Viktoria Valentinovna Postnikova (Russian: Виктория Валентиновна Постникова; born 12 January 1944) is a
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
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 ...
.
Biography
Postnikova was born in Moscow into a family of musicians. She entered the Central Music School of 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 ...
at age six, studying with E.B. Musaelian. She graduated in 1967, having studied there and in postgraduate courses with Professor
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 ...
. In 1965, she received an honorable mention at the
VII International Chopin Piano Competition
The VII International Chopin Piano Competition ( pl, VII Międzynarodowy Konkurs Pianistyczny im. Fryderyka Chopina) was held from 21 February to 16 March 1965 in Warsaw. The competition was won by Martha Argerich of Argentina, becoming the fir ...
. She subsequently also won prizes at the
Leeds International Piano Competition
The Leeds International Piano Competition, informally known as The Leeds and formerly the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition, takes place every three years in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1961 by Marion, Countess ...
in England, the
Vianna da Motta International Music Competition
The Vianna da Motta International Music Competition was first constituted in 1957 in Lisbon in honor of José Vianna da Motta by his disciple Sequeira Costa, who remains its president; this inaugural edition was won by Naum Shtarkman. The competi ...
in
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
, and the Fourth
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.
Her repertoire is extremely broad. She took part in concerts, recordings and recitals at home and abroad with her conductor husband
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 ...
, whom she married in 1969. He died in June 2018. Their son, Sasha Rozhdestvensky, is a violinist.
Recordings
Postnikova has recorded all three Tchaikovsky concertos for
Decca Decca may refer to:
Music
* Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label
* Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group
* Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label
* Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...
; the
Busoni Piano Concerto along with the complete piano music of Tchaikovsky,
Janáček, and
Glinka for
Erato
In Greek mythology, Erato (; grc, Ἐρατώ) is one of the Greek Muses, which were inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. The name would mean "desired" or "lovely", if derived from the same root as Eros, as Apollonius o ...
; violin sonatas by
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...
and Busoni for
Chandos; and the complete piano concertos of Brahms, Chopin, and
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 ...
among many other recordings for
Melodiya
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 ...
.
Notes
Further reading
*Loppert, Max, ed. Stanley Sadie, "Postnikova, Victoria
iktoria(Valentinova)", ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', First edition (London: Macmillan, 1980). .
*Liner note with Viktoria Postnikova: M
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 ...
, Pictures at an Exhibition, Pieces for Piano, Melodiya MA00009
External links
Rayfield Allied profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Postnikova, Viktoria
Russian classical pianists
Russian women pianists
Soviet classical pianists
20th-century classical pianists
1944 births
Living people
Prize-winners of the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition
Prize-winners of the International Chopin Piano Competition
Prize-winners of the International Tchaikovsky Competition
21st-century classical pianists
20th-century Russian musicians
20th-century Russian women musicians
21st-century Russian musicians
Women classical pianists
20th-century women pianists
21st-century women pianists