Yuri Rozum (born 22 February 1954 in

Moscow, USSR 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 ...

) is a Russian-born

concert 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

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

. Rozum was born to famous musical parents. His father was

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

Alexander Rozum and his mother was Galina Rozhdestvenskaya, conductor of the Russian Academic Folk Choir. Both were recipients of the title of

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 ...

. When Rozum was only age seven, his mother discovered that he had

perfect pitch Perfect commonly refers to: * Perfection, completeness, excellence * Perfect (grammar), a grammatical category in some languages Perfect may also refer to: Film * ''Perfect'' (1985 film), a romantic drama * ''Perfect'' (2018 film), a science ...

, leading to his immediate enrolment in 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 ...

, where he would later study under

Lev Naumov Lev Nikolayevich Naumov (russian: Лев Никола́евич Нау́мов; 12 February 1925, Rostov – 21 August 2005, Moscow) was a Russian classical pianist, composer and educator. Received a title of People's Artist of Russia and was ...

and

Yevgeny Malinin Yevgeny Malinin (8 November 19306 April 2001), PAU, was a Soviet and Russian pianist. Biography Malinin was born in Moscow. A disciple of Heinrich Neuhaus, he began his career while a student at the Moscow Conservatory. In 1949 he won (ex-a ...

, themselves students of

Heinrich Neuhaus Heinrich Gustav Neuhaus ( pl, Henryk (Harry) Neuhaus, russian: Ге́нрих Густа́вович Нейга́уз, Genrikh Gustavovič Nejgauz, 10 October 1964) was a Russian-born pianist and teacher of German and Polish extraction. Part of ...

. Rozum developed an interest in

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

by age fourteen, becoming especially interested in the works of the exiled

Nikolai Berdyayev Nikolai Alexandrovich Berdyaev (; russian: Никола́й Алекса́ндрович Бердя́ев; – 24 March 1948) was a Russian philosopher, theologian, and Christian existentialist who emphasized the existential spiritual signi ...

. From there, Rozum became extremely spiritual, leading life as an

ascetic Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...

and, at the risk of his own freedom, immersing himself in the works of

Alexander Solzhenitsyn Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn. (11 December 1918 – 3 August 2008) was a Russian novelist. One of the most famous Soviet dissidents, Solzhenitsyn was an outspoken critic of communism and helped to raise global awareness of political repress ...

. In 1975, at the age of twenty-one, Rozum was selected to compete in 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 ...

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 ...

. Due to political reasons, Soviet authorities denied his visa and almost immediately drafted him into the military where he would be totally separated from performing on piano for eighteen months. By 1979, changes in policy allowed him to travel abroad, but mostly within Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe. After the fall of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, Rozum immediately began performing in Western venues. In 2001, Yuri Rozum was awarded the title

People's Artist of Russia People's Artist of the Russian Federation (russian: Народный артист Российской Федерации, ''Narodnyy artist Rossiyskoy Federatsii''), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the Russian Federation, is an h ...

by Russian president

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

. Polls taken by Russian media place Rozum within that country's list of "Top Ten Classical Musicians in Russia." In 2003, Rozum became the first pianist to perform a recital in the Main Hall of the Russian Federation Government House. Rozum founded the 'Yuri Rozum International Charitable Foundation' in April 2005, as a means of providing scholarships to promising young musicians as well as the promotion of major annual music festivals. Information about the Foundation at Yurirozum.com

References

External links

Yuri Rozum International Charitable Foundation
1954 births Living people Musicians from Moscow Russian classical pianists Male classical pianists Russian philanthropists 21st-century classical pianists 21st-century Russian male musicians Moscow Conservatory alumni {{Russia-classical-pianist-stub