This Week in Classical Music: November 11, 2024. Leonid Kogan. The Soviet Union was obsessed with rankings, which were applied (or assumed) in many areas. Within the power structures, there was of course, the one and only Secretary General of the Communist party; in city planning, Moscow was number one and treated differently than any other city. The same applied to the arts. There had to be a best ballerina (Ulanova first, then Plisetskaya), and even in music, the same rankings applied. After Stalin’s death, Shostakovich was officially considered the greatest living composer. There had to be pianist number one (Sviatoslav Richter), but also pianist number two (Emil Gilels), same for the violin or cello (Rostropovich as cellist number one, Daniil Shafran number two). The ranking among the violinists was this: David Oistrakh – number one, Leonid Kogan – number two. Oistrakh was, undisputable, a great violinist, but so was Kogan, and looking from the outside, these rankings look silly, but such was the nature of Sovietsociety, where fuzzy diversity – whether of ideas or tastes – was not welcome.
November 14th marks Leonid Kogan’s 100th anniversary. He was born into a Jewish family in Ekaterinoslav, now Dnepr, in Ukraine. He studied in Moscow, first in the Central Music school, then in the Conservatory, in both places with Abram Yampolsky, the great Russian violin teacher (Yampolsky was so taken by his talented pupil that, for a while, he housed him in his small apartment). Kogan’s virtuosity became obvious very early, but, unlike many young musicians, he also demonstrated deep insights into the music he played. At the age of 16 he played Brahm’s violin concerto, and at 20, while still a student at the conservatory, he was given the official position of a soloist at the Moscow Philharmonic Organization, the body responsible for managing the careers of professional musicians and organizing concerts not only in the capital but in many other cities of the country. With that, Kogan embarked on several tours of the Soviet Union. In 1947 he shared the first prize at the Prague youth competition, and in 1949 he played all of Paganini’s 24 Caprices in one evening. In 1951 he won the prestigious Queen Elisabeth competition in Brussels and in 1955 he was allowed to play concerts in Paris (at that time, only very few Soviet musicians were allowed to travel to Western Europe or the US, Sviatoslav Richter’s first tour, to the US, happened only in 1960). The Paris concerts were very successful, and Kogan, not well known in the West at the time since most of his recordings were made by the Soviet firm “Melodia” and unavailable outside the Iron Curtain, became famous. Other Western tours followed: South America in 1956, and then, in 1957-59, the tour of North America. As Howard Taubman wrote of his concert at Carnegie Hall, “He left no doubt of the exceptional subtlety and refinement of his art. If the men in the Kremlin will forgive the expression, Mr. Kogan played like an aristocrat.”
Kogan, who loved large-form pieces, also played chamber music. The Gilels-Kogan-Rostropovich trio performed for about 10 years and made numerous recordings. Kogan was married to Elizaveta Gilels, sister of pianist Emil Gilels and also a student of Abram Yampolsky. Kogan died of a heart attack on December 17th of 1982, age 58, just outside of Moscow while traveling by train to give a concert in a provincial city.
Brahm’s Violin concerto was one of Kogan’s favorites. He performed it often, with different orchestras, and many recordings are available, for example, two from 1967, one with the Moscow Philharmonic and another with the Philharmonia Orchestra of London, both conducted by Kirill Kondrashin. We like the one he made in 1959, even if its recording quality is not great. Again, Leonid Kogan plays with the Philharmonia Orchestra and again Kirill Kondrashin is conducting (here).
Leonid Kogan at 100, 2024
This Week in Classical Music: November 11, 2024. Leonid Kogan. The Soviet Union was obsessed with rankings, which were applied (or assumed) in many areas. Within the power
structures, there was of course, the one and only Secretary General of the Communist party; in city planning, Moscow was number one and treated differently than any other city. The same applied to the arts. There had to be a best ballerina (Ulanova first, then Plisetskaya), and even in music, the same rankings applied. After Stalin’s death, Shostakovich was officially considered the greatest living composer. There had to be pianist number one (Sviatoslav Richter), but also pianist number two (Emil Gilels), same for the violin or cello (Rostropovich as cellist number one, Daniil Shafran number two). The ranking among the violinists was this: David Oistrakh – number one, Leonid Kogan – number two. Oistrakh was, undisputable, a great violinist, but so was Kogan, and looking from the outside, these rankings look silly, but such was the nature of Sovietsociety, where fuzzy diversity – whether of ideas or tastes – was not welcome.
November 14th marks Leonid Kogan’s 100th anniversary. He was born into a Jewish family in Ekaterinoslav, now Dnepr, in Ukraine. He studied in Moscow, first in the Central Music school, then in the Conservatory, in both places with Abram Yampolsky, the great Russian violin teacher (Yampolsky was so taken by his talented pupil that, for a while, he housed him in his small apartment). Kogan’s virtuosity became obvious very early, but, unlike many young musicians, he also demonstrated deep insights into the music he played. At the age of 16 he played Brahm’s violin concerto, and at 20, while still a student at the conservatory, he was given the official position of a soloist at the Moscow Philharmonic Organization, the body responsible for managing the careers of professional musicians and organizing concerts not only in the capital but in many other cities of the country. With that, Kogan embarked on several tours of the Soviet Union. In 1947 he shared the first prize at the Prague youth competition, and in 1949 he played all of Paganini’s 24 Caprices in one evening. In 1951 he won the prestigious Queen Elisabeth competition in Brussels and in 1955 he was allowed to play concerts in Paris (at that time, only very few Soviet musicians were allowed to travel to Western Europe or the US, Sviatoslav Richter’s first tour, to the US, happened only in 1960). The Paris concerts were very successful, and Kogan, not well known in the West at the time since most of his recordings were made by the Soviet firm “Melodia” and unavailable outside the Iron Curtain, became famous. Other Western tours followed: South America in 1956, and then, in 1957-59, the tour of North America. As Howard Taubman wrote of his concert at Carnegie Hall, “He left no doubt of the exceptional subtlety and refinement of his art. If the men in the Kremlin will forgive the expression, Mr. Kogan played like an aristocrat.”
Kogan, who loved large-form pieces, also played chamber music. The Gilels-Kogan-Rostropovich trio performed for about 10 years and made numerous recordings. Kogan was married to Elizaveta Gilels, sister of pianist Emil Gilels and also a student of Abram Yampolsky. Kogan died of a heart attack on December 17th of 1982, age 58, just outside of Moscow while traveling by train to give a concert in a provincial city.
Brahm’s Violin concerto was one of Kogan’s favorites. He performed it often, with different orchestras, and many recordings are available, for example, two from 1967, one with the Moscow Philharmonic and another with the Philharmonia Orchestra of London, both conducted by Kirill Kondrashin. We like the one he made in 1959, even if its recording quality is not great. Again, Leonid Kogan plays with the Philharmonia Orchestra and again Kirill Kondrashin is conducting (here).