Ivo Pogorelic
In 1980, a young Serbian pianist, Ivo Pogorelic amazed the world with astonishing performances at the Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, allegedly the most influential piano contest in the world. His energy, technique and expression tantalized the audience.
Much to the surprise of many, he did not go beyond the third round. However, his performances were so compelling, that one of the judges, legendary pianist Martha Argerich, publicly declared him a genius, and left the competition given the unfairness with which she thought Pogorelic had been treated.
And so the legend of one of the most influential and revered pianists of the end of the Twentieth Century and the beginning of the Twenty First began.
This video is straight from one of his performances at the mentioned Chopin Competition. It has become a landmark of musical expression.
If you liked this video watch How a Bach Canon works, Horowitz’s encore in Moscow in 1986 playing Schumman’s Traumerei, or Yo-Yo Ma’s delightful interpretation of Saint Saens the Swan in Tokyo!
Watch Ivo Pogorelic at the Chopin International Piano Competition in 1980: