Valentina Igoshina (born 4 November 1978 in Bryansk, Bryansk Oblast) is a Russian
classical 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 ...
. She has won several international piano competitions.
Biography
Valentina Igoshina began studying piano with her mother, and first took lessons at home at the age of four. At the age of twelve she began attending the Moscow Central School of Music for gifted students and became a pupil of
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 ...
and
Larissa Dedova
Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...
at the
Moscow Tchaikovsky 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 ...
.
Igoshina has also served as a teacher of piano at the
Moscow Tchaikovsky 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 Moscow. Currently she is a professor at the
Royal Conservatory of Brussels
The Royal Conservatory of Brussels (french: Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles, nl, Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel) is a historic conservatory in Brussels, Belgium. Starting its activities in 1813, it received its official name in 1832. Provid ...
and at the
Conservatoire Maurice Ravel in Paris. She has lived in France for the past two decades, and travels extensively for concerts and recitals.
Professional accomplishments
In 1993, at age 14, she won first prize at the
Arthur Rubinstein
Arthur Rubinstein ( pl, Artur Rubinstein; 28 January 188720 December 1982) was a Polish Americans, Polish-American pianist. Piano Competition in
Bydgoszcz
Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
. In 1997, at age 18, she won first prize and a special award at the famed
Rachmaninov International Piano Competition 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 ...
.
[
] In 2000, she was given an honorable mention at the
XIV International Chopin Piano Competition
The XIV International Chopin Piano Competition ( pl, XIV Międzynarodowy Konkurs Pianistyczny im. Fryderyka Chopina) was held from 4 to 22 October 2000 in Warsaw. Li Yundi of China won the First Prize, becoming the first Chinese pianist to do so ...
.
![Valentina Igoshina with piano](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Valentina_Igoshina_with_piano.jpg)
Igoshina has also competed in four other worldwide piano competitions:
*Second place at the
Atlanta International Piano Competition
Atlanta ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georgia, Fulton County, the mos ...
(2002),
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
*First place at the
Concorso Pianistico Internazionale "Premio Giuliano Pecar" (2002),
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
*Laureate at the
Queen Elisabeth Competition
The Queen Elisabeth Competition ( nl, Koningin Elisabethwedstrijd, french: Concours musical international Reine Élisabeth) is an international competition for career-starting musicians held in Brussels. The competition is named after Queen ...
in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, (2003)
[
]
*Second place at the
José Iturbi International Piano Competition
The Valencia International Piano Competition Prize Iturbi (also referred to as the José Iturbi International Piano CompetitionWestphal, Matthew (25 June 2007). ''Playbill''. Retrieved 6 February 2012.) is an international piano competition held ...
(2006),
Valencia, Spain
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area also ...
Igoshina appears on the list of great women pianists as compiled at forte-piano-pianissimo.com.
Festival and major orchestral appearances
Igoshina has been invited to play with many notable orchestras, among them:
*
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra ( nl, Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest, ) is a Dutch symphony orchestra, based at the Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw (concert hall). Considered one of the world's leading orchestras, Queen Beatrix conferred the "R ...
in Amsterdam,
Markus Stenz
Markus Stenz (born 28 February 1965, Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Rhineland-Palatinate) is a German conductor. He studied at the Hochschule für Musik Köln with Volker Wangenhein and at Tanglewood with Leonard Bernstein and Seiji Ozawa.
Stenz has ...
conducting
*
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (BBC SSO) is a Scottish broadcasting symphony orchestra based in Glasgow. One of five full-time orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), it is the oldest full-time professional rad ...
in Aberdeen,
Alexander Titov conducting
*
Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, United Kingdom,
Sir Mark Elder
Sir Mark Philip Elder (born 2 June 1947) is a British conductor. He is currently music director of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, England.
Life and career
Elder was born in Hexham, Northumberland, the son of a dentist. He played the ...
conducting
*
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an Australian orchestra based in Melbourne. The MSO is resident at Hamer Hall. The MSO has its own choir, the MSO Chorus, following integration with the Melbourne Chorale in 2008.
The MSO relies on f ...
in Australia,
Markus Stenz
Markus Stenz (born 28 February 1965, Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Rhineland-Palatinate) is a German conductor. He studied at the Hochschule für Musik Köln with Volker Wangenhein and at Tanglewood with Leonard Bernstein and Seiji Ozawa.
Stenz has ...
conducting
*
Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona ì Nacional de Catalunya,
Josep Caballé Domenech
Josep Caballé Domenech (born 1973) is a Spanish musician and conductor. Caballé Domenech has recently been appointed Principal Conductor of the Moritzburg Festival Germany) and he is also in his eighth season as Music Director of the Colorado S ...
conducting
*
Orquesta Filarmónica de Santiago in Chile,
Jan Latham-Koenig
Jan Betrand Latham-Koenig, (born 1953) is a British conductor. He was born in England, coming from French, Danish and Polish origins. He attended Highgate School and then studied at the Royal College of Music in London before he founded the Ko ...
conducting
*
London Philharmonic
The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...
,
Carl Davis
Carl Davis, (born October 28, 1936) is an American-born conductor and composer who has lived in the United Kingdom since 1961.
He has written music for more than 100 television programmes, but is best known for creating music to accompany si ...
conducting
*
Macao Orchestra in Macao, China,
Lü Jia conducting
*
Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra
The Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra ( pl, Orkiestra Filharmonii Narodowej w Warszawie) is a Polish orchestra based in Warsaw. Founded in 1901, it is one of Poland's oldest musical institutions.
History
The orchestra was conceived on ...
,
Antoni Wit
Antoni Wit (born February 7, 1944) is a Polish conductor, composer, lawyer and professor at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music. Between 2002 and 2013, he served as the artistic director of the National Philharmonic in Warsaw.
Life and career ...
conducting
*
Orquestra Sinfônica Municipal de São Paulo,
Josè Maria Florêncio conducting
*
Real Filharmonia de Galicia
Real may refer to:
Currencies
* Brazilian real (R$)
* Central American Republic real
* Mexican real
* Portuguese real
* Spanish real
* Spanish colonial real
Music Albums
* Real (L'Arc-en-Ciel album), ''Real'' (L'Arc-en-Ciel album) (2000)
* Real ...
,
Antoni Ros-Marba conducting
*
Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie The Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie ( en, Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia) is a Belgian chamber orchestra based in Mons.
History
The Orchestra was founded in 1958 by the violinist Lola Bobesco and its leadership was entrusted successivel ...
,
Augustin Dumay
Augustin Dumay (born 17 January 1949) is a French violinist and conductor from Paris.
Biography
Dumay was invited as a soloist to appear with Yo-Yo Ma in Paris by Herbert von Karajan. Later on, he performed Béla Bartók's ''Second Concerto'' wi ...
conducting
*
Brandenburg Symphony Orchestra,
Takao Ukigaya conducting
*
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (NOSPR), is one of Poland's radio orchestra and premier musical institutions. It was founded in 1935 in Warsaw. In 1945 the orchestra was re-established in Katowice and since 2006 it has become a "Nati ...
,
Michal Klauza
Michal (; he, מיכל , gr, Μιχάλ) was, according to the first Books of Samuel, Book of Samuel, a princess of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), United Kingdom of Israel; the younger daughter of Saul, King Saul, she was the fir ...
conducting
Igoshina has appeared on multiple occasions with several of the foregoing orchestras. Additionally, she worked both in Russia and Italy with
Alexander Vedernikov
Alexander Alexandrovich Vedernikov (; 11 January 1964 – 29 October 2020) was a Russian conductor. He held major posts with the Bolshoi Theatre the Odense Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Danish Opera, and the Mikhailovsky Theatre.
Biography
Bor ...
during his tenure at the
Bolshoi Theatre
The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, literally "Big Theater", p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈatər) is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds ballet and ope ...
. She has performed in the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory. Igoshina has also appeared with orchestras in Kraków, Poland; Sacramento, California; Gdansk, Poland; St. Louis, Missouri (
Robert Hart Baker conducting); Saint-Etienne, France; Tokyo, Japan; Moscow, St Petersburg, and Bryansk in Russia; Sofia, Bulgaria; Budapest, Hungary (
Izaki Masahiro conducting); and many other venues. She has often served as a judge of piano competitions at venues throughout Europe and elsewhere.
She has also participated in numerous recitals and
musical festivals; a few are listed as follows:
*
Tonhalle, Zurich
*
La Società dei Concerti, Milan
*
Ravello Festival
The Ravello Festival is also popularly known as the "Wagner Festival" and is an annual summer festival of music and the arts held in the town of Ravello on the Amalfi coast in the Campania region of Italy. The festival has been held yearly since ...
, Italy
*
Duszniki Zdroj Chopin Festival, Poland
*
Belem Festival, Lisbon
*
Radio France-Montpellier, France
*
Festival de La Roque-d'Anthéron
The Festival de La Roque-d'Anthéron is an international piano festival, founded in 1980 by Paul Onoratini (1920–2010), then mayor of La Roque-d'Anthéron and , then an intern at the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs, seeking to creat ...
, Provence, France
*Harrod's International Piano Series, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
*
Styriarte, Graz, Austria
*
Povoa de Varzim Festival, Portugal
*
Association "Musique au Pays de George Sand", Nohant-Vic, France
*
Nuits Musicales d'Uzès, Uzès, France
*Ohrid Summer Festival, Macedonia
*
Théâtre de l'Athénée
The Théâtre de l'Athénée is a theatre at 7 rue Boudreau, in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. Renovated in 1996 and classified a historical monument, the Athénée inherits an artistic tradition marked by the figure of Louis Jouvet who direc ...
, Paris
*
Piano-en-Valois Festival, Angoulême, France
*
Cercle de l'Union interalliee, Paris
*
Théâtre du Châtelet
The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France.
One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a s ...
, Paris
*
Piano aux Jacobins Festival International, Toulouse
*
Polish Baltic Philharmonic
Polish Baltic F. Chopin Philharmonic in Gdańsk (full name in Polish: ''Polska Filharmonia Bałtycka im. Fryderyka Chopina w Gdańsku'') is a concert hall located in Ołowianka, Gdańsk.
History
Polish Baltic F. Chopin Philharmonic was founde ...
Hall, Gdansk
*
Mons, Belgium
Mons (; German and nl, Bergen, ; Walloon and pcd, Mont) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the province of Hainaut, Belgium.
Mons was made into a fortified city by Count Baldwin IV of Hainaut in the 12th century. T ...
with
Augustin Dumay
Augustin Dumay (born 17 January 1949) is a French violinist and conductor from Paris.
Biography
Dumay was invited as a soloist to appear with Yo-Yo Ma in Paris by Herbert von Karajan. Later on, he performed Béla Bartók's ''Second Concerto'' wi ...
*
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
with violinists Michael Ludwig and David Halen
*
Les Musicales de l'Eure Festival, Pacy-sur-Eure, France
* Auditorium du Conservatoire Maurice Ravel, Paris
*Vaud, Switzerland and Gagnac-sur-Cère, France with cellist Mark Drobinsky
*
Tokyo Bunka Kaikan
The is a Japanese concert hall located in Ueno Park, Taitō, Tokyo. Designed by Japanese architect Kunio Maekawa, it was built in 1961 and renovated in 1998–99. Its larger hall seats 2303 people, and its small hall seats 649. It is operated ...
Hall, Tokyo, Japan with flutist Junko Ukigaya
*
Académie Internationale d'été de Nice, France
*
Chandigarh, India, Taj Palace Hall, featuring Tchaikovsky music
*
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...
, Recital at the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
Recordings
Igoshina has made live recordings on
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...
, ABC Classic FM, and
BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: ''BBC Alba'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland.
It is one of the four BBC national regions, together with the BBC English Regions, BBC Cymru Wales and BBC Northern Ireland. I ...
, as well as the sound tracks for
Tony Palmer
Tony Palmer (born 29 August 1941)[IMDb: Tony Palmer](_blank)
Retrieved 24 September 2011 is a British film direc ...
's movies ''The Harvest of Sorrow'' (also working on the project were
Valery Gergiev
Valery Abisalovich Gergiev (russian: Вале́рий Абиса́лович Ге́ргиев, ; os, Гергиты Абисалы фырт Валери, Gergity Abisaly fyrt Valeri; born 2 May 1953) is a Russian conductor and opera company d ...
and
Mikhail Pletnev
Mikhail Vasilievich Pletnev (russian: Михаи́л Васи́льевич Плетнёв, ''Mikha'il Vas'ilevič Plet'nëv''; born 14 April 1957) is a Russian pianist, conductor and composer.
Life and career
Pletnev was born into a musical fa ...
) and ''The Strange Case of Delphina Potocka''. She played one of the leading roles in the latter film.
In 2006
Warner Classics International produced an album entitled ''Valentina Igoshina'', wherein she played works by
Modest Mussorgsky
Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky ( rus, link=no, Модест Петрович Мусоргский, Modest Petrovich Musorgsky , mɐˈdɛst pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ˈmusərkskʲɪj, Ru-Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky version.ogg; – ) was a Russian compo ...
and
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...
. Included on the album were Mussorgsky's ''
Pictures at an Exhibition
''Pictures at an Exhibition'', french: Tableaux d'une exposition, link=no is a suite (music), suite of ten piano pieces, plus a recurring, varied Promenade theme, composed by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky in 1874. The piece is Mussorgsky's ...
'' and Schumann's ''
Carnaval.''
In 2008 Igoshina recorded a work of the waltzes of
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...
. The album, entitled ''
Chopin: Complete Waltzes'' was chosen by ''
Classic FM Magazine
The ''Classic FM Magazine'' was a magazine published by Haymarket in the United Kingdom each month. It was the printed organ of Classic FM, a British classical commercial radio station. The magazine reviewed classical recordings and live perfo ...
'' as its November 2008 "Disc of the Month". It was produced by Lontano Music and distributed by Warner Classics International.
In October 2010 Igoshina recorded
Dmitri 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 Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...
's ''First and Second Piano Concertos'' with the
Deutsche Kammerakademie Neuss-am-Rhein (near Düsseldorf), and the work is distributed by Warner Classics International. Also in 2010, she appeared in another of Tony Palmer's productions, entitled ''
Valentina Igoshina Plays Chopin''. A review by the ''Los Angeles Times'' stated, "After this you will never be able to hear the music of Chopin in the same way again."
In 2013 RS Real Sound Productions' 'EXcellence' Series recorded Igoshina playing "Corelli Variations" and "Preludes" by
Sergei Rachmaninov
Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of ...
and
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...
respectively.
In 2018 Antes Edition released ''Kammermusik für Flöte und Klavier'' with Igoshina and
Junko Ukigaya, which featured music of
Antonín Dvořák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czechs, Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravian traditional music, Moravia and his native Bohemia, following t ...
,
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...
and
César Franck
César-Auguste Jean-Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in modern-day Belgium.
He was born in Liège (which at the time of his birth was p ...
.
Many of Igoshina's performances can be seen on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
, including
Chopin's ''
Fantaisie Impromptu'' and
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 ...
's ''
Liebesträume
' (German for ''Dreams of Love'') is a set of three solo piano works (S.541/R.211) by Franz Liszt, published in 1850. Originally the three ' were conceived as lieder after poems by Ludwig Uhland and Ferdinand Freiligrath. In 1850, two versions ap ...
.'' Her performances have exceeded a million views on that medium. Igoshina speaks fluent English, French and Russian.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Igoshina, Valentina
1978 births
José Iturbi International Piano Competition prize-winners
Living people
Russian classical pianists
Russian women pianists
Women classical pianists
21st-century classical pianists
21st-century women pianists