Marschev Oleg

Biography

The British music magazine The Gramophone praised Oleg Marshev’s recordings of Prokofiev’s music as “one of the most distinguished and passionate performances ever released on CD.” His interpretation of the War Trilogy earned the prestigious Classic CD Choice award, ahead of legends such as Richter, Berman, and Ashkenazy.

Oleg Marshev was born in Baku, former USSR, where he studied at the Gnesin School for gifted children under Valentina Aristova, and later at the Moscow Conservatory under Mikhail Voskresensky, graduating with distinction in 1988. Marshev is a direct representative of the fifth generation of the Russian piano school, tracing its roots from Liszt through Alexander Siloti, Konstantin Igumnov, and Lev Oborin (Voskresensky’s teacher). He has lived in Italy since 1991.

He is a prizewinner of several international piano competitions in Canada, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and the USA, including four first prizes. These achievements firmly established him as one of the most talented Russian pianists of his generation.

In 1991, Marshev made his New York debut with a highly acclaimed recital at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. The following year, he performed at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, leading to many further invitations to this prestigious venue. Since then, he has performed worldwide—from Canada to New Zealand—and collaborated with orchestras such as the London Philharmonic at prestigious venues and festivals including Wigmore Hall, the Royal Festival Hall in London, the G. Verdi Conservatory in Milan, Sala Cecília Meireles in Rio de Janeiro, the “A.B. Michelangeli Festival” in Italy, Ruhr Piano Festival in Germany, and La Roque d’Anthéron Festival in France.

In addition to his concert career, Marshev gives masterclasses across the globe and is currently a professor at Anton Bruckner University in Linz, Austria.

Marshev's first major recording project was the complete solo piano works of Prokofiev (5 CDs) for Danacord Records. Since then, he has recorded over 50 CDs for the label, featuring music by Schubert, Brahms, Strauss, Rubinstein, Rachmaninov, and others. Particularly noteworthy is his world-premiere recording of the complete piano works of Emil von Sauer in six volumes. Demonstrating his passion for lesser-known repertoire, he also recorded four CDs of Danish Romantic piano concertos. Marshev is considered the first pianist to have recorded the complete works for piano and orchestra by the “Great Russian Four” – Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich. Other milestone projects include the complete works for piano and orchestra by Chopin (2 CDs) and Mendelssohn (4 CDs). In recent years, he released new recordings including the complete piano sonatas of Brahms and the complete works of Maurice Ravel on three CDs.

All of Marshev’s recordings have been highly praised by leading international publications. The BBC Music Magazine described his Shostakovich concertos recording as follows: “Marshev is a phenomenal master, achieving the finest transparency with ease, conjuring images of terrifying monsters – all under the sensitive control of mind and soul.”

In 2022, Oleg Marshev served as a jury member for the international music competition “Sounds of the Land of Fire” held in Vienna.