Samvel Alumyan was a Soviet-Armenian classical pianist and frequent collaborator with a violinist many considered to be among the greatest violinists of what?
Samvel Alumyan Samvel Alumyan (Armenian: Սամվել Ալումյան ; 1941–1987) was a Soviet-Armenian classical pianist, winner of the George Enescu International Piano Competition in 1967 (a prize shared ex-aequo with Radu Lupu). He was a student of Yakov Flier at the Moscow Conservatory (graduated in 1966), later becoming his assistant. He was a frequent collaborator of violinist Leonid Kogan, with whom he toured and recorded. During his years teaching at the Moscow Conservatory, one of his students was pianist Ksenia Knorre, daughter of Vera Gornostayeva, and mother of pianist Lukas Geniušas.
Alexander Slobodyanik Alexander Slobodyanik (Ukrainian: Олекса́ндр Слободя́ник , "Oleksandr Slobodyanyk"; 5 September 1941 – 10 August 2008) was a classical pianist from Ukraine. He enjoyed a prodigious international career spanning over five decades. He made his debut tour to the United States in 1968 which included a recital at Carnegie Hall, which was highly praised by critics, recognizing him as a leader of his generation. Following his American debut, Slobodyanik returned regularly for tours of the United States and Canada until 1979, when the cultural agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union was broken. After a nine-year absence from the American concert stage, his 1988 concert tour of the United States was hailed by the Chicago Tribune a “triumphant return.” Slobodyanik appeared at the world’s major music centers and performed with such renowned orchestras as the Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Kirov Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Orchestre National de France, Pittsburgh Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, St. Petersburg Philharmonic and the Moscow Soloists.