- Stephen Kovacevich
Stephen Kovacevich (born October 17, 1940), who has also been known as Stephen Bishop and Stephen Bishop-Kovacevich is an American classical
pianist and conductor.Biography
Stephen Kovacevich was born in
San Pedro, California , to a Croatian father and an American mother.He made his
concert debut as apianist at the age of 11; then, at the age of 18 he moved toLondon to study under DameMyra Hess on a scholarship, and has been aLondon resident ever since, and is currently living inHampstead . In 1961 he made a sensational European début at the Wigmore Hall playing the Berg Sonata, three Bach Preludes and Fugues and Beethoven's "Diabelli Variations ". In 1967 Kovacevich made hisNew York début and since then he has toured Europe, the United States, the Far East, New Zealand and South America.As a soloist and conductor, he is probably best known for his interpretations of the core classical repertoire, including
Mozart ,Ludwig van Beethoven ,Franz Schubert ,Johannes Brahms andBéla Bartók .His international reputation has been built both on his concert appearances, renowned for their thoughtfulness and re-creative intensity, and on the highly acclaimed recordings he has made throughout his career.In addition to his solo work, Stephen Kovacevich enjoys good relations with orchestras as a conductor and by directing from the keyboard. He has directed the London Mozart Players, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in this way. Chamber music partners include
Jacqueline du Pré ,Martha Argerich ,Steven Isserlis ,Nigel Kennedy ,Lynn Harrell ,Sarah Chang ,Gautier Capucon ,Renaud Capucon ,Kyung-Wha Chung andEmmanuel Pahud .He was the third husband of
Martha Argerich .References
* [http://www.vanwalsum.com/artists/sk.php Stephen Kovacevich's website at Van Walsum Management]
* [http://www.emiclassics.com/artistbiography.php?aid=75 EMI biography]
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