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Leonid Kogan | |
|---|---|
 Leonid Kogan in 1960 | |
| Born | Leonid Borisovich Kogan 14 November 1924 |
| Died | 17 December 1982(1982-12-17) (aged 58) |
| Occupation | Violinist |
Leonid Borisovich Kogan (Russian:Леонид Борисович Коган;Ukrainian:Леонід Борисович Коган; 14 November 1924 – 17 December 1982)[1] was a preeminent Soviet violinist during the 20th century. Many consider him to be among the greatest violinists of the 20th century.[2] In particular, he is considered to have been one of the greatest representatives of the Soviet School of violin playing.
Kogan was born to a Jewish family[3] in Yekaterinoslav (nowDnipro), the son of a photographer. After he showed an early interest and ability for violin playing, his family moved toMoscow, where he was able to further his studies. From age ten he studied there with the noted violin pedagogueAbram Yampolsky. In 1934,Jascha Heifetz played concerts in Moscow. "I attended every one," Kogan later said, "and can remember until now every note he played. He was the ideal artist for me." When Kogan was 12,Jacques Thibaud was in Moscow and heard him play. The French virtuoso predicted a great future for Kogan.
Kogan studied at the Central Music School in Moscow (1934–43), then at theMoscow Conservatory (1943–48), where he studied as a postgraduate (1948–51).
At the age of 17, and while still a student, he performed throughout theSoviet Union. He was co-winner of the first prize at the World Youth Festival inPrague. In 1951, Kogan won first prize at theQueen Elisabeth Competition inBrussels with a dazzling performance ofPaganini's first concerto that included an outstanding interpretation ofSauret's cadenza.
His official debut was in 1941, playing theBrahmsConcerto with theMoscow Philharmonic Orchestra in the Great Hall of theMoscow Conservatory.
His international solo tours took him toParis andLondon in 1955, and thenSouth America and the United States in the following years. Kogan had a repertoire of over 18 concerti and a number of concerti by modern composers were dedicated to him.
In 1952, Kogan began teaching at the Moscow Conservatory, and in 1980 he was invited to teach at theAccademia Musicale Chigiana inSiena, Italy.
Kogan, a brilliant and compelling violinist who excelled in both the concerto repertoire and in chamber music, shunned publicity. His career was always overshadowed by that ofDavid Oistrakh, who was strongly promoted by the Soviet authorities. Like Oistrakh, Kogan made a few studio recordings in the West, mostly for EMI. The bulk of his recordings were made in the Soviet Union, however, and their availability outside that country was very rare until the release of the Brilliant box set "Historic Russian Archives Leonid Kogan Edition"[4]
Kogan was made aPeople's Artist of the USSR in 1964, and received theLenin Prize in 1965.
Kogan marriedElizabeth Gilels (sister of pianistEmil Gilels), also a concert violinist. His son,Pavel Kogan (b. 1952) became a famous violinist andconductor. His daughter,Nina Kogan (b. 1954), is a concert pianist and became the accompanist and sonata partner of her father at an early age.
Kogan died of a heart attack in the city ofMytishchi, while travelling by train betweenMoscow andYaroslavl to a concert he was to perform with his son. Two days before, he had played theBeethoven Violin Concerto in Vienna. He was buried inNovodevichy Cemetery.
Many speculate that Kogan played on allsteel strings, though there is not an outright confirmation. While his close associates indicate he played on gut strings except for a steel 'e' string, it is most likely that he used different combinations over the course of his career.
Kogan used twoGuarneri del Gesù violins: the 1726 ex-Colin and the 1733 ex-Burmester. He used French bows byDominique Peccatte. Kogan never actually owned these instruments; they were provided on loan from the Soviet government. Today they are worth more than US$4 million.[citation needed]
Kogan formed a trio with pianistEmil Gilels and cellistMstislav Rostropovich. Their recordings includeBeethoven'sArchduke Trio, theSchumann D minor, theTchaikovsky, theSaint-Saëns, theHorn Trio byBrahms with Yakov Shapiro (horn), and theFauré C minor Quartet withRudolf Barshai (viola). Kogan later formed another trio with conductorYevgeny Svetlanov (piano) andFyodor Luzanov [ru] (cello). Kogan was the first Soviet violinist to play and recordBerg'sViolin Concerto. He also made a famous recording ofKhachaturian's Violin Concerto withPierre Monteux and theBoston Symphony Orchestra for RCA Victor (his American debut recording), a version still considered the most exciting reading of the work[according to whom?]. Kogan recorded violin concerti by otherSoviet composers, including the two byTikhon Khrennikov. With Karl Richter, Kogan recorded J. S. Bach's six Violin Sonatas in 1972.
There are more than 30 albums of his performances on the Arlecchino label. In 2006,EMI France issued a 4-CD box set ("Les Introuvables de Leonid Kogan") containing his concerto recordings for that label, alldigitally remastered the same year.
The EMI Kogan recordings from 1950s and 1960s used to belong toColumbia, who released about five stereo recordings of Kogan in thevinyl record period: BeethovenViolin Concerto (SAX 2386), BrahmsViolin Concerto (SAX 2307), TchaikovskyViolin Concerto (SAX 2323), LaloSymphonie espagnole (SAX 2329) and Leclair/Telemann/YsayeSonatas for duo Violins (SAX 2531). Nowadays, these Kogan records are among the most sought-after records for classical vinyl collectors. For example, the price of the BeethovenViolin Concerto (SAX2386) record soars up to 10,000 dollars in eBay auctions.[5]
Media related toLeonid Kogan at Wikimedia Commons
