Natalia Gutman (Violin soloist)
Among the world’s most renowned cellists, Natalia
Gutman was born in Kazan, Russia into a musical family, receiving her first
cello lessons at age five from her grandfather, Anisim Berlin, a respected
violinist and student of the great Leopold Auer. By that time the family had
moved to Moscow, and the young Natalia soon entered the Moscow Conservatory,
studying for thirteen years with Galina Kosolupova. Upon graduation, she worked
privately with the legendary Mstislav Rostropovich. Another early influence was
pianist Sviatoslav Richter, whom she first heard and admired as “a kind of
musical God” at age 14, and later had the privilege of recording with—including
several works included here at the Classical Archives. Richter himself would
later return the esteem, calling Gutman “an incarnation of truthfulness in
music.”
Her career ascended as a result of several awards from major festivals,
including a Gold Medal at the Vienna World Youth Festival (1959), Third Prize in
the Tchaikovsky Competition (1964), First Prize in the International Dvorаk
Festival (1966), and a Gold Medal at the ARD (German Radio) Competition in
Munich (1967)—the latter in the chamber music category with pianist Alexai
Nasedkin. Following these successes, Ms. Gutman began an illustrious concert and
recording career, performing on all continents with such major orchestras as the
Vienna, Berlin, Munich and St. Petersburg Philharmonics, the London Symphony,
the Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, and many others. Among the celebrated
conductors she has worked with include Claudio Abbado, Bernard Haitink, Kurt
Mazur, Riccardo Muti, Mstislav Rostrapovich, Wolfgang Sawallisch and Yuri
Temirkanov. As a chamber musician, she has worked closely with such artists as
Sviatoslav Richter, Alexei Lubimov, Issac Stern, Elliso Wirssaladze, Evgeny
Kissin, and perhaps most importantly her late husband, the great violinist Oleg
Kagan (d. 1990)—whose influence on the musical identity of Ms. Gutman must be
considered paramount.
While Ms. Gutman has performed the entire breadth of the cello repertory from
the Baroque forward (note her superb performance of the Bach Cello Suites Nos.1
and 3), her greatest focus has been on contemporary works. She has performed
numerous premiers, including several works explicitly written for her by
celebrated Russian composers Alfred Schnittke, Edison Denisov, and Sofia
Gubaidulina. We are fortunate to have performances of both works by Schnittke
and that of Gubaidulina. In recent years, and especially since the death of her
husband, Ms. Gutman has focused much on assisting young chamber musicians. This
includes the workshops entitled “Berlin Encounters” she co-founded with pianist
Claudio Abbado. Further, she continues the international music festival held
each July in the Bavarian Alps that was originally founded by her husband, and
is now named in his honor.
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