right Evgeny Igorevich Kissin (Russian: ????´??? ?´??????? ??´???, Evge'nij I'gorevic Ki'sin ) (born 10 October 1971) is a Russian classical pianist and former child prodigy. He is especially known for his interpretations of the works of Chopin, for whom he has felt an affinity since early childhood.

EVGENY KISSIN TICKETS EVENT DATE AVAILABILITY Evgeny Kissin, Joshua Bell & Steven Isserlis Tickets 7/9 Jul 09, 2025 Wed, 7:30 PM Boston Symphony Orchestra: Andrey Boreyko - An Evening of Piano Concertos With Evgeny Kissin Tickets 4/23 Apr 23, 2026 Thu, 7:30 PM Boston Symphony Orchestra: Andrey Boreyko - An Evening of Piano Concertos With Evgeny Kissin Tickets 4/25 Apr 25, 2026 Sat, 8:00 PM New York Philharmonic: Spring Gala with Dudamel & Kissin Tickets 4/28 Apr 28, 2026 Tue, 7:00 PM Evgeny Kissin Tickets 5/13 May 13, 2026 Wed, 8:00 PM

Biography

Kissin was born in Moscow to a Jewish family. At age 11 months, he was reputedly able to hum along to a Bach tune his sister Alla was playing on the piano. At age 6 he commenced his own piano studies at the esteemed Gnessin School of Music for Gifted Children. There, he became a student of Anna Pavlovna Kantor, who was Kissin's only piano teacher outside of his family. ^[1]

At the age of 10, Kissin made his debut with the Ulyanovsk Symphony Orchestra and the year after that he gave his first recital in Moscow. Kissin's talents were revealed on the international scene in 1984, when he played and recorded Chopin's two piano concertos with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatoire. In 1987, he made his United Kingdom debut, alongside conductor Valery Gergiev and violinists Maxim Vengerov and Vadim Repin, at The Lichfield Festival. In 1988, he played Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 with Herbert von Karajan at the Berlin Philharmonic's New Year's Concert, and he made his Proms debut in the same year. In September, 1990, Kissin made his debut in North America playing Chopin's two piano concertos with the New York Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta and the first piano recital in Carnegie Hall's centennial season. In 1997, he gave the first solo piano recital in the history of The Proms in London. ^[2]

Kissin makes regular recital tours of Europe, America and Asia. He has performed with all the leading orchestras of the world under such conductors as Claudio Abbado, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Daniel Barenboim, Sir Colin Davis, Valery Gergiev, Carlo Maria Giulini, Mariss Jansons, Herbert von Karajan, James Levine, Sir Andrew Davis, Lorin Maazel, Riccardo Muti, Seiji Ozawa, Sir Georg Solti, Evgeny Svetlanov and Yuri Temirkanov. Kissin has also performed chamber music with Martha Argerich, Gidon Kremer, James Levine, Alexander Knyazev, Mischa Maisky, Thomas Quasthoff, Isaac Stern and others.

In addition to music, Kissin has given recitals of Yiddish and Russian poetry. In 2007 Kissin became Honorary Patron of a professional chamber opera company, City Opera of Vancouver, led by conductor Charles Barber. ^{[3] [4]}

Awards and recognitions

• Musical America , Instrumentalist of the Year, 1994
• Triumph Award , Outstanding Contribution to Russia's Culture (Youngest Awardee), 1997
• Honorary Doctorate of Music by the Manhattan School of Music, 2001
• Honorary Membership of the Royal Academy of Music (2005)
• Herbert von Karajan Award, Baden-Baden, Germany (2005)
• Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without orchestra), 2006
• Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli Award, Brescia, Italy (2007)

References

1. The prodigy
2. An ordinary genius
3. Magical music in the mountains
4. www.cityoperavancouver.com