Daniel Kurganov (Daniel
Alexandrovich Kurganov) is an American violinist, violist, pedagogue, musicologist,
producer, and entrepreneur, born (in Minsk, Belarus, in the former USSR) on
November 29, 1986. (Minsk is a city
located about 100 miles southeast of Vilnius, Lithuania – the birthplace of
Jascha Heifetz – and 450 miles southwest of Moscow.) He is well known for (almost certainly) being
the only concert violinist in history to have begun his violin studies after
the age of 12. He is also very well
known for (indisputably) having the most comprehensive violin tutorial YouTube
Channel, which addresses
every conceivable issue having to do with technique and interpretation –
bowing, shifting, legato, vibrato, articulation, scales, phrasing, intonation,
etc.. Kurganov has over 47,000
subscribers on YouTube and his channel is still growing. On other social media, he has a strong
presence as well. As if that weren’t
enough, he delves into related subjects which are fascinating for professionals
and non-professionals alike. One of his popular videos features him
playing the da Vinci Stradivarius violin previously owned by Toscha Seidel,
which was recently sold for more than 15 million dollars. In fact, Kurganov began his YouTube channel
posting (from his collection) old 78 RPM recordings by Seidel.
His teaching and recording projects have been highlighted in The Strad, the most respected classical music
periodical in the world. He maintains a private
teaching studio in the Boston (USA) area but also teaches virtually via Zoom. He can spend anywhere between 10 seconds (!!!)
and more than an hour assessing a prospective student. His family had moved from Minsk to the Chicago
area when he was still a child and he further relocated from Chicago to Boston
in 2011. Besides being a violinist (and
violist), he has something else in common with Nicolo Paganini – he began his
instrumental studies with piano and guitar. Kurganov switched to violin at age 16. His first teacher was Alla Danichkina in
Chicago. Up to that point, Danichkina
had been Kurganov’s piano teacher but she happened to also be a violinist so
the transition was uninterrupted. Having
overcome prodigious obstacles, he made his professional violin debut not in a
concert hall but in a Russian restaurant in the Chicago area, playing violin duos
with his violin teacher in 2003 at the age of 17 – many concert artists are
half way through their solo careers by that age. This brings us to another special coincidence:
Josef Gingold, Albert Sammons, Alfredo Campoli, Joseph Roisman, Manuel Quiroga, Jacques Thibaud, Theodore Thomas,
Vasa Prihoda, Geza Legocky, and Louis Krasner also played in hotels,
restaurants, and nightclubs prior to establishing their classical careers.
(That is a little-known fact.) Among his
other teachers is Rudolf Koelman (in Switzerland), protégé of Jascha Heifetz. Although Kurganov is widely respected for his
achievements and artistry, he has also faced professional bias due to his late
start. (The world of classical violin is
extremely competitive but a quick look at one of his videos – or his CDs - will
quickly dissuade anyone from that biased point of view.) Quite interestingly, it was only his
colleagues who tried to persuade him to give up (since he was starting so
late); his teachers never advised him to drop out. Kurganov has concertized in the U.S, Europe, and
the Far East. He also plays duo recitals
with pianist Constantine Finehouse
as well as in a piano trio. Although he
will spontaneously alter a phrase in the midst of a live performance, in the
tradition of Szigeti and Heifetz, Kurganov
is a rigorous and meticulous violinist. In
that regard, he might be considered to be the opposite of violinists like Ivry
Gitlis, Gilles Apap, and Sergei Stadler, whose approach is rather impetuous,
giving the impression that their performances could become unhinged at any
moment. Kurganov’s repertoire includes
many technically demanding contemporary works but he has said that contemporary
composers need to not “make the violin seem overqualified for the job.” Reviews of his performances speak for
themselves. Outside of the violin and
pedagogic world, Kurganov’s other interests include chess (which almost 100% of
concert violinists play) and photography - as a photographer, he is still
entertaining the idea of having a solo exhibition. Kurganov has also designed a shoulder rest
which may soon reach the market. As we
all know, history has a way of repeating itself - after one unique concert in
Switzerland, Kurganov was paid in gold (after playing for nobility, Mozart used
to be paid with jewels or snuff boxes, Elias Breeskin received a valuable ring,
and Bronislaw Huberman received a violin as payment.) Kurganov has played and had access to
priceless violins throughout his career (violins by old masters like Stradivari
and Guarneri) but his current violin is a modern violin by Andrew Ryan. He has stated that three artists with whom he
would like to spend time conversing are J.S. Bach, Glenn Gould, and Daniil
Shafran (an interesting choice.)
