Vladimir Krainev (; 1 April 1944 – 29 April 2011) was a Russian pianist and professor of

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. The term is confusingly used to translate two Russian language titles: Народный арти ...

Biography

Krainev was born in

Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yenisey, Yenisey River, and is the second-largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk, with a p ...

, the son of musician Vsevolod Krainev and pediatrician Rachil Gerschoig. He studied at the Central School of the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory () is a higher musical educational institution located in Moscow, Russia. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in musical performance and musical research. Th ...

in the class of Anaida Sumbatyan, and also studied at the Conservatory in the classes of Heinrich Neuhaus, and his son, Stanislav Neuhaus. After winning second prize at the Leeds International Piano Competition and first prize at the Vianna da Motta International Music Competition (ex-aequo with

Nelson Freire Nelson José Pinto Freire (; 18 October 19441 November 2021) was a Brazilian classical pianist. Regarded as one of the greatest pianists of his generation, he was noted for his "decorous piano playing" and "interpretive depth". His extensive di ...

), and especially after his victory at 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 ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

(first prize ex-aequo with John Lill), his career as a pianist began. He performed with some of the world's leading orchestras and conductors, and collaborated with renowned artists throughout the world.

Alfred Schnittke Alfred Garrievich Schnittke (24 November 1934 – 3 August 1998) was a Russian composer. Among the most performed and recorded composers of late 20th-century classical music, he is described by musicologist Ivan Moody (composer), Ivan Moody as a ...

dedicated one of his piano concertos to him. International music festivals known as "The Invitation of Vladimir Krainev" were held each year in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

, and

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, and concerts called "Vladimir Krainev: his Friends and Pupils" were given annually at the Moscow Conservatory. Krainev was a jury member of many international piano competitions, for instance:

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, Lisbon, and

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, as well as the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Vladimir Krainev was a professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in

Hannover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, Germany, where 29 young pianists from the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, Germany,

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, Ukraine, and other countries studied with him. Among his students were Katia Skanavi, Vladimir Sverdlov, Igor Tchetuev, Aglika Genova and Liuben Dimitrov, Pascal Godart, Alexandre Moutouzkine, Irma Issakadze, Denys Proshayev, Hisako Kawamura, Dong-Min Lim, Ilya Rashkovsky, Mariya Kim, Ingmar Lazar, Gintaras Januševičius, Paul Kern, Lin Ye, Chun-Chieh Yen, and Sun Ho Lee. In 1992, Krainev organized the first international competition of young pianists in

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

, Ukrain

He lived in

, Germany, and was married to Tatiana Tarasova, a renowned

figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympi ...

coach, who trained the winners of nine Olympic gold medal

On 29 April 2011 Krainev died in his house in Hannover, aged 67.

References

* ''International Who's Who in Music'', 14th ed. 1994–95.

External links

Genealogy on Pianists Corner
Russian male classical pianists 1944 births 2011 deaths Musicians from Krasnoyarsk Academic staff of the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover Moscow Conservatory alumni Prize-winners of the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition Prize-winners of the International Tchaikovsky Competition 20th-century Russian classical pianists Jewish classical pianists {{Russia-classical-pianist-stub