Pianist Evgeny 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 Gnessin School of Music, where he was a student of Anna Pavlovna Kantor, who has been his only teacher.
At the age of ten, Kissin made his concerto debut playing Mozart’s Piano Concerto K. 466 and gave his first solo recital in Moscow one year later.
He came to international attention in March 1984 when, at the age of twelve, he performed Chopin’s Piano Concertos 1 and 2 in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory with the Moscow State Philharmonic under Dmitri Kitaenko. This concert was recorded live and released the following year.
In the years that followed, Mr. Kissin has become known for his musical ability and for his poetic interpretations.
Here’s your opportunity to hear him perform:
