Pianist and conductor Vladimir Feltsman is one of the most versatile and constantly interesting musicians of our time. His vast repertoire encompasses music from the...

Pianist and conductor Vladimir Feltsman is one of the most versatile and constantly interesting musicians of our time. His vast repertoire encompasses music from the Baroque to 20th-century composers. A regular guest soloist with leading symphony orchestras in the United States and abroad, he appears in the most prestigious concert series and music festivals all over the world.

Born in Moscow in 1952, Mr. Feltsman debuted with the Moscow Philharmonic at age 11. In 1969, he entered the Moscow Tchaikovsky State Conservatory of Music to study piano under the guidance of Professor Jacob Flier. His debut at Carnegie Hall established him as a major pianist on the American and international scene.

A dedicated educator of young musicians, Mr. Feltsman holds the Distinguished Chair of Professor of Piano at the State University of New York, New Paltz, and is a member of the piano faculty at the Mannes College of Music in New York City.

REVIEWS:

Vladimir Feltsman...has assembled a rewarding programme of Brahms variations, an idea which might look samey but in practice works very well, thanks to the contrasts between the different sets and the sense of progression towards the composer’s pinnacle in the form, the Handel Variations, Op. 24. The Variations on a Hungarian Song are a good step in that direction, with a final group that builds the momentum towards a climactic finale. The first piece, the Variations on a Theme of Schumann, finds the young Brahms still in musical mourning for the older composer’s tragic fate, several months after the latter’s hospitalisation, and paying tribute also to Clara Schumann. By Op. 24, however, he has claimed the territory of a master for himself.

Feltsman’s playing is frequently magisterial, with refulgent tone and a superbly assured way of layering the textures so that perspective is cast onto the music’s workings, which shine out loud and clear.

-- BBC Music Magazine