Igor Mikhaylovich Zhukov (31 August 1936 – 26 January 2018) was a Russian pianist, conductor and sound engineer.
Zhukov was born in
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...
in 1936 but his family moved to
Moscow
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 ...
in the following year. Four years later, they were evacuated to
Vyatka (then known as Kirov) as a result of the Second World War. After the war, they returned to Moscow, where Zhukov studied at the
Conservatory in 1955, studying first with
Emil Gilels
Emil Grigoryevich Gilels ( Russian: Эми́ль Григо́рьевич Ги́лельс; 19 October 1916 – 14 October 1985) was a Russian pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time.
Early life and educati ...
and then, in 1955, with
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 o ...
. He graduated in 1960, having won second prize in the
Long-Thibaud Piano Competition in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
.
Apart from a career as a pianist, Zhukov also conducted his own ensemble, the
Moscow Chamber Orchestra
The Moscow Chamber Orchestra (MCO) is a chamber orchestra run under the auspices of the Moscow Philharmonia, a state-run enterprise, formerly under the patronage of the Ministry of Culture (Soviet Union) and now, Ministry of Culture of Russian Fe ...
until his retirement from conducting in 1994, and was the pianist of the long-running
Zhukov Piano Trio which was founded in 1963 and continued performing until 1980. (The other members were the
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
ist
Grigory Feighin Grigory, Grigori and Grigoriy are Russian masculine given names.
It may refer to watcher angels or more specifically to the egrḗgoroi or Watcher angels.
Grigory
* Grigory Baklanov (1923–2009), Russian novelist
* Grigory Barenblatt (1927 ...
and cellist
Valentin Feighin
Valentin is a male given name meaning "strong, healthy, power, rule, terco". It comes from the Latin name ''Valentinus'', as in Saint Valentin. Commonly found in Spain, Romania, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Russia, Ukraine, Scandinavia, Latin America ...
.) The trio was noted for its "Historic Concerts" which featured repertoire spanning the 17th to the 20th centuries.
Zhukov made recordings on the
Melodiya/CBS label, among others (e.g. the complete
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 ...
sonatas). Zhukov also had a passionate interest in recording, and said of himself "I'm the best pianist among recording engineers, and the best recording engineer among pianists."
Sources
* Rueger, Christoph. ''The multiple talents of Igor Zhukov''. Essay included with ''The Russian Piano School Vol 16: Igor Zhukov'', Melodia CD 74321 332142, 1996
External links
Igor Zhukov.info websiteWebsite with a purpose to provide detailed info on Igor Zhukov.
1936 births
2018 deaths
Russian classical pianists
Male classical pianists
Russian conductors (music)
Russian male conductors (music)
Russian audio engineers
Long-Thibaud-Crespin Competition prize-winners
Musicians from Moscow
{{Russia-classical-pianist-stub