Evgeny Kissin’s musicality, the depth and poetic quality of his interpretations, and his extraordinary virtuosity have earned him the veneration and admiration deserved only by one of the most gifted classical pianists of his generation and, arguably, generations past. He is in demand the world over and has appeared with many acclaimed conductors—including Claudio Abbado, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Daniel Barenboim, Christoph von Dohnányi, Carlo Maria Giulini, Lorin Maazel, Ricardo Muti, and Seiji Ozawa—as well as all the great orchestras of the world.
During the 2021–2022 season, Mr. Kissin has performed in Paris, Vienna, Berlin, Basel, Madrid, and other European cities, in addition to returning to Asia and North America.
Mr. Kissin was born in Moscow in October 1971, and began to play by ear and improvise on the piano at the age of two. At six years old, he entered a special school for gifted children, the Moscow Gnesin Russian Academy of Music, where he was a student of Anna Pavlovna Kantor, who has been his only teacher. At the age of 10, he made his concerto debut playing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K. 466, and gave his first solo recital in Moscow one year later.
Mr. Kissin’s first appearances outside Russia were in Eastern Europe (1985) and Japan (1986). In 1988, he performed with Herbert von Karajan and the Berliner Philharmoniker in a New Year’s concert broadcast internationally. Two years later, he made his first appearance at the BBC Proms in London and made his North American debut, performing both Chopin piano concertos with the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Zubin Mehta, followed by the opening concert of Carnegie Hall’s centennial season with a spectacular debut recital, recorded live by BMG Classics.
Musical awards and tributes from around the world have been showered upon Mr. Kissin throughout his career, including being named Musical America’s youngest Instrumentalist of the Year in 1995. Other honors have included the Edison Klassiek, Diapason d’Or, and Grammy awards. In 2002, he was named ECHO Klassik Soloist of the Year.
His extraordinary talent inspired Christopher Nupen’s documentary film, Evgeny Kissin: The Gift of Music.
