Born: May 1, 1923 - Sofia, Bulgaria
Died: January 7, 2006 - Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France

The Bulgarian born French pianisy, Youri Boukoff [sometimes spelled as: Yuri Boukov], was born of , of a mother professional singer of Russian extraction and of a father naval officer. He began his piano training with with Brzoniowski and Andrei Stoyanov in Sofia. At 15 he gave his first recital in Sofia and won first prize at the National Competition of Bulgaria. He then went to Paris and pursued studies with Yves Nat at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, where he won Premier Prix in 1946. He also received guidance from George Enescu, Edwin Fischer and Marguerite Long. He won many prizes in international competitions, including Geneva in 1947, Long-Thibaud in 1949, Diemer in 1951, and Queen Elisabeth of Belgium in 1952.

Youri Boukoff pursued and international career as a vituoso. In 1956 he was the first European pianist to make a tour to China. In 1964 he became a naturalized French citizen. Although he excelled in performances of works from the Romantic era and Russian composers, he also championed modern composers ranging from Prokofiev (he performed all his piano sonatas) to Menotti.

Source: Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of 20^th Century Classical Musicians (1997); Abeilleinfo Website, English translation by Aryeh Oron (February 2007)
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (February 2007)

Youri Boukoff: Short Biography | Recordings of Instrumental Works

Links to other Sites

Nana Boukoff - Yuri Boukoff (Official Website)
Obituaires de janvier 2006 à juin 2006 (Le Panthéon des musiciens) [French]

Mort du pianiste Yuri Boukoff (abeilleinfo) [French]
LeMonde.fr : Youri Boukoff [French]