Ivo Pogorelich was born in Belgrade in 1958 as son of a musician. He received his first piano lessons at the age of seven and went to Moscow at the age of 12 to study at the Central Special Music School and then at the Tchaikowsky Conservatory.

 

In 1976 he began intensive studies with the renowned pianist and teacher Aliza Kezeradze, with whom he was married from 1980 until her untimely death in 1996. Mme. Kezeradze was able to transmit the spirit and matter of the school of Beethoven and Liszt, originated in Vienna and than carried through to the Conservatory of St. Petersburg, flourishing towards the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century.

 

 

Ivo Pogorelich won the first prize at the Alessandro Casagrande Competition at Terni (Italy) in 1978 and the first prize at the Montreal International Music Competition in 1980. In October of the same year, he entered the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw where, when prevented from participating in the final contest as a soloist with the orchestra, a fierce controversy resulted in the renowned Argentinian pianist Martha Argerich, a member of the jury, protesting and leaving the competition, joined by other members of the jury panel, with the words “He is a genius”. This event drew the attention of the whole musical world to the young pianist.

 

Ivo Pogorelich has recorded an impressive number of CDs with Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft, with a repertory ranging from Baroque to Classic, to Romantic and the music of the 20th century. The cumulative effect of this recorded material has confirmed his status which many see as being legendary. In March 2015 Deutsche Grammophon has released a single box set Pogorelich Complete Recordings with 14 extraordinary albums which has been awarded with the French Diapason d’Or.

 

 

1. Mozart
Adagio h-moll, KV. 540
2. Liszt
Sonate h-holl, G 178

- Intermission -

3. Schumann
Symphonic Etudes Op. 13, including Op. posth