Victor Karpovich Merzhanov (russian: Ви́ктор Ка́рпович Мержа́нов) (15 August 191920 December 2012) was a Russian

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 ...

and

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR ( rus, Народный артист СССР, Narodny artist SSSR), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. Nomenclature and significan ...

(1990).

Biography

Merzhanov was born in

Tambov Tambov (, ; rus, Тамбов, p=tɐmˈbof) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, Central Federal District, central Russia, at the confluence of the Tsna River (Moksha basin), Tsna and ...

and studied at Tambov Musical College with Solomon Starikov and Alexander Poltoratsky. Between 1936-1941 he studied at the

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 the classes of

Samuil Feinberg Samuil Yevgenyevich Feinberg (russian: Самуи́л Евге́ньевич Фе́йнберг, also Samuel; 26 May 1890, Odessa – 22 October 1962, Moscow) was a Russian and Soviet composer and pianist. Biography Born in Odessa, Feinberg ...

(piano) and

Alexander Goedicke Alexander Fyodorovich Goedicke ( rus, Алекса́ндр Фёдорович Ге́дике, r=Aleksandr Fyodorovich Gedike; in Moscow9 July 1957 in Moscow) was a Soviet and Russian composer and pianist. Goedicke was a professor at Moscow Con ...

(organ), graduating with distinction. He achieved international recognition as a pianist in 1945 when he won the first prize (shared with

Sviatoslav Richter Sviatoslav Teofilovich Richter, group= ( – August 1, 1997) was a Soviet classical pianist. He is frequently regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time, Great Pianists of the 20th Century and has been praised for the "depth of his int ...

) at the Third All-Soviet-Union Piano Competition. In 1949, he was placed tenth at the

IV International Chopin Piano Competition The IV International Chopin Piano Competition ( pl, IV Międzynarodowy Konkurs Pianistyczny im. Fryderyka Chopina) was held from 15 September to 15 October 1949 in Warsaw. The first competition after World War II, it was held in connection with ...

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 ...

. Merzhanov became a Moscow Philharmony soloist in 1946. Merzhanov was a professor at the

from 1947 until his death. Among his students are prize-winners of international competitions: Vladimir Bunin,

Oleg Volkov Oleg Volkov (born 1958) is a Russian pianist. Early life and education Volkov was born in the south of Russia in 1958. He began his musical studies at the age of seven, studying in Russian music schools, where he graduated with honors. His studies ...

, Igor Girfanov, Joanna Li, Yuri Didenko, Mikhail Olenev, Hideyo Harada, Lambis Vassiliadis,

Nazzareno Carusi Nazzareno Carusi (born November 9, 1968, in Celano, Abruzzo) is an Italian pianist. A pupil of Alexis Weissenberg and Victor Merzhanov, he also studied with Lucia Passaglia and Adriano Vendramelli. The classical studies with Ugo Maria Palanza and ...

, Tatiana Shebanova, Ruslan Sviridov, Irina Khovanskaya, Anna Yarovaya, Anahit Nersesyan, Elena Ulyanova, Nina Kasimirova (Kazymirova) and many others. His name is inscribed on the Moscow Conservatory's marble wall along with those of

Alexander Scriabin Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin (; russian: Александр Николаевич Скрябин ; – ) was a Russian composer and virtuoso pianist. Before 1903, Scriabin was greatly influenced by the music of Frédéric Chopin and composed ...

and

Sergei Rachmaninoff 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 o ...

. He was also a professor at the Tambov Rachmaninov Institute. During his 60-year stage career, this great pianist''88 notes pour piano solo'',

Jean-Pierre Thiollet Jean-Pierre Thiollet (; born 9 December 1956) is a French writer and journalist. Primarily living in Paris, he is the author of numerous books and one of the national leaders of the European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (CEDI), a ...

, Neva Editions, 2015, p. 126. gave more than 2,000 recitals and concerts in Russia, Europe, the United States, China, and other countries, with such conductors as

Lorin Maazel Lorin Varencove Maazel (, March 6, 1930 – July 13, 2014) was an American conductor, violinist and composer. He began conducting at the age of eight and by 1953 had decided to pursue a career in music. He had established a reputation in th ...

Kurt Sanderling Kurt Sanderling, CBE (; 19 September 1912 – 18 September 2011) was a German conductor. Sanderling was born in Arys, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire (now Orzysz, Poland), to Jewish parents. His early work at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, whe ...

Kirill Kondrashin Kirill Petrovich Kondrashin (, ''Kirill Petrovič Kondrašin''; – 7 March 1981) was a Soviet Union, Soviet and Russian Conducting, conductor. People's Artist of the USSR (1972). Early life Kondrashin was born in Moscow to a family of orchestra ...

, Nikolai Anosov,

Aleksandr Gauk Alexander Vassilievich Gauk (russian: Алекса́ндр Васи́льевич Га́ук; 30 March 1963) was a Russian/Soviet conductor and composer. Biography Alexander Gauk was born in Odessa in 1893. He recalled his first experience as h ...

Gennady Rozhdestvensky Gennady Nikolayevich Rozhdestvensky, CBE (russian: Генна́дий Никола́евич Рожде́ственский; 4 May 1931 – 16 June 2018) was a Soviet and Russian conductor. Biography Gennady Rozhdestvensky was born in Moscow. H ...

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 ...

and

Yevgeny Svetlanov Yevgeny Fyodorovich Svetlanov (russian: Евгéний Фёдорович Светлáнов; 6 September 1928 – 3 May 2002) was a Russian conductor, composer and a pianist. Life and work Svetlanov was born in Moscow and studied conducting wi ...

. His recordings (recorded for the Soviet label Melodiya and subsequently also released by various labels in the United States, Italy and Japan) show his repertoire, including works from the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

period to contemporary music, from works by

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

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 ...

to those by

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 ...

and

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 First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throughout his life as a major compo ...

. From the start of his career he championed

contemporary classical music Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included seria ...

. He was chosen by Prokofiev to give the first performance of his Sixth Sonata. He sat as a jury member in more than 40 international competitions including the Rachmaninov Competition (which he founded), the

International Tchaikovsky Competition The International Tchaikovsky Competition is a classical music competition held every four years in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Russia, for pianists, violinists, and cellists between 16 and 32 years of age and singers between 19 and 32 years of ...

in Moscow, the Chopin Competition in Warsaw, the Bartók-Liszt Competition in Budapest, and international competitions in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

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 ...

and others. In addition Merzhanov was the artistic director of the Rachmaninov Piano Courses and contributed to the Rachmaninov Museum at the

Ivanovka estate Ivanovka (russian: Ивановка) is a village and country estate located in Uvarovsky District, Tambov region, Russia. It was the summer residence of the Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff in the period between 1890 and 1917 (until his ...

near Tambov. Victor Merzhanov died on 20 December 2012 in Moscow. He is buried at the

Novodevichy Cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery ( rus, Новоде́вичье кла́дбище, Novodevichye kladbishche) is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist ...

Notes and references

External links

Victor Merzhanov - A Tribute Website (in English and Russian)

Victor Merzhanov's biography and picture
on

's web site (in Russian)
The Rachmaninov Society's home page

Victor Merzhanov - Russian Piano School, CD

Victor Merzhanov plays Beethoven's Piano Sonatas, CD

H&B Recordings, Beethoven: Piano Sonatas/Victor Merzhanov

Available CDs from www.Amazon.com

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"">Franz Schubert, Schubert">"Victor Merzhanov plays Beethoven, Chopin, Scriabin, and Franz Schubert, Schubert
" A review by Gary Lemco
A collection of Victor Merzhanov's video recordings on YouTube

Victor Merzhanov's obituary

Biography

Notes and references

External links

Further reading