Elizabeth Gilels

Infobox musical artist
Name = Elizabeth Gilels


Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth_name = Yelizaveta Grigoryevna Gilels
Born = September 30 1919
flagicon|USSR Odessa, Ukraine, USSR
Died = March 13 2008 (age 88)
flagicon|Russia Moscow, Russia
Instrument = Violin
Genre = Classical
Occupation = Violinist, Pedagogue
Years_active = 1935 - 2008
Label = Melodya
Associated_acts =
URL =
Notable_instruments =

Elizabeth Gilels (Yelizaveta/Zinaida Gilels) - (b. September 30 1919 - d.March 13 2008) was a Soviet violinist from a musical family.

Biography

musical family (but neither parent was a professional musician).Her father was a clerk at a sugar refinery, mother was a housewife having many children. Both parents had children from previous marriages. However, due to inexplicable reasons the meeting of Esfira and Grigory Gilels produced two outstanding musicians into the world: Emil Gilels and three years after a daughter Elizabeth, who became an outstanding violinist.

Elizabeth commenced her violin studies with the eminent pedagogue, Piotr Stolyarsky whose star pupils include David Oistrakh, Nathan Milstein and Boris Goldstein.Later she studied with ABRAM ILICH YAMPOLSKY (1890-1956) in Moscow. Somehow history has consigned Elizaveta Gilels – ‘Elizabeth Gilels’ in the West - to a dual role, neither of them directly to do with her violin playing: wife of the legendary Leonid Kogan and/or sister of the eminent pianist Emil Gilels.

"In Odessa, in spite of the hard times, the public enjoyed music very much. All attention was given to musically gifted children. In a modest Gilels’s flat in a poor and famous district of Odessa called Moldavanka there was a grand piano and already at the age of two little Emil showed interest in it touching keys and listening to them. He was also interested in other sounds: performance of brass bands, singing, tolling of bells." [Elena Fedorovich, Ekaterinburg, 2007] Little Yelizaveta, consequently was surrounded by music at an early age.

Early on in her career, she’d formed a youthful duo with her brother before taking a prize at the Ysaÿe competition in Brussels in 1937.

During that year, as the world watched in anticipation one of the most prestigious international competitions of its time, the [http://www.cmireb.be/en/p/5/41/47/east_and_west.html International Ysaÿe Competition] , Stoliarsky students caused a sensation. Top prizes were garnered by David Oistrakh, Boris Goldshtein (Goldstein), Yelizaveta (Elizabeth) Gilels and Mikhail Fikhtengoltz. The Soviet Politburo was indeed riding the propaganda machine to its fullest.

"The results of the sessions created a profound impression: the Soviet school, with an assurance that bordered on arrogance, carried off all the prizes from the first down. The latter was awarded without the slightest discussion to the great David Oistrakh. Everyone else had to be content with crumbs; the Belgian violin school, though still a source of pride, failed, and its absence at the final was much commented on; Arthur Grumiaux and Carlo Van Neste, both young and inexperienced, were not able to convince the jury." [ [http://www.cmireb.be/en/p/5/41/44/50ans.html The Queen Elisabeth Competition] ]

It wasn’t until after the War that she formed her duo with Leonid Kogan – their Bach Double Concerto was famous – and they managed to find and perform some more out-of-the-way pieces, as well as works dedicated to them such as the Weinberg sonata.

From 1966 onwards, she taught at Moscow Conservatory (earned title of professor in 1987).

She was a consummate artist and had a great influence on her students. Elizabeth Gilels has written a Four Ocave scale & double stops studies for violin.

Her list of notable students includes Ilya Grubert, Ilya Kaler, [http://www.stefanjackiw.com/ Stefan Jackiw] and Sasha Rozhdestvensky.

She died on 13th of March 2008, at age of 88 in Moscow, Russia.She is survived by her children Pavel Kogan, Nina Kogan. Grandchildren Dmitry Kogan, Victoria Korchinskaya-Kogan & Daniel Milkis.

Gilels / Kogan Dynasty Continues

[http://msso.com.ru/Kogan_en.htm Pavel Kogan] - son of celebrated [ [http://www.thirteen.org/publicarts/violin/kogan.html Legendary Violinists. Leonid Kogan ] ] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonid_Kogan] Russian artists Leonid Kogan and Elisaveta Gilels, began his musical studies at Moscow's Central Music School and continued at the Moscow Conservatory, where he studied violin with the renowned [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuri_Yankelevich] [ [http://www.classicalmusic.ru/2/colart/art/426.htm The Moscow State Philharmonic Society ] ] pedagogue Yuri Yankelevich. In 1970, at the age of eighteen, he won First Prize and the Gold Medal at the Sibelius International Violin Competition in Helsinki. [ [http://yle.fi/teema/sibelius/index_eng.php?184 9th International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition - Links ] ] Before turning his full attention to the conductor's podium, he toured throughout Europe, Japan and the United States as a recitalist and guest violin soloist with many leading orchestras, including the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He is currently Music Director and Chief Conductor of the [http://msso.com.ru/Kogan_en.htm Moscow State Symphony Orchestra] . [http://msso.com.ru/Kogan_en.htm] Pavel's son - [http://www.opera.ge/eng/news.php?id=418&menu=news Dmitry Kogan] was born in 1978 in Moscow. He began to play violin at the age of six at the Central Musical School of the Moscow Conservatory. In 1996, he began studying at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory with Igor Bezrodny. He has also studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki under Bezrodny and Tuomas Haapanen. His career has taken him to such venues as the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, the Tchaikovsky Hall of the Moscow Philharmonic, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Hall and London's Royal Festival Hall. His repertoire includes all the major violin concertos. [ [http://media.www.dailyutahchronicle.com/media/storage/paper244/news/2001/04/19/RedArts/Kogan.Cubed-69638.shtml Kogan Cubed - Red Arts ] ] [http://www.nashacanada.com/nina_kogan/index.html Nina Kogan] - daughter of two legendary violinists, Leonid Kogan and Elisaveta Gilels. She started studying the piano at the age of six, then attended the Central Music School for Gifted Children. Later she graduated from the Moscow Conservatory, receiving a D.M.A. with honors in the class of professor Flier.Nina Kogan is a top prize winner of the M.Long Piano Competition in Paris.She began concertizing at the age of 12. At 13 she started performing with her father, Leonid Kogan. Theirs grew into a unique [Violin Virtuosos (from Paganini to 21st century) - Henry Roth 1997 ISBN 1-8879395-15-0] [ [http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=1048 BEETHOVEN: Violin Sonata in D Major, OP. 12, No. 1; BRAHMS: Violin Sonata No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 108; FRANCK: Violin Sonata in A Major; RAVEL: Tzigane- Leonid Kogan, violin/ Ni... ] ] [ [http://shop.tbs.com/Product.asp?sku=D41581 Buy Leonid Kogan DVD and VHS – Movie Quotes and Pictures from Leonid Kogan ] ] collaboration that lasted almost 16 years until his death in 1982. During these years she was the only pianist he ever performed with. Nina Kogan performs a vast variety of chamber music and gives master classes all over the world.She has recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, EMISony, Philips, Chant du Monde etc. [ [http://www.nashacanada.com/nina_kogan/index.html nina kogan, piano ] ] [http://www.summitmusicfestival.org/faculty_piano.htm]

She has two children, daughter is a prizewinning pianist, [http://www.piano-e-competition.com/ecompetition/contestantbios/victoriakogan.asp Victoria Korchinskaya-Kogan] and Daniel Milkis is an aspiring concert violinist. [http://www.music.mahidol.ac.th/sayowe/consolo.html]

References

*Elena Fedorovich, Ekaterinburg, 2007
*Leonid Kogan Bibliography - M. Zazovsky, L. K. (Moscow, 1956).
*"Leonid Borisovich Kogan." BAKER'S BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF MUSICIANS, Centennial Edition. Nicolas Slonimsky, Editor Emeritus. Schirmer, 2001.
* [http://www.emilgilels.com/index1.php Emil Gilels in Memoriam]
* Violin Virtuosos (from Paganini to 21st century) - Henry Roth 1997 ISBN 1-8879395-15-0
*В сб.: Музыкальное исполнительство, в. 6, М., 1970, с. 162—193; - Гринберг М., Пронин В., В классе П. С. Столярского
*«Советская музыка», 1972, № 3. - Ойстрах Д., Фурер С., Мордкович Л., О нашем учителе. (К столетию П. С. Столярского)
* Emil Gilels - A Portrait (Biography) by Prof. Dr. Elena Federovitch Ekaterinburg, 2007

External Links

* [http://www.cmireb.be/en/p/5/41/47/east_and_west.html International Ysaye Competition now known as Queen Elisabeth Competition ]

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oz-xqBYmukI Elizabeth Gilels with husband Leonid Kogan on YouTube]

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sme8QfgpBrA&feature=related Kogan family documentary]

* [http://www.musicweb-international.com/classRev/2007/May07/Gilels_MELCD1001116.htm Elizabeth Gilels CD]