Leonid Chizhik, also known as Leonid Arkadievich Chishik, was born on January 1, 1947, in Chişinău,

Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic 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 1940 ...

. He is a jazz pianist and university lecturer at the universities of Weimar and Munich. Since 1991, Leonid Chizhik and his family have been living 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 ...

, Germany.

Biography

Chizhik comes from a

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 ...

family. He studied at the state school of music in

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

in 1954. At the age of 15, he started appearing in bands. He studied at the

Gnessin Institute Gnesin, or Gnessin (russian: Гнесин) is a Jewish Russian surname: * Fabian Osipovich Gnesin (1837–1891), an official rabbi of Rostov-on-Don and father of a prominent Jewish Russian family of musicians and philanthropists. :* Sisters Gnesin ...

, Moscow, then studied

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

musicology Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...

, and

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 ...

at Theodor Gutman, graduating as a concert pianist. He played in the trio with Georgy Garanjan's Melodija Ensemble 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 ...

at café Molodjoschnoje (Youth). His main occupation, however, was in the state Varietéorchester. After playing for the first time as a classical soloist, he played

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

in public in 1974. He played on the debut album from

Melodija Melodiya ( rus, links=no, Мелодия, t=Melody) is a Russian (formerly Soviet) record label. It was the state-owned major record company of the Soviet Union. History Melodiya was established in 1964 as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm ...

. Afterwards he started his own trio, and he gained "popularity sa grandmaster of the concert jazz piano".Kumpf, jazzpages

Reception

P. Frederick Starr describes Chizhik as a "virtuoso pianist who combines the terrifying speed of

Art Tatum Arthur Tatum Jr. (, October 13, 1909 – November 5, 1956) was an American jazz pianist who is widely regarded as one of the greatest in his field. From early in his career, Tatum's technical ability was regarded by fellow musicians as extraord ...

with the delicate attack of

Teddy Wilson Theodore Shaw Wilson (November 24, 1912 – July 31, 1986) was an American jazz pianist. Described by critic Scott Yanow as "the definitive swing pianist", Wilson had a sophisticated, elegant style. His work was featured on the records of ma ...

." Although he plays

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumen ...

with phrasing, "the lyrical and romantic element in his play seems to be everywhere." For Starr, Chizhik is in the tradition of

Alexander Tsfasman Alexander Naumovich Tsfasman (russian: Александр Наумович Цфасман; born December 14, 1906 - died February 20, 1971) was a Soviet Jazz pianist, composer, conductor, arranger, publisher and activist. He was an important figu ...

; he has also recorded

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

's music.Starr, p. 250.

Discography

* ''Reminiscences (Reminiscences)'' (

, 1981) * ''Jam Session Moscow'' (Fusion Records / Bellaphon, 1981) with Hans Kumpf * ''In Concert'' (MFSL, 1986) * ''Days Of Wine And Roses'' (Loft, 1987) * ''Lockenhaus Collection: Opus Scherziando'' (Phillips, 1990) * ''Les Pianos de la Nuit (La Roque d'Antheron)'' (DVD, Ideal Audience, 2002) * ''Rag-Gidon-Time'' (Deutsche Grammophon, 2005) * ''TRIBUTE - Leonid Chizhik and Friends'' (listen2this, 2007)

References

* S. Frederick Starr: ''Red and Hot. Jazz in Russia 1917–1990 ''. Vienna, Hannibal, 1990. .

Notes

External links

Web presence

Portrait (2007)
in the Jazzzeitung

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chizhik, Leonid 1947 births Living people Musicians from Kharkiv Russian jazz pianists Soviet emigrants to Germany Moldavian Jews