Youri Egorov - The Master Pianist (Box7Cd) (2008)

Few young pianists in recent years have shown such promise as Youri Egorov. When he died in 1988, he was only 33 years old and at the start of what would have been a glittering career. He was only 22 when he defected to the West while on a tour of Italy, settling in Amsterdam where he died. During the twelve short years between leaving the Soviet Union and the time of his death, Egorov performed in all the major music centers, meeting with great success throughout Europe and the USA.

Egorov’s Warner recordings are presented here in a 7-CD set that contains some incomparable performances, most notably his Debussy, Schumann, and Chopin, composers with whom he was most closely associated. There are also fine performances of Beethoven’s "Emperor" Concerto, two Mozart concertos, and the 1978 live recording of his acclaimed Carnegie Hall debut. Egorov’s approach to the music he played was similar in many ways to that of Dinu Lipatti, another wonderful pianist who died of a fatal illness at 33, leaving a legacy of recordings that can only hint at what might have been.