BORIS BLOCH
Ukranian pianist and conductor (b 1951)

Boris Bloch, a stunningly under-appreciated pianist, studied with Tatiana Nikolayeva and Dmitri Bashkirov at the Moscow Conservatory. His playing has been compared to that of Simon Barere and Vladimir Horowitz, which latter said to him after hearing him play, "You are blessed with great pianistic gifts and that is most important!"

Boris Bloch's performance of the Liszt transcription of the Schubert song "Gretchen am Sprinnrade may be the best, most beautifully payed and most profound performance of anything I have ever heard. Every time I hear it, my breath is taken away. My fervent wish is to hear him play Liszt's "Harmonies du Soir, my favorite work of Liszt and a piece that makes palpable one of the all too common expressions of my yout dealing with the hearing of colors and the seeing of sounds.

Boris Bloch's Scarlatti is beautiful to my ear. Some might complain that his performance is not stylistically correct while not noticing that they are being payed on a modern grand piano. Bloch takes advantage of every nuanced capability of the instrument and the result, tinged with a foreshadowing of Schubert, is just lovely.

Boris Bloch is also a fine conductor. Some examples of his art are to be found at the end of this page.

Boris Bloch  Recital

Schubert  2 Impromptus, Op 90
1 in C minor
10:59 2 in E♭ major

Mendelssohn  4 Lieder ohne Worte, Op 62
16:31  1 in G major Andante espressivo
18:59  2 in B♭ major Allegro con fuoco
21:05  5 in A minor Andante con moto (Venetian boat song)
23:51  6 in A major Allegretto grazioso (Spring song)

26:55  Tchaikovsky  "Dumka" Op 59

36:39  Chopin-Liszt  6 Polish Songs, S 480

54:51  Grieg  3 Lyric pieces: "Butterfly", "To the Spring", "Wedding Day at Troldhaugen"

May 29, 2014 in Drahichyn, Belarus