Europe of Cultures - Youri Boukoff

Context

Born in 1923, in Sofia to a family of musicians, he studied music in his town of birth and gave his first concert at 15 years old. He Joined the Conservatoire de Paris in the class of Yves Nat. He met Georges Enesco, Edwin Fisher, Marguerite Long. He won numerous prizes in international competitions (Long-Thibaud, Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, Diémer). This international, becoming French in 1964, virtuoso's repertoire ranged from the great romantic masters: Beethoven Liszt, (of whom he was a specialist) to contemporary musicians: Menotti and Wissmer from whom he created the concerto n°3. Yuri Bukov died in 2006.

Michel Coupard

Transcription

Patrick Poivre d'Arvor

Now, the portrait of a great pianist. Youri Boukoff, a French pianist with Bulgarian and Russian origins. He wanted to honour Bach his way, with a great Bach recital tomorrow by candlelight, so it will therefore be at Gaveau hall.

Yoba Grégoire

A world tour each year, an impressive collection of awards. Queen Elisabeth, Marguerite Long, Diemer, and Youri Boukov all possess the rare talent of being able to interpret the most diverse classic composers with the same ease. After Beethoven and Liszt, this year he's offering performances of Bach.

Youri Boukoff

Bach, which I've tried this time to present a maximum of different angles of Bach's works, meaning, works that were written for a harpsichord or an organ or an orchestra or for thoughts, such as... or then total violin transcriptions like the Chaconne.

Yoba Grégoire

For you, what is the difference between playing a concert in Paris and other cities?

Youri Boukoff

Certainly. Certainly. It's different because, living in Paris, I feel at home, but at the same time I have a lot more responsibility as far as my friends and my audience. This is true for all artists. When they play in their own city, they feel a bit different.