Lev Oborin

Born Aug. 29 (Sept. 11), 1907, in Moscow; died there Jan. 5, 1974. Soviet pianist. People’s Artist of the USSR (1964).

Oborin graduated in 1926 from the Moscow Conservatory, where he studied piano under K. N. Igumnov. In 1930 he began teaching piano at the conservatory, becoming a professor in 1935. Among his students were T. P. Kravchenko, M. S. Voskresenskii, E. G. Novitskaia, and A. G. Sevidov. Oborin performed as a soloist and as a player in ensembles—in sonata performances with D. F. Oistrakh and in a trio with D. F. Oistrakh and S. N. Knushevitskii. His playing was distinguished by its conceptual clarity, its sincerity, and its warmth of feeling. His vast repertoire included classical and contemporary music; he was especially successful with works by F. Chopin, R. Schumann, F. Liszt, P. I. Tchaikovsky, and S. V. Rachmaninoff. He was the first to perform a number of works by Soviet composers.

Oborin won first prize at the first International Chopin Competition in Warsaw (1927). He was awarded the State Prize of the USSR (1943), two orders of Lenin, two other orders, and a number of medals.