Evgeny Kissin

He has a wide repertoire and is especially known for his interpretations of the works of the Romantic era, particularly those of Franz Schubert, Frédéric Chopin, Robert Schumann, Franz Liszt, Johannes Brahms, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Modest Mussorgsky, and Ludwig van Beethoven. He is commonly viewed as a great successor of the Russian piano school because of the depth, lyricism and poetic quality of his interpretations.

Evgeny Kissin studied at Gnessin Russian Academy of Music. Training under Anna Kantor is recorded. The recorded working language is English, Russian and Yiddish. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are classical music. Distinctions recorded are Order of the Badge of Honour, Herbert von Karajan Music Prize, honorary doctor of the University of Hong Kong and Echo Klassik – Instrumentalist of the Year.

• Name — Evgeny Kissin • Native Name — Евгений Кисин • Born — 10 October 1971 • Birthplace — Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union • Education — Gnessin State Musical College • Occupation — Musician • Years Active — 1982–present • Mother — Emilia Kissina • Father — Igor Kissin

Kissin was born in Moscow to Jewish parents. Recognized as a child prodigy at age six, he began piano studies at the city's Gnessin Music School where he became a student of Anna Kantor (1923–2021), who was to remain his only piano teacher. At age ten he made his performing debut with Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20 with the Ulyanovsk Symphony Orchestra. A year later he gave his first recital, in Moscow. His talents were revealed outside Russia after 27 March 1984 when, still only twelve, he recorded both of Chopin's piano concertos for Melodiya with Dmitri Kitayenko and the Moscow Philharmonic at the Moscow Conservatory.

Kissin's first appearances outside Russia were in 1985 in Eastern Europe, followed a year later by his first tour of Japan. In 1987, at age sixteen, he made his West European debut at the Berlin Festival as well as his United Kingdom debut, alongside conductor Valery Gergiev and violinists Maxim Vengerov and Vadim Repin, at The Lichfield Festival. In 1988 he toured Europe with the Moscow Virtuosi and Vladimir Spivakov and also made his London debut with the London Symphony Orchestra under Valery Gergiev. In December of the same year he played Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 with Herbert von Karajan at the Berlin Philharmonic's New Year's Eve Concert which was broadcast internationally, with the performance repeated the following year at the Salzburg Easter Festival. In September 1990, he made his North American debut playing Chopin's two piano concertos with the New York Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta and the first piano recital in Carnegie Hall's centennial season. In 1997 he gave the first solo piano recital in the history of The Proms in London. Kissin made regular recital tours of Europe, America and Asia. He has performed with nearly all the leading orchestras of the world, under such conductors as Claudio Abbado, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Daniel Barenboim, Myung-Whun Chung, Sir Colin Davis, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Valery Gergiev, Carlo Maria Giulini, Mariss Jansons, Herbert von Karajan, Dmitri Kitaenko, Jan Latham-Koenig, Emmanuel Krivine, James Levine, Sir Andrew Davis, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Andris Nelsons, Seiji Ozawa, Sir Antonio Pappano, Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Georg Solti, Vladimir Spivakov, Yevgeny Svetlanov and Yuri Temirkanov. He has also performed chamber music with Martha Argerich, Mikhail Pletnev, Gidon Kremer, James Levine, Mischa Maisky, Thomas Quasthoff, Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, Karita Mattila, Dmitry Hvorostovsky, Joshua Bell, Leonidas Kavakos, Natalia Gutman, Yuri Bashmet, Vladimir Spivakov, the Emerson String Quartet and others.

In addition to Western classical music, Kissin has given recitations of Russian and Yiddish poetry, and discussed his admiration for the Yiddish language in interviews about his life. Three CDs of Kissin's recitals from the classical and contemporary Yiddish poetry have been issued by the Forward Association.

In 2018 Kissin's autobiography was published under the title of Memoirs and Reflections. In 2019 his book of poems, short stories and translations in Yiddish was published under the title "A Yiddisher Sheygets". In 2021, his book of short stories and diaries in Yiddish was published under the title "Bloyz etlekhe minut gang" ("Only a few minutes by foot").

Kissin has been an outspoken critic of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In 2022, Kissin and other Russian artists signed a letter against the invasion. The piano trio he composed in response to the invasion was premiered in Amsterdam on 14 October 2022. Kissin was declared a foreign agent by the Russian government in July 2024. In 2025, Kissin stated that he believes Israel is fighting a defensive war in Gaza.

On 10 March 2017 Kissin married Karina Arzumanova, a childhood friend, in Prague, where they live.

Evgeny Kissin is recorded as having received Order of the Badge of Honour, Herbert von Karajan Music Prize and honorary doctor of the University of Hong Kong.