Dmitri Bashkirov | |
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| Born | Dmitri Aleksandrovich Bashkirov Дми́трий Алекса́ндрович Башки́ров (1931-11-01)November 1, 1931 |
| Died | March 7, 2021(2021-03-07) (aged 89) Madrid, Spain |
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Dmitri Aleksandrovich Bashkirov (Russian:Дми́трий Алекса́ндрович Башки́ров; November 1, 1931 – March 7, 2021)[1] was a Russianpianist and academic teacher. Trained in his hometownTbilisi and Moscow, he began an international career as a soloist when he won theMarguerite Long Piano Competition in Paris in 1955. He taught at theMoscow Conservatory from 1957 to 1991, and at theQueen Sofia College of Music in Madrid from 1991 to 2021. He taught also as a guest at other international conservatories and he is regarded as a representative of the Russian piano school.[2]
Bashkirov[3] was born inTbilisi, Georgia.[4] His great-auntLina Stern, a biochemist, physiologist and humanist, was the first female member of theSoviet Academy of Sciences. He studied at theTbilisi Conservatory for ten years withAnastasia Virsaladze,[2] then at theMoscow Conservatory withAlexander Goldenweiser.[2][5]
He achieved a first prize at theMarguerite Long Piano Competition in Paris in 1955,[6][4] which opened the way to international concerts, with orchestras such as theGewandhaus Orchestra, theRoyal Philharmonic Orchestra, theIsrael Philharmonic, and theChicago Symphony Orchestra, including conductors likeVladimir Ashkenazy,Sir John Barbirolli,Daniel Barenboim,Igor Markevich,Kurt Masur,Zubin Mehta,Kurt Sanderling,Wolfgang Sawallisch,Evgeny Svetlanov,George Szell,Yuri Temirkanov andCarlo Zecchi.[6][7][8] He playedchamber music with Igor Bezrodny (violin) and Mikhail Khomitzer. Bashkirov became anHonored Artist of the RSFSR in 1968. In 1980, his international career was interrupted by a ban of concerts outside Russia, revoked in 1988 byMikhail Gorbachev.[5] Bashkirov was awarded thePeople's Artist of the RSFSR in 1990.[8]
Bashkirov was a recording artist with the Swiss classical record label Claves, recording concerts ofCarl Philipp Emanuel Bach andBeethoven. He recorded an album with piano music from a Haydn sonata toRodion Shchedrin's Piano Sonata No. 1. A reviewer noted his "often unusual, highly imaginative interpretations", excelling in "virtuosic, romantic-period works, ... deploying lightness of touch and brilliant technique", and playing Schubert "unusually free in both rhythm and tempo".[9] His playing of Rachmaninoff's music was described by a reviewer of theFAZ as of a "bold, sometimes steely elegance" ("kühne, manchmal stählerne Eleganz").[5]
Bashkirov taught at theMoscow Conservatory from 1957 to 1991.[6][8] He also held master courses in connection with the Jyväskylä Summer Festival in 1968-1972 and 1977-1979. In 1991, he moved to theReina Sofía School of Music in Madrid, where he held the chair for piano from its beginning in 1991.[6][10][11] He taught many internationally renowned artists such asDmitri Alexeev,[12]Arcadi Volodos,[13]Nikolai Demidenko,[5] his daughterElena Bashkirova,[12]Boris Bloch [de],[13]Jonathan Gilad,[7]Kirill Gerstein,[12]Stanislav Ioudenitch,[12]Denis Kozhukhin,[12]Eldar Nebolsin,[8]Luis Fernando Pérez,[12]Dang Thai Son,[13]Vestards Šimkus,[12]David Kadouch,[12]Jong Hwa Park,[12]Claudio Martinez Mehner,[12]Bruno Vlahek[12] andPlamena Mangova.[12] He also taught at the International Piano Academy on Lake Como,[7] theShanghai Conservatory, theChapelle musicale Reine Élisabeth in Brussels,[8] theParis Conservatoire, the SalzburgMozarteum, theSibelius Academy in Helsinki, and the Encuentro de Música y Academia in Santander.[6] He was awarded the Grand Cross of theOrder of Alfonso X the Wise in 2006.[8] In June 2019, he was awarded an Emeritus Professor Medal fromQueen Sofia.[6]
Bashkirov served regularly in the juries of prestigious piano competitions, including thePaloma O'Shea International Piano Competition in Santander in 1995, 1998 and 2002.[14] He was juror for theArtur Rubinstein Competition in 1992, 1998 and 2011.[15]
Bashkirov had a daughter,Elena, who is married toDaniel Barenboim.[16] His son, Kirill Bashkirov, is a photographer specialised in portraiture, landscape and sports.[17]
Bashkirov died inMadrid on March 7, 2021, at age 89.[5][18][19]
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