- The Americas, Europe, Asia, United Kingdom, Conductors and Instrumentalists
IMG Artists is delighted to announce the representation of legendary pianist Ivo Pogorelich for worldwide management. About Mr. Pogorelich, The New York Times wrote, "He played each note exactly, with such feeling, such expression. He was an entire orchestra." IMG Artists' Barrett Wissman said, "It is a great honour for us to represent Ivo Pogorelich. I have been an admirer of his work since the beginning and am looking forward to being personally involved in the next stage of his remarkable career."
Ever since his debut recital in New York's Carnegie Hall in 1981, Ivo Pogorelich has created a sensation with his performances in all the great concert halls throughout the world: in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia and South America. He has performed with major orchestras such as the Berlin and Wiener Philharmoniker Orchestras, all the London orchestras, the Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic and the Orchestre de Paris to name just a few. During the 2012/13 seasons, Mr. Pogorelich will give recitals and concerto performances across the globe in Europe and Asia and has a full calendar including recitals in Berlin, Tokyo Suntory Hall, and the Ruhr Festival and concerto dates in Milan, Tokyo, Paris and Munich to name a few.
Ivo Pogorelich has made numerous top-selling recordings with Deutsche Grammophon including the Mozart Piano Sonatas, Bach Suites, Liszt and Scriabin Piano Sonatas, Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.1 and a CD of Chopin Piano Sonata No.2, Ravel Gaspard de la Nuit and the Prokofiev Piano Sonata No.6.
Ivo Pogorelich was born in Belgrade in 1958. He received his first piano lessons at the age of seven, and went to Moscow at the age of twelve to study at the Central Music School and then at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory. In 1976, he began intensive studies with the renowned pianist and teacher Alice Kezeradze, with whom he was married from 1980 until her untimely death in 1996. Ivo Pogorelich won the Casagrande Competition at Terni (Italy) in 1978 and the Montreal International Music Competition in 1980; but it was the prize he failed to win that made him world-famous. At the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw of 1980 controversy erupted when the jury voted to eliminate him after the third round; it touched off a firestorm, sparked by the public resignation of Argentine pianist Martha Argerich in protest. She proclaimed Mr. Pogorelich a "genius" and a group of Polish critics banded together to award Mr. Pogorelich a special prize.
Ivo Pogorelich gives much back to the community by supporting many young musicians. In 1986, he established a foundation in Croatia to raise funds for scholarships for young artists to further their studies abroad. For many years the Ivo Pogorelich Festival took place in Bad Wörishofen with the aim of supporting promising young musicians at the beginning of their careers by giving them the opportunity of performing together with renowned artists. Similarly, he established the Ivo Pogorelich Piano Competition in California.
In 1994, the pianist set up a foundation in Sarajevo to raise money to build a hospital and to provide medical support for the people of Sarajevo. Ivo Pogorelich also gives many charity concerts in support of, for example, the Red Cross, the rebuilding of Sarajevo, or the fight against illnesses such as cancer and multiple sclerosis. One of his aims has been and still is to help young artists by giving masterclasses around the world. In 1988, he was named an "Ambassador of Goodwill" by UNESCO.