Lazar Berman

Lazar Naumovich Berman (26 February 1930 – 6 February 2005) was a Soviet-born classical pianist distinguished by his extraordinary technical command and sonorous interpretations of Romantic repertoire, above all the works of Franz Liszt and Sergei Rachmaninoff. Born in Leningrad, he received initial piano instruction from his mother, Anna Makhover, starting at age two, and subsequently trained under instructors including Samary Savshinsky at the Leningrad Conservatory.

Berman achieved early acclaim within the Soviet Union through competition victories, including first prize at the 1956 Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition in Brussels and recognition at the Franz Liszt Competition that year. Despite domestic success, restricted opportunities under Soviet restrictions prompted his departure from the USSR in 1971, leading to Western debuts that showcased his formidable technique and earned him sobriquets such as "the world's greatest living pianist" from promoters. His 1977 recording of Liszt's Transcendental Études received the Franz Liszt Prize, underscoring his preeminence in that composer's oeuvre, while his renditions of Rachmaninoff exemplified the opulent, late-Romantic pianistic tradition.

Lazar Berman was born on February 26, 1930, in Leningrad, Soviet Union, to Jewish parents Naum Berman, an engineer, and Anna Lazarevna Makhover, an amateur pianist whose hearing loss eventually prevented her from playing. His mother provided his initial piano instruction starting at age two, fostering an early affinity for the instrument amid the cultural emphasis on classical music in Soviet society, though Jewish families like his faced growing antisemitic restrictions under Stalin's regime.

His first public performances occurred around age nine in 1939, coinciding with the family's relocation to Moscow to pursue advanced opportunities, a move influenced by his emerging abilities and the centralized Soviet music establishment's resources despite ethnic barriers. This early phase underscored the dual influences of familial nurturing and the state's promotion of virtuosic talent, tempered by the precarious status of Jewish intellectuals in the USSR.