Oleg Kagan

Oleg Kagan Moissejewitsch (Russian Олег Моисеевич Каган; born November 22, 1946 in Yuzhno -Sakhalinsk, † July 15, 1990 in Munich) was a Russian violin virtuoso.

Oleg Kagan was one of the most famous Russian violinist of the 20th century, the generation after David Oistrakh and Eduard Grach.

He studied from the age of 7 years, first at the Riga Latvian State Conservatory with Joachim Braun. In 1959 he then moved to the Central Music School in Moscow, where he continued his studies with David Oistrakh, among others. He was the favorite pupil of David Oistrakh, with the soon he shared a private friendship. He soon won numerous awards: When Enescu Competition in Bucharest in 1964 the 4th prize, the Sibelius Competition in Helsinki in 1965 the 1st prize, the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1966 the 2nd prize and the International Johann Sebastian Bach competition in Leipzig in 1968 the 1st prize.

He was married to the cellist Natalia Gutmann, with whom he has frequently performed together. Since 1969 was Sviatoslav Richter regular chamber music partner Oleg Kagan. He founded with his wife in 1990 in Wildbad Kreuth a music festival, which was renamed in his honor after his death in Oleg Kagan International Music Festival.