Oleg Kagan
Oleg Kagan was one of the foremost Russian violinists from the latter half of the twentieth century. While he developed a reputation on his own, many know him for his collaborations with pianist Sviatoslav Richter, as well as for his chamber music activity with a clutch of Soviet artists that included his first wife pianist Elisabeth Leonskaja, second wife cellist Natalia Gutman, pianist Elisso Virssaladze, and violist Yuri Bashmet. Virtuoso violinist David Oistrakh was an ardent admirer of his pupil Kagan, arranging for him to record all of Mozart's concertos while serving as his conductor in the enterprise. Though Kagan played much Russian music, including works by Shostakovich and Schnittke, he focused heavily, at least in the recording studio, on the Germanic sphere: Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Brahms. Many of his numerous recordings were reissued on the German label Live Classics, EMI, and Olympia.
Kagan was born in the Eastern Soviet city of Sakhalin on November 22, 1946. His father was a physician with a passion for music. Young Oleg grew up in Riga (Latvia), studying first with Joachim Braun at the local conservatory, then with Boris Kuznetsov, who would eventually take him to Moscow for study.
Kagan won first prize at the 1965 Sibelius Competition and second prize at the 1969 Tchaikovsky. After Kuznetsov's death Kagan immediately began studies with David Oistrakh and soon found himself in a circle of friends that included Sviatoslav Richter, with whom he would collaborate in numerous concerts. Between 1975 and 1983 they gave a series of acclaimed Mozart sonata recitals, many recorded and later issued.
Throughout the 1970s and '80s Kagan's reputation grew as he extended his repertory to include Messiaen (Quartet for the End of Time), Ravel (Duo Sonata for Violin and Cello), contemporary Soviet composer Sofia Gubaidulina (Rejoice!), and works from the Second Viennese School.
As Kagan seemed to be approaching the zenith of his career he became seriously ill in 1989. He had several surgeries, but struggled to remain active, touring Europe when he could and arranging festivals. Though his doctors at a hospital in Lübeck, Germany, declared him too sick to be released, Kagan discharged himself to appear at his final festival, in Kreuth am Tegernsee, Bavaria. Shortly after giving two Mozart concerts there, where he had to be helped on-stage, he died on July 15, 1990, not yet 44.
© TiVo
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Richter Archives, Vol. 23: Szymanowski (Live)
Sviatoslav Richter, Oleg Kagan
Classical - Released by DOREMI on Feb 10, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelus & Berg: Oleg Kagan Edition, Vol. VII
Classical - Released by Live Classics on Jun 3, 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Grieg, Szymanovsky, Ravel, Kreisler, Lutoslawski, Shostakovich & Bartók: Oleg Kagan Edition, Vol. XX
Chamber Music - Released by Live Classics on Feb 12, 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Oleg Kagan & Natalia Gutman, Vol. 1 (Live)
Oleg Kagan, Natalia Gutman, Alexander Lazariev, Yevgeny Svetlanov, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, USSR State Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by DOREMI on Nov 5, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Oleg Kagan Edition, Vol. III
Chamber Music - Released by Live Classics on Aug 4, 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schnittke: Concertos
Classical - Released by CDK Music Classical on Jan 1, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert & Shostakovich: Oleg Kagan Edition, Vol. XII
Chamber Music - Released by Live Classics on Mar 29, 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
# 1 Classiacl Isang Yun: Chamber music
Classical - Released by Cascade on Sep 15, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Oleg Kagan Edition, Vol. XVII
Chamber Music - Released by Live Classics on Jan 20, 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert, Schumann & Schönberg: Oleg Kagan Edition, Vol. XXXIV
Classical - Released by Live Classics on Feb 12, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert, Mendelssohn & Brahms: Oleg Kagan Edition, Vol. XV
Classical - Released by Live Classics on Jun 26, 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 5 in A Major, K. 219 (Digitally Remastered)
Moscow Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, Oleg Kagan
Classical - Released by EMG Classical on Jul 15, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Yun: Chamber Music - World Premier Recordings (Digitally Remastered)
Oleg Kagan, Walter Grimmer, Marion Hofmann, Eduard Brunner
Chamber Music - Released by EMG Classical on Dec 14, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Haydn, Brahms, Shostakovich: Sonatas
Sviatoslav Richter, Oleg Kagan
Classical - Released by Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga Musica on Jan 1, 1985
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 4
Classical - Released by JSC Firma Melodiya on Jan 1, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Violin & Viola Sonatas
Oleg Kagan, Yuri Bashmet, Sviatoslav Richter
Chamber Music - Released by CDK Music Classical on Jan 1, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mendelssohn: Oleg Kagan Edition, Vol. XVI
Chamber Music - Released by Live Classics on Jan 20, 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Oleg Kagan Edition, Vol. XXX
Classical - Released by Live Classics on Apr 10, 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart & Beethoven: Sonatas for Violin and Piano. Vol. 2
Oleg Kagan, Sviatoslav Richter
Classical - Released by Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga Musica on Jan 1, 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
20th Century Chamber Music
Oleg Kagan, Lev Mikhailov, Alexei Lubimov
Classical - Released by JSC Firma Melodiya on Jan 1, 1976
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 2, Pieces
Oleg Kagan, Tovijs Lifsics, Latvian Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra
Classical - Released by JSC Firma Melodiya on Nov 12, 2021
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo