Lazar Berman, 74; Russian Pianist Known for Energy and Technique

Lazar Berman, a Russian classical pianist internationally acclaimed for his technical prowess and the energy of his performances, has died. He was 74.

Berman died Sunday of a heart attack in Florence, Italy, where he had lived since 1995, said his agent, Ornella Cogliolo.

Berman performed with some of the leading conductors in the world, including Herbert von Karajan and Leonard Bernstein. His recording of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with Von Karajan was considered one of his finest performances.

Born in what is now St. Petersburg, Berman was 3 when he was introduced to the piano by his mother. He studied at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow under Alexander Goldenweiser.

By the age of 10, Berman was performing with the Moscow Philharmonic, but it was only in the 1970s, when the Soviet government allowed him to play abroad, that his international career began.

His 1976 U.S. debut was followed by several international tours, in which he played in Paris, London and at New York’s Carnegie Hall.

In 1980, Soviet authorities refused to let him travel abroad after banned American literature was found in his luggage. He left Moscow in 1990 to teach in Norway and Italy.

Berman performed under the direction of Bernstein, Claudio Abbado and Daniel Barenboim and played with orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

In Southern California, he also performed recitals at Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena in 1978, 1979 and 1987.

Of his 1987 performance, former Los Angeles Times music critic Martin Bernheimernoted: “He brought compelling wit, whimsy and muted sentiment to the delicate moments of Shostakovich’s Six Preludes, Opus 34.”

Overall, Bernheimer wrote that “in a day when pianists tend to be clean, efficient, restrained and impersonal, he stands as a rugged individualist.”

Berman won the 1956 Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition of Belgium, and in 1977, his recording of Liszt’s “Transcendental Studies” for the Melodiya label earned him Hungary’s Franz Liszt Prize.

Berman devoted the last decade of his life to teaching and supporting young musicians. He sometimes performed with his son, Pavel, a violinist.

Survivors also include his wife, Valentina, who is a pianist.