Sofronitskii, Vladimir

Sofronitskii, Vladimir Vladimirovich 

Born Apr. 25 (May 8), 1901, in St. Petersburg; died Aug. 29, 1961, in Moscow. Soviet pianist and teacher. Honored Art Worker of the RSFSR (1942).

Sofronitskii studied with A. Michatowski in Warsaw and, from 1916 to 1921, with L. V. Nikolaev at the Petrograd Conservatory. He gave his first concert in 1919, playing in Leningrad and Moscow; in 1928 and 1929 he performed in Warsaw and Paris. In the late 1930’s, Sofronitskii presented a cycle of 12 “historic” concerts. He was a professor at the Leningrad Conservatory from 1936 to 1942 and at the Moscow Conservatory from 1942 to 1961. Sofronitskii’s playing was marked by imagery, poignancy, spirituality, and brilliant technique. His repertoire included chiefly works of Scriabin, as well as those of Chopin, Liszt, and Schumann.

Sofronitskii was awarded the State Prize of the USSR (1943), the Order of Lenin, two other orders, and various medals.

REFERENCES

Del’son, V. V. Sofronitskii. Moscow, 1959. Rabinovich, D.
Portrety pianistov, 2nd ed. Moscow, 1970.
Vospominaniia o Sofronitskom. Moscow, 1970. (Collection of articles.)