Giorgio Koukl

Last updated

Giorgio Koukl (born 1953, Prague, Czech Republic) with family roots going back to Belarusian noble family of Grigori Minaiev, is a composer, pianist and musical journalist who lives in Lugano, a town located in Ticino, an Italian-speaking canton of southern Switzerland.

Through studies with Rudolf Firkušný, Nikita Magaloff, Stanislav Neuhaus and Carlo Vidusso, Koukl was first introduced to the piano music of Bohuslav Martinů. Koukl, considered now as one of the major world specialists of Parisian music of the twenties and of the "silver age" composers from Saint Petersburg, has recorded the only one existing complete set of solo piano music of Martinů, released between November 2006 and August 2009, a 5-CD set of complete vocal music of Martinů and a 2-CD set of Martinů's complete piano and orchestra for Naxos Records. [1] A series of eight CDs of the complete solo piano music of Alexander Tcherepnin added to his discography the valuations as best CD of the month (four times), best CD of the year (2 times), so as the recordings of Vítězslava Kaprálová, Paul Le Flem (French prize Diapason d'Or), Witold Lutoslawski (first world recordings), Arthur Lourié (first world recording), Tibor Harsanyi, (a project completed in January 2021, all first world recording), Carl Maria von Weber, Johannes Brahms, Alfons Szczerbiński and Alexandre Tansman. Recently he is working on the complete piano and two pianos work recording of Vittorio Rieti.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piano concerto</span> Type of concerto of consisting of a solo piano composition accompanied by an orchestra

A piano concerto, a type of concerto, is a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for piano accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuosic showpieces which require an advanced level of technique. Piano concertos are typically written out in music notation, including sheet music for the pianist, orchestral parts, and a full score for the conductor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Gieseking</span> German pianist (1895–1956)

Walter Wilhelm Gieseking was a French-born German pianist and composer. Gieseking was renowned for his subtle touch, pedaling, and dynamic control—particularly in the music of Debussy and Ravel; he made integral recordings of all their published works which were extant during his life. He also recorded most of Mozart's solo piano works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Isserlis</span> British cellist (born 1958)

Steven Isserlis is a British cellist. An acclaimed soloist, chamber musician, educator, writer and broadcaster, he is widely regarded as one of the leading musicians of his generation. He is also noted for his diverse repertoire and distinctive sound which is deployed with his use of gut strings.

The Hungarian Dances by Johannes Brahms (WoO 1), are a set of 21 lively dance tunes based mostly on Hungarian themes, completed in 1879. They vary from about a minute to five minutes in length. They are among Brahms's most popular works and were the most profitable for him. Each dance has been arranged for a wide variety of instruments and ensembles. Brahms originally wrote the version for piano four hands and later arranged the first ten dances for solo piano.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nikolai Medtner</span> Russian composer and pianist

Nikolai Karlovich Medtner was a Russian composer and virtuoso pianist. After a period of comparative obscurity in the 25 years immediately after his death, he is now becoming recognized as one of the most significant Russian composers for the piano.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shura Cherkassky</span> American classical pianist (1909–1995)

Shura Cherkassky was a Russian-American concert pianist known for his performances of the romantic repertoire. His playing was characterized by a virtuoso technique and singing piano tone. For much of his later life, Cherkassky resided in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruth Laredo</span> American classical pianist (1937–2005)

Ruth Laredo was an American classical pianist.

Richard Wernick is an American composer. He is best known for his chamber and vocal works. His composition Visions of Terror and Wonder won the 1977 Pulitzer Prize for Music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Schoenfield</span> American composer

Paul Schoenfield, also spelled Paul Schoenfeld or Pinchas Schoenfeld, was born January 24, 1947, in Detroit, Michigan and died April 29, 2024, in Jerusalem, Israel. He was a classical composer and pianist known for combining popular, folk, and classical music forms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Jacobs (pianist)</span> American pianist

Paul Jacobs was an American pianist. He was best known for his performances of twentieth-century music but also gained wide recognition for his work with early keyboards, performing frequently with Baroque ensembles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piano Concerto (Dvořák)</span>

The Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in G minor, Op. 33, is the only piano concerto by Czech composer Antonín Dvořák. Written in 1876, it was the first of three concertos that Dvořák completed, followed by the Violin Concerto, Op. 53 from 1879 and the Cello Concerto, Op. 104, written in 1894–1895. The piano concerto is the least known and least performed of Dvořák's concertos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vítězslava Kaprálová</span> Czech composer and conductor (1915–1940)

Vítězslava Kaprálová was a Czech composer and conductor of 20th-century classical music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vox Records</span> Budget classical record label

Vox Records is a budget classical record label. The name is Latin for "voice."

The Martinů Quartet is a Czech string quartet ensemble founded in 1976, originally under the name Havlák Quartet by students of Professor Viktor Moučka at the Prague Conservatory. In 1985, with the approval of the Bohuslav Martinů Foundation, the quartet assumed its present name Martinů Quartet, pledging to promote the chamber music of Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů. The quartet specialises in the works of Czech composers such as Smetana, Dvořák and Janáček, and especially the works of Bohuslav Martinů. They perform regularly at the Prague Spring Festival as well as concerts in many European Countries, the United States, Canada and Japan. The quartet also teaches chamber music performance at two annual chamber music workshops in the Czech Republic, which are open to both amateur and professional musicians.

Miguel del Águila is a prolific Uruguay-born American composer of contemporary classical music. He has been nominated three times for Grammys and has received numerous other awards.

Martino Tirimo is a Cypriot classical pianist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Ivashkin</span> Russian cellist and academic (1948–2014)

Alexander Ivashkin, was a Russian cellist, writer, academic and conductor. He was a professor of music and the Chair of Performance Studies at Goldsmiths, University of London since 1999, the director of the Centre for Russian Music, and the curator of the Alfred Schnittke Archive. In 1996, he published the first English-language biography of the composer Alfred Schnittke.

The Sonatina for Violin and Harpsichord is a three-movement, neoclassical chamber work composed by Walter Piston in 1945, that marks the beginning of his postwar style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brilliant Classics</span> Dutch classical music record label

Brilliant Classics is a classical music label based in the Dutch town of Leeuwarden. It is renowned for releasing super-budget-priced editions on CD of the complete works of J.S. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and many other composers. The label also specialises in new recordings of early music, chamber, organ and piano music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sergei Rachmaninoff recordings</span>

Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff (1873–1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music.

References

  1. "Giorgio Koukl Biography". Archived from the original on 2008-07-24. Retrieved 2007-10-18.