyko, pl, Andrzej Borejko; born 22 July 1957) is a Polish-Russian conductor. He has Polish ancestry on his father's side and Russian ancestry ...

Bernard Haitink Bernard Johan Herman Haitink (; 4 March 1929 – 21 October 2021) was a Dutch conductor and violinist. He was the principal conductor of several international orchestras, beginning with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in 1961. He moved to Lond ...

Eliahu Inbal Eliahu Inbal (born 16 February 1936, Jerusalem) is an Israeli conductor. Inbal studied violin at the Israeli Academy of Music and took composition lessons with Paul Ben-Haim. Upon hearing him there, Leonard Bernstein endorsed a scholarship for ...

Marek Janowski Marek Janowski (born 18 February 1939 in Warsaw) is a Polish-born German conductor. He is currently chief conductor of the Dresden Philharmonic. Childhood Janowski grew up in Wuppertal, near Cologne, after his mother traveled there at the st ...

Michail Jurowski Michail Vladimirovich Jurowski (; 25 December 1945 – 19 March 2022) was a Russian Conducting, conductor who worked internationally, based in Germany for most of his career. He was particularly interested in the works of Dmitri Shostakovich, in ...

Eri Klas Eri Klas (7 June 1939 – 26 February 2016) was an Estonian conductor. Klas was born into a Jewish family in Tallinn. His mother was pianist Anna Klas. His father, Eduard Klas, was killed in 1941, during the Holocaust.''Eesti Entsüklopeedia ...

Fabio Luisi Fabio Luisi (born 17 January 1959) is an Italian conductor. He is currently principal conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and chief conductor of the NHK Symphony Orchestra. Biog ...

Neville Marriner Sir Neville Marriner, (15 April 1924 – 2 October 2016) was an English violinist and "one of the world's greatest conductors". Gramophone lists Marriner as one of the 50 greatest conductors and another compilation ranks Marriner #14 of th ...

Claudio Scimone Claudio Scimone (23 December 1934 – 6 September 2018) was an Italian conductor. He was born in Padua, Italy and studied conducting with Dmitri Mitropoulos and Franco Ferrara. He established an international reputation as a conductor, as well a ...

Yuri Temirkanov Yuri Khatuevich Temirkanov (russian: Ю́рий Хату́евич Темирка́нов; kbd, Темыркъан Хьэту и къуэ Юрий; born December 10, 1938) is a Russian conductor of Circassian ( Kabardian) origin. Early life ...

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (28 May 1925 – 18 May 2012) was a German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music, one of the most famous Lieder (art song) performers of the post-war period, best known as a singer of Franz Schubert's Lieder, ...

Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian cellist and conductor. He is considered by many to be the greatest cellist of the 20th century. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was wel ...

. Konstantin Lifschitz is giving masterclasses all around the world. Since 2008 he has an own class at the

Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (german: Hochschule Luzern) (HSLU) is one of seven regional, public-funded universities of applied sciences founded in 1997 in its current form. The University was called University of Applied Scienc ...

. In Switzerland he became a Swiss citizen. He lives near

Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...

. He performs or performed chamber music with string quartets and soloists as

Gidon Kremer Gidon Kremer ( lv, Gidons Krēmers; born 27 February 1947) is a Latvian classical violinist, artistic director, and founder of Kremerata Baltica. Life and career Gidon Kremer was born in Riga. His father was Jewish and had survived the Holoc ...

Dmitry Sitkovetsky Dmitry Yulianovich Sitkovetsky (russian: Дмитрий Юлианович Ситковецкий; born September 27, 1954) is a Soviet-Russian born classical violinist, conductor and arranger, most notably of an arrangement for strings of J. S. ...

Patricia Kopatchinskaja Patricia Kopatchinskaja (born March 1977) is a Moldovan-Austrian-Swiss violinist. Biography Early life Kopatchinskaja was born in Chișinău, in the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (now Moldova). She comes from a family of musicians. H ...

Leila Josefowicz Leila Bronia Josefowicz ( ; born October 20, 1977) is an American-Canadian classical violinist. Biography Josefowicz was born in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. When she was a young child her family moved to Los Angeles, California, where she sta ...

Mischa Maisky Mischa Maisky ( lv, Miša Maiskis, he, מישה מייסקי, russian: Миша Майский; born 10 January 1948) is a Soviet-born Israeli cellist. Biography Mischa Maisky was born in 1948 in Riga and is the younger brother of organist, har ...

Lynn Harrell Lynn Harrell (January 30, 1944 – April 27, 2020) was an American classical cellist. Known for the "penetrating richness" of his sound, Harrell performed internationally as a recitalist, chamber musician, and soloist with major orchestras o ...

Carolin Widmann Carolin Widmann (born 1976) is a German classical violinist. The sister of composer and clarinetist Jörg Widmann, she focuses mainly on contemporary music. She plays a violin made in 1782 by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini. Career Born in Munich ...

Bella Davidovich Bella Mikhaylovna Davidovich (Бэлла Миха́йловна Давидо́вич; born July 16, 1928) is a Soviet-born American pianist. Biography Davidovich was born in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, into a Jewish family of musicians and began studyi ...

Valery Afanassiev Valery Afanassiev (russian: Валерий Павлович Афанасьев, ''Valerij Pavlovič Afanasiev''; born 8 September 1947) is a Russian pianist, writer and conductor. Life Valery Afanassiev was born in Moscow. He studied piano at ...

Natalia Gutman Natalia Grigoryevna Gutman (russian: Наталья Григорьевна Гутман) (born 14 November 1942 in Kazan), PAU, is a Russian cellist. She began to study cello at the Moscow Music School with R. Sapozhnikov. She was later admitted t ...

Jörg Widmann Jörg Widmann (born 19 June 1973) is a German composer, conductor and clarinetist. In 2018, Widmann was the third most performed contemporary composer in the world. Formerly a clarinet and composition professor at the University of Music Freibu ...

Sol Gabetta Sol Gabetta (born 18 April 1981) is an Argentine cellist. The daughter of Andrés Gabetta and Irène Timacheff-Gabetta, she has French and Russian ancestry. Her brother Andrés is a baroque violinist. Career Gabetta began to learn violin at ...

Alexei Volodin Alexei Volodin (russian: Алексей Володин; born 1977) is a Russian pianist. Volodin began taking piano lessons in St. Petersburg at the age of nine. A year later he moved to Moscow, where he studied first with Irina Chaklina and ...

Daishin Kashimoto Daishin Kashimoto (樫本大進; ''Kashimoto Daishin''; born 27 March 1979) is a Japanese classical violinist. Since 2009, he has been the first concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic. Kashimoto is fluent in speaking and writing in Japanese, ...

Maxim Vengerov Maxim Alexandrovich Vengerov (russian: Максим Александрович Венгеров, , mɐkˈsʲim ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ vʲɪnˈɡʲerəf; he, מקסים ונגרוב; born 20 August 1974) is a Russian-born Israeli violinist, v ...

(died 2007) and Eugene Ugorski (born 1989). Lifschitz conducts orchestras and the Gabrieli Choir. Orchestra * St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra Vilnius * Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra Wernigerode * Chamber Orchestra Arpeggione Hohenems * Dalarna Sinfonietta Falun * Lux Aeterna Budapest * I Solisti di Napoli * Neujahrskonzert Langnau in Emmental *

Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra The Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra (Stuttgarter Kammerorchester) is a German chamber orchestra based in Stuttgart. Its principal concert venue is the Liederhalle, Stuttgart. History Karl Münchinger founded the orchestra in 1945, and served as its ...

Copenhagen Philharmonic The Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra (Danish language, Danish: Sjællands Symfoniorkester), also known as the Tivoli Symphony Orchestra, is a Danish symphony orchestra which both serves as Danish Regional Symphony Orchestra, Danish Regional Orchest ...

Moscow Virtuosi The Moscow Virtuosi is a chamber orchestra founded in 1979 by Vladimir Spivakov, who has been the orchestra's conductor, soloist and creative director ever since. In 1982, the orchestra received the name "State Chamber Orchestra of the Ministry ...

* Century Orchestra Osaka

Selected Reviews

* Konstantin Lifschitz – review, The Guardian, 2011 * Konstantin Lifschitz – review, The Independent, 2007 * Bach’s Songs of Innocence and Experience, All in a Day, NY Times, 2007 * Schubert Piano works/Lifschitz/Palexa C

Festivals

Rheingau Musik Festival The (RMF) is an international summer music festival in Germany, founded in 1987. It is mostly for classical music, but includes other genres. Concerts take place at culturally important locations, such as Eberbach Abbey and Schloss Johannisberg, ...

* Miami International Piano Festival *

Lucerne Festival Lucerne Festival is one of the leading international festivals in the world of classical music and presents a series of classical music festivals based in Lucerne, Switzerland. Founded in 1938 by Ernest Ansermet and Walter Schulthess, it current ...

Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival The Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival is a classical music festival held each summer throughout the state of Schleswig-Holstein in Northern Germany. History The festival was founded in 1986 by German concert pianist Justus Frantz. In 2006, the 21 ...

* Bodenseefestival *

White Nights Festival The White Nights Festival is an annual summer festival in Saint Petersburg celebrating its near-midnight sun phenomena due to its location near the Arctic Circle; each year between around April 21 and August 21, the skies only reach twilight an ...

, St. Petersburg *

George Enescu Festival The George Enescu Festival (also known as George Enescu International Festival and Competition), held in honor of the celebrated Romanian composer George Enescu, is the biggest classical music festival and classical international competition hel ...

, Bucharest *

Newport Music Festival Newport Classical, previously known as Newport Music Festival, is an annual chamber music-oriented music festival and year-round classical music arts organization in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in July 1969. The festival consists of dozen ...

Sommerliche Musiktage Hitzacker Sommerliche Musiktage Hitzacker ("summerly music days Hitzacker") is the name of a traditional international festival of classical chamber music in Hitzacker, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1946, it is held annually for nine days beginning with ...

Tivoli Festival Tivoli may refer to: * Tivoli, Lazio, a town in Lazio, Italy, known for historic sites; the inspiration for other places named Tivoli Buildings * Tivoli (Baltimore, Maryland), a mansion built about 1855 * Tivoli Building (Cheyenne, Wyoming), ...

Copenhagen * Les Nuits Pianistiques Festival, Aix-en-Provence * SoNoRo International Chamber Music Festival, Bukarest

Recordings

The pianist has released 39 recordings to date. A full list can be found on his website *

Johann Sebastian 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 w ...

and

Peter Seabourne Peter Seabourne (born 1960) is an English contemporary classical composer based in Lincolnshire, England. Biography Seabourne studied at Clare College, Cambridge with Robin Holloway, and University of York with David Blake. In 1984 he was jo ...

: Toccatas and Fantasies .

Toccatas BWV 910-916 and

Steps Volume 6: Toccatas and Fantasias (Willowhayne Records, 2022) *

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 classical ...

: 32 Sonatas (Alpha Classics - ALPHA584, 2020) *

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

Claude Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...

, Jakov Jakoulov: Daphnis et Chloé (

Orfeo Orfeo Classic Schallplatten und Musikfilm GmbH of Munich was a German independent classical record label founded in 1979 by Axel Mehrle and launched in 1980. It has been owned by Naxos since 2015. History The Orfeo music label was registered ...

– C905162A, 2016) *

: Goldberg Variationen BWV 988 (

– C864141A, 2015) *

Gottfried von Einem Gottfried von Einem (24 January 1918 – 12 July 1996) was an Austrian composer. He is known chiefly for his operas influenced by the music of Stravinsky and Prokofiev, as well as by jazz. He also composed pieces for piano, violin and organ. Biog ...

: Concerto op. 20 with Rundfunk-Symphonieorchester Wien, conductor

Cornelius Meister Cornelius Meister (born 23 February 1980 in Hannover, is a German conductor and pianist. Biography Meister's father, Konrad Meister, was a pianist and professor of piano at the Musikhochschule Hannover. His mother is also a piano teacher. His h ...

(

- C8828112A, 2008)

Dedications

, Steps Volume 6: Toccatas and Fantasias * James Bolle, Piano Concert * Vladimir Ryabov, 4 Chromatic Studies * Jakov Jacoulov, Carrousel *

Boris Yoffe Boris Yoffe (born 21 December 1968 in St. Petersburg) is a Russian-born Israeli composer, resident of Karlsruhe, Germany. Biography Boris Yoffe initially studied violin but turned to composing early, premiering his first works in the St. Petersbu ...

, Humble Muse * Rahel Senn, Song of a Magnolia * Denis Burstein, Variations * Inna Zhvanetskaya, Dance-Suite (Partita) *

Nimrod Borenstein Nimrod Borenstein ( he, נמרוד בורנשטיין; born in 1969) is a British-French-Israeli composer whose music is widely performed throughout Europe, the US, Canada, Australia and Japan. His works are becoming part of the repertoire of ma ...

, Melancholic Mobile (No. 3 from Reminiscences of Childhood) *

Colette Mourey Colette Mourey (born 1954) is a French classical guitarist, music educator, musicologist and composer. Biography Born in Kenitra (Marocco), Mourey studied musicology at the Sorbonne under Edith Weber and passed the agrégation. First a classica ...

, Eaux-Fortes, No. 6: Une promenade (spirituelle) à Rome

Prizes

Echo (music award) Echo Music Prize (stylised as ECHO, ) was an accolade by the , an association of recording companies of Germany to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. The first ECHO Awards ceremony was held in 1992, and it was set up to hon ...

Best International Newcomer (1995) for the Debut Recording *

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

Nomination (1996) For the Goldberg Variations Recording * Associate, later Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music (2003) * Rowenna Prize of the Reed Kostellow Fund (New York) (2006) * Holy Sergius of Radonezh Order (Moskau) (2007)

References

External links

Website Konstantin Lifschitz

Biography at Musical America
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lifschitz, Konstantin Russian pianists Swiss pianists Living people 1976 births Musicians from Kharkiv 21st-century pianists