Anatol Ugorski

Anatol Ugorski (, 28 September 1942 – 5 September 2023) was a Russian-born German classical pianist and academic teacher. He studied at the Leningrad Conservatory, and played works by composers such as Schoenberg, Alban Berg, Olivier Messiaen and Pierre Boulez rather than the usual repertoire for Russian pianists. An incident at a concert of Boulez in 1968 made Soviet authorities doubt his political reliability, and they largely interrupted his career for more than ten years. In 1982, he became professor at the Leningrad Conservatory. When his daughter suffered antisemitic harassment in 1990, the family fled to East Berlin, where they lived in a refugee camp for several months. Irene Dische managed to arrange for him to record Beethoven's Diabelli Variations for Deutsche Grammophon in 1991, which launched a career of performing and recording. He became professor of the Hochschule für Musik Detmold, remaining in the post until 2007.

Life and career Anatol Ugorski was born in Rubtsovsk on 28 September 1942

Recordings Among Ugorski's most important recordings are Messiaen's Catalogue d'oiseaux, a recording earning an Echo Klassik prize in 1995, In 2005, he and his daughter Dina Ugorskaja recorded concertos for two pianos, Bach's Concerto for two harpsichords in C minor, BWV 1060, Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 10, and Shostakovich's Concertino in A minor, Op. 94.

Bach: Viol Sonatas BWV 1027–1029 – Yuri Kramarov, viola; Ugorski, harpsichord (1976, LP Melodiya C10 67925-26) Beethoven: Piano Sonata, Op. 111; Bagatelles, Op. 126; Für Elise; Rage Over a Lost Penny, Op. 129 (1992, DG 435 881-2) Diabelli Variations (1991, DG) Messiaen: Catalogue d'oiseaux (2003, 3CD DG) Moussorgski: Pictures at an Exhibition; Stravinski, 3 movements of Petrouchka (1992, DG 435 882-2) Schumann: Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6; Schubert, Wanderer Fantasy, D.760 / Op. 15 (September 1992, DG 437 539-2) Scriabin: Piano Concerto; Prométhée (1999, DG ) Piano Sonatas 1–10 (2010, 2CD Cavi-Music)