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Biography Yefim Bronfman

Pianist Yefim Bronfman was born in Tashkent in the Soviet Union in 1958, immigrated to Israel with his family in 1973, and made his international debut with Zubin Mehta and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra in 1975. He became a citizen of the United States in 1989 and two years later was awarded the Avery Fisher Prize, one of the highest honors an American instrumentalist can receive.

Bronfman's first lessons at the piano were with his mother, at age seven. As a teenager, in Israel, he pursued his studies with Arie Vardi, head of the Rubin Academy of Music at Tel Aviv University. In the United States he studied at the Juilliard School of Music, the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont, and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. His teachers included Rudolf Firkušný, Leon Fleisher, William Masselos, and Rudolf Serkin.

Bronfman has appeared with most of the major American and European orchestras, including those of the cities of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Chicago, London (the Philharmonia Orchestra and the London Symphony), Berlin, Paris, and Amsterdam (the Concertgebouw Orchestra), as well as the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. Conductors under whose baton he has played include Zubin Mehta, Lorin Maazel, Esa-Pekka Salonen, James Levine, Daniel Barenboim, Christoph von Dohnányi, and Mariss Jansons, to name a few.

In addition to his performances with major orchestras around the world, Mr. Bronfman carries on a solo recital career, appears frequently in duo-piano recitals with Emanuel Ax, and performs with a wide variety of chamber ensembles.

An exclusive Sony Classical recording artist, Mr. Bronfman won a 1997 Grammy Award for his recording of the three Bartók piano concertos with conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. His discography also includes music of Sergei Prokofiev, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Modest Mussorgsky, Igor Stravinsky, Peter Tchaikovsky, Mily Balakirev, and Anton Arensky. Of special interest are recordings from 1991 of joint recitals in Russia with violinist Isaac Stern. These recordings feature violin sonatas of Johannes Brahms and Béla Bartók and a cycle of Mozart sonatas for violin and piano.

Discography

1980

Library of Congress Music Division concert, 1980-12-12 .

Prokofiev, Serge.
  Sonata in D major for violin and piano, op. 94 bis
Ravel, Maurice.
  Sonate
Bloch, Ernest.
  Sonata no. 1 for violin and piano

1983

Library of Congress Music Division concert, 1983-04-07 and 1983-04-08

Franck, César.
  Sonata for violin and piano
Brahms, Johannes.
  Piano quartet in A major, op. 26

1985

Musicmasters MM20077-20078
Isaac Stern, violin.

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus.
  Sonata for violin and piano in C major, K 296
  Sonata for violin and piano in B flat major, K 454
  Sonata for violin and piano in A major, K 526

Reissue: Sony Classical SK 53972 (1994)

1987

Deutsche Grammophon 423 065-2
Shlomo Mintz, violin.

Faure, Gabriel.
  Sonata for violin and piano op. 13
  Sonata for violin and piano op. 108

1988

Deutsche Grammophon 423 575-2
Shlomo Mintz, violin.

Prokofiev, Sergey.
  Sonata for violin and piano no. 1 op. 80
  Sonata for violin and piano No. 2 op. 94a

1990

CBS Masterworks MK 44680

Prokofiev, Sergei.
  Sonata for Piano no 7 in B flat major, Op. 83
  Sonata for Piano no 8 in B flat major, Op. 84

1991

Sony Classical 46481

Mussorgsky, Modest.
   Pictures at an exhibition
Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilich.
   Dumka, Russian rustic scene in C minor, op. 59
Stravinsky, Igor.
   Pétrouchka: Three movements for Piano - Danse russe

Reissue: Mussorgsky reissued on Sony Legacy Recordings 89615 (2002); Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky reissued on Sony Classical 60993 (2000)

1992

Sony Classical 47183
Philharmonia Orchestra, Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor.

Rachmaninoff, Sergei.
   Concerto for piano & orchestra no. 2 in C minor, op. 18
   Concerto for piano & orchestra no. 3 in D minor, op. 30

Reissue: Sony Classical 89734 (2001)

1993

Sony Classical SK 53107
Isaac Stern, violin.

Brahms, Johannes.
   Sonata for violin and piano No. 1 in G major ("Regen"), Op. 78
   Sonata for violin and piano No. 2 in A major ("Thun"), Op. 100
   Sonata for violin and piano No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108
   Scherzo for violin and piano in C minor (third movement of "F-A-E Sonata"), WoO posth. 2

Sony Classical SK 52483
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta, conductor.

Prokofiev, Sergey.
Concerto for piano and orchestra no. 1 in D-flat major, op. 10
Concerto for piano and orchestra no. 3 in C major, op. 26
Concerto for piano and orchestra no. 5 in G major, op. 55

1994

Sony Classical SK 53269
Lin Cho-Liang, violin. Gary Hoffman, cello.

Arensky, Anton.
  Trio for Piano and Strings no 1 in D minor, Op. 32

Sony Classical SK 58966
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta, conductor; Julliard String Quartet.

Prokofiev, Sergei.
   Concerto for Piano no 2 in G minor, Op. 16
   Concerto for Piano left hand no 4 in B flat major, Op. 53
   Overture on Hebrew Themes for Clarinet, String Quartet and Piano in C minor, Op. 34.

Sony Classical SK 52484

Prokofiev, Sergei.
   Sonata for Piano no 1 in F minor, Op. 1
   Sonata for Piano no 4 in C minor, Op. 29
   Sonata for Piano no 6 in A major, Op. 82

Sony Classical SK 53273

Prokofiev, Sergei.
   Sonata for Piano no 2 in D minor, Op. 14
   Sonata for Piano no 3 in A minor, Op. 28
   Sonata for Piano no 5 in C major, Op. 38
   Sonata for Piano no 9 in C major, Op. 103

Sony Classical 53269
Lin Cho-Liang, violin. Gary Hoffman, cello.

Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilich.
   Trio for piano and strings in A minor, Op. 50

1995

Sony Classical 66718
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor.

Bartok, Bela.
   Concerto for Piano no 2, Sz 95
   Concerto for Piano no 3, Sz 119
   Concerto for Piano no 1, Sz 83

Reissue: Sony Classical 89732 (2001)

Deutsche Grammophon 445 557-2
Shlomo Mitz, piano.

Debussy, Claude.
   Sonata for violin and piano, L. 140
Franck, Cesar.
   Sonata for violin and piano in A major, M. 8
Ravel, Maurice.
   Sonata for violin & piano No. 2

Sony Classical SK 64309
Isaac Stern, violin.

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus.
   Sonata for violin and piano in E flat major, K 380 (374f)
   Sonata for violin and piano in A major, K 305 (293d)
   Sonata for violin and piano in C major, K 303 (293c)
   Sonata for violin and piano in E flat major, K 302 (293b)
   Sonata for violin and piano in F major, K 376 (374d)

1996

Sony Classical 61962
Isaac Stern, violin.

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus.
   Sonata for violin and piano in F major, K 377 (374e)
   Sonata for violin and piano in E minor, K 304 (300c)
   Sonata for violin and piano in F major, K 547
   Sonata for violin and piano in E flat major, K 481

1997

Sony Classical SK 69245
Isaac Stern, violin.

Bartok, Bela.
   Sonata for Violin and piano no 1, Sz 75
   Sonata for Violin and piano no 2, Sz 76

1998

Sony 60689

Balakirev, Mily.
   Islamey--Oriental Fantasy, for piano
Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilich.
   The seasons, for piano, Op. 37

1999

Sony Classical 60677

Shostakovich, Dmitri.
   Concerto for Piano no 1 in C minor, Op. 35
      Thomas Stevens, trumpet. Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor.
   Concerto for Piano no 2 in F major, Op. 102.
      Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor.
   Quintet for Piano and Strings in G minor, Op. 5.
      Juilliard String Quartet.

2000

Library of Congress Music Division concert, 2000-12-18 and 2000-12-19.
Juilliard String Quartet.

Luening, Otto.
   Opera fantasia.
Shostakovich, Dmitri.
   Quintet for strings and piano in G minor, op. 57

2001

Sony Classical SK 61767
Emanuel Ax, piano.

Rachmaninoff, Sergei.
   Suite for 2 Pianos no 1, Op. 5 "Fantaisie-tableaux"
   Suite for 2 Pianos no 2, Op. 17
   Symphonic Dances, Op. 45

2002

Sony Classical 89936 (recorded 1992)
Isaac Stern, violin.

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus.
   Sonata for violin and piano in D major, K 306 (300l)
   Sonata for violin and piano in B flat major, K 378 (317d)
   Sonata for violin and piano in G major, K 301 (293a)
   Sonata for violin and piano in G major, K 379 (373a)

2005

Arte Nova 640100
Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra; David Zinman, conductor.

Beethoven, Ludwig van.
   Concerto for Piano no 3 in C minor, Op. 37
   Concerto for Piano no 4 in G major, Op. 58

EMI Classics 76871
Martha Argerich, piano.; Gautier Capuçon, cello. Renaud Capuçon, violin.

Prokofiev, Sergei.
   Symphony no 1 in D major, Op. 25 "Classical"
Schubert, Franz.
   Trio for Piano and Strings no 1 in B flat major, D 898/Op. 99
   


DISCLAIMER:

This discography was assembled using available catalog records, internet resources, discographies, and other works. Especially included are the performers' Library of Congress concert appearances, the recordings of which reside in the Library of Congress's Recorded Sound collections. Excluded are the numerous promotional and special market reissues of excerpts of complete recordings.

Although every attempt has been made to be comprehensive, some recordings may have inadvertently been missed. Please send any additions and corrections to https://www.loc.gov/rr/askalib/ask-perform.html.

While many of the recordings listed here are in the collections of the Library of Congress, not all are. If you have a question about specific recordings, please contact the Recorded Sound Reference Center at 202-707-7833. All recordings listed are protected by applicable Federal and State laws. The Library of Congress cannot provide copies of any of these recordings without proper permission from the copyright holder(s).