Yuri Rozum has been hailed as one of today’s brilliant virtuosos, “genius of a pianist”, “the staggering technical mastery” of whose performances is "dazzling”, always “sparkling and intense” and full of “what is often called a Russian soul”.

“Yuri Rozum is a wonderful talent.”

Vladimir Ashkenazy, Conductor

Yuri Rozum was born in Moscow into a family of musicians. His father was a famous baritone, and his mother was the conductor of the Russian Academic Folk Choir and Professor of the Moscow Gnessin’s Music Academy. When her son was still very young, it was Yuri’s mother who discovered that he had a perfect absolute and relative pitch.  This unusual natural musical talent led to Yuri’s enrollment in the Central Music School of the famous Moscow Conservatory at the early age of seven. Yuri had a wonderful start to his career coming first in the piano entrance exams at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatoire. His teachers were Lev Naumov and Yevgeni Malinin - favourite pupils and assistants of the legendary Heinrich Neuhaus. Such future celebrities as Ivo Pogorelitch and Andrei Gavrilov also studied with them alongside Yuri. In addition Yuri took classes with Valery Afanassiev, Lazar Berman and Bella Davidovich at various stages of his musical education. 

“Yuri Rozum is a wonderful musician, representative of Neuhaus pianistic school. He is a brilliant professional,a mature master and his fame of an outstanding performer is well-deserved.”

Professor Lev Naumov, Moscow Conservatoire

At the age of 14 Yuri Rozum started to become interested in philosophy. He says that one of the philosophers who had the greatest influence on him was the religious philosopher Nikolai Berdyayev, who was expelled from Russia in 1922 and died in exile in Paris in 1948.  Berdyayev’s thinking was characterized by a Christian mysticism that placed greater value on freedom of the spirit and love than on mere human existence. It was this spirit, he believed, that found active expression as a divine element in creative and inspired human beings.  Yuri started to go to church and lived an ascetic life, reading the works of Indian philosophers and immersing himself in yoga.  Fully aware of the risk of endangering his position at the Conservatory and even his personal freedom, Yuri secretly read the works of Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who had been banished to Kazakhstan “forever” in 1953.

Yuri Rozum’s philosophical and religious studies exerted a deep and far-reaching influence on his musical understanding.  His playing absorbs him completely, demanding the utmost concentration.  It is as if the divine element that Berdyayev speaks about enters the auditorium through the music.  Yuri’s audiences don’t rustle their programs, clear their throats or whisper - they listen with rapt attention.  His enormous power of concentration always casts a spell over the audience, so that the press has even written about the “hypnotic effect” of his playing.  Yuri Rozum realized early in his life that not only sentiment, passion and power are to be found in musical performance, but also nuance of expression, melancholy, creative energy as well as freedom and profundity – qualities that today he continues to draw from Russian mysticism.

“Those who don’t know or haven’t heard Yuri Rozum haven’t lived yet.”

Rudolf Prince von Sayn-Wittgenstein

Yuri was considered one of the most talented and promising students and in 1975 at the age of 21 was selected to participate in the Queen Elizabeth Piano Competition in Brussels. However, the Soviet authorities refused to give the necessary permission for religious and political reasons.  This restriction was then followed up by the so-called “political correction” of this young man in search of his identity.  Yuri Rozum was drafted into the military and which meant that for 18 months he was not able to play a single note on the piano.  By the time his military career was over he had fallen far behind and had to learn to somehow get by on his own, because the concert agency operated by the Russian state boycotted him.  

Winner of International Competitions

Nonetheless, the years of imposed silence and boycott were gradually succeeded by a change in official policy.  It was not until several years later that the young pianist was allowed to travel abroad.  Once that barrier was raised Yuri became a prize-winner of numerous international competitions and festivals, among them the Queen Sofia International Piano Competition in Madrid in 1979, the Barcelona International Piano Competition in 1980 (First Prize and Gold Medal), the Montreal International Music Competition in 1984 (Second Prize), Pleven International Laureate Festival (Gold Medal), Tokyo International Music Competition in 1983 and others.

Despite his evident success the talented pianist was only allowed to perform in Eastern Europe. And it was not until the beginning of the ‘90s after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the newly acquired freedom of travel that Yuri Rozum’s name became well-known in the West. Since that time his career has developed from strength to strength.

Yuri Rozum at the piano - concert in Australia  

Father: Alexander Rozum, People's Artist of Russia, famous baritone

Mother:  Galina             Rozhdestvenskaya People's Artist of Russia, Professor of  the Moscow Gensins' Academy of Music and Conductor of the Russian Academic  Folk Choir

Yuri Rozum with Mikhail Gorbachev in Bremen, Germany in 2006

Yuri Rozum with Mikhail Gorbachev at the anniversary concert "Yuri Rozum - 25 years on the stage", Moscow, 2004.

Yuri says, “I always wanted to play for Mikhail Gorbachev, the man who made my international music career possible, and wanted to say “Thank you” for what he did for me and everybody else in Russia”. 

This dream came true in December 2003.  Yuri Rozum  dedicated his performance to Mikhail Gorbachev, Russia’s first democratic President.

International performances

Yuri Rozum has performed in solo recitals and concerts with many leading international orchestras at many prestigious concert halls, including the Grand Hall of Moscow Conservatoire, Moscow International Performance Arts Centre “Dom Muzyki”, Moscow Tchaikovsky Hall, Gewandhaus in Leipzig, “Glocke” Theatre in Bremen, Teatro Real in Madrid, Palau de la Musica in Barcelona, Bunka Kaikan in Tokyo, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires and many others. 

In May 2003 for the first time in the history of the Russian Federation Government House, “the White House” in Moscow its main hall became a venue of the solo piano recital performed by Yuri Rozum.

Yuri Rozum’s regular festival appearances include “Russian Winter” Music Festival, “Moscow Stars” Festival, “Christmas Evenings” Festival (Moscow) organised by Russian Cultural Foundation, Colorado Music Festival (USA), Portland Piano Seria (USA), Rheingau Music Festival (Germany), Seiler International Music Festival (Germany), Festival Frédéric Chopin A Valldemossa (Spain), Melbourne Festival (Australia), and others.

Recordings

Yuri Rozum has recorded 13 CDs of music by Russian and European composers. Yuri’s first LP featuring works by Albeniz and De Falla was recorded after he won the Hazem-Yamaha Prize for the best interpretation of Spanish Music (Melodiya Records). Since then he made numerous recordings of solo piano repertoire by Liszt, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov (Mediaphon, Germany), and concerto recordings, including Rachmaninov’s 1st and 2nd piano concertos (Mediaphon) and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Beethoven’s 3rd Piano Concerto and Tchaikovsky’s 1st Piano Concerto (Move, Australia). Yuri takes a profound interest in chamber music performing with Trio Passionato and chamber orchestras.  The Trio made a recording of the Tchaikovsky Piano Trio released by Haenssler. Following acclaimed chamber concerts in Australia Yuri Rozum’s recording of Beethoven’s and Schubert’s Cello and Piano Sonatas was released by OZ Classics.  The latest release by Mediaphon is “Auf schwarzen und weissen Tasten (“On black and white keys”), Live in Bremen” – a live recording of Yuri’s recital of piano works by Liszt, Tchaikovsky and Chopin (2006).

Masterclasses

In addition to his career as a soloist Yuri Rozum gives regular series of Masterclasses at a number of leading Universities in the United States, including University of Oregon, Portland University, Springfield University and Connecticut College, at the Monash University in Melbourne (Australia), Fischer Music Academy (Germany), Music Academy of Oslo (Norway) and at many Music Colleges throughout Russia.  His master-classes are tremendously popular among students and tutors alike.  One of the music and arts schools for children in the Moscow region was recently named after Yuri Rozum.

For a number of years Yuri was Professor of Music at the Fischer Music Academy and also at the Monash University in Melbourne. Yuri has been a respected juror of international music competitions in Russia and Seiler International Piano Competitions (Germany).

Yuri has a long-standing creative relationship with piano manufacturers Fazioli, Bechstein and Seiler.

After a long period of silence, Yuri Rozum was officially recognised by the authorities at home. For his outstanding contribution to the musical life of Russia he was awarded a medal of the Supreme Soviet and a title of the “People's Honoured Artist of Russia” (2001) by President Putin.  A poll taken by the Moscow news media has placed him in the list of the Top Ten Classical Musicians in Russia.

Important Developments

• In July 2004 by the decision of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences Yuri Rozum became Fellow of the Academy in the Arts and Humanities section.

• In 2004 one of Music and Arts schools for Children in the Moscow region was named after Yuri Rozum.

• On the initiative of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences and Moscow Regional Music and Arts School for Children named after Yuri Rozum “The Yuri Rozum International Charitable Foundation” was officially set up in April 2005.

• The 1^st  International Music Festival organised by the Yuri Rozum Charitable Foundation was held in June 2005. 

• The 4th International Music Festival was held in April 2008 to full houses and a lot of resonance in the mass media.  It will now become the annual event in the cultural calendar.

• Between 2005 and 2007 the Yuri Rozum Charitable Foundation awarded over 200 grants and scholarships to talented young musicians.  Although still very young and only starting its work the Charity now has 52 scholarship holders aged between 9 and 17.

• In June 2005 Yuri Rozum played a solo recital at the Berlin Arena at the concert dedicated to the 20^th Anniversary of perestroika in the presence of Mikhail Gorbachev.  As Mikhail Gorbachev said in his speech, Yuri Rozum’s life is a perfect example of how Russian artists and musicians benefited from the achievements of perestroika. 

• In March 2006 Yuri Rozum was chosen to perform as a soloist with the Bremen Philharmonic Orchestra at the prestigious “Glocke” Theatre in Bremen at the charity festive concert dedicated to the 75^th birthday of Mikhail Gorbachev, who was a guest of honour.  The concert was broadcast live in Europe by 3Sat TV channel.

Awards

Yuri Rozum received numerous awards for his cultural achievements, among them:

·         Medal of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR “Labour Valour” (1986)

·         Order of “Peter the Great of the 1^st Degree” (2005)

·         Order “Service to the Art” (2005)

·         Order the “Knight of Science and Arts” (2005)

·         Award "For Preservation of Cultural Heritage" (2007)

·         Order of Dyagelev  “For Contribution to Culture” of 2nd degree (2008)