IGOR LAZKO, Piano
Acclaimed pianist and pedagog, Igor Lazko was born in 1949 into a family of famous musicians in Leningrad (St. Petersburg), Russia. His prodigious talent was apparent as a young boy and allowed him the privilege of studying piano with Professor Pavel Serebjakov at a special music school attached to the St. Petersburg Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory.
In 1964 at the age of 14, Mr Lazko became the youngest winner of the J.S.Bach International Piano Competition in Leipzig.
After his success in Leipzig, he continued his studies at the famous Moscow Conservatory in the prestigious class of Professor Yakov Zak. Following graduation Igor Lazko was invited by the renowned Russian conductor, Yuri Temirkanov, to perform as piano soloist with the Leningrad Philharmony.
From 1978 to 1992, Mr. Lazko established a career which illuminated his exceptional gifts as both a concertist and a pedagog.
Following his official nomination as piano professor at the Belgrade Music Academy, he recorded the complete Partitas and the Goldberg Variations by J.S.Bach as well as works by Tchaikovsky and other composers.
His numerous concert tours have also taken him to Russia, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece, Canada and the United States, performing with the worlds great orchestras and as a guest of numerous festivals such as Summer Days in Dubrovnik, The
Evenings of Music in Sombor, The Days of Mokranjac in Negotin, Memorial Days in
Kragujevac, and the days of Music in Herceg Novi (where he also served as artistic director) and in Nanterre, France at the International Music Festival, the celebration of the European Year of Music where he performed almost the entire J.S.Bach piano repertoire.
From the beginning, he was greeted by rave reviews worldwide:
…The evening reached its climax with the interpretation of Igor Lazko, winner of the highly esteemed Bach Competition in Leipzig. The audience rewarded Lazko’s amazing interpreting with ovations!..
(Andrea Bombache, Bolzano)
…Continuing the tradition of the great Russian school of pianism, Lazko presented an amazing technique, using it to express an intelligent virtuosity…
(La Nuova, Venice)
…More than superior interpretation of the encore, Lazko gave us a mirror full of shades, a mirror which reveals the slightest finesses….
(Pierre Schaeffer, Paris)
…His interpretation of The Partita has no equal!...
(Ghislane Guertin, Paris)
…When most musicians let themselves “repose” by playing simple pieces, Lazko chose to present – admirably – Mendelssohn’s sensuous Variations….
(M.Grigorovic, Pravda)
…a pianist we would like to hear again: …the impression we had from the very first pages of the “Goldberg Variations” proved our opinion – here is a great musician and an authentic interpreter….
(La Presse, Montreal)
Mr. Lazko founded the Nikolai Rubinstein International Piano Competition in 1996 and the Alexander Scriabin Competition in Paris in 2001.
He is presently teaching primarily in Paris as Professor of Piano at the famous Schola Cantorum, Professor of Piano at the Ecole Nationale de Musique in Fresnes, and at the Russian Conservatory Alexander Scriabin in Paris. In addition he maintains a full schedule as an international concertist throughout Europe, Russia and North America.
