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The Most Famous

MUSICIANS from Ukraine

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This page contains a list of the greatest Ukrainian Musicians. The pantheon dataset contains 2,662 Musicians, 33 of which were born in Ukraine. This makes Ukraine the birth place of the 13th most number of Musicians behind Netherlands and Australia.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Ukrainian Musicians of all time. This list of famous Ukrainian Musicians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Ukrainian Musicians.

Photo of Vladimir Horowitz

1. Vladimir Horowitz (1903 - 1989)

With an HPI of 69.74, Vladimir Horowitz is the most famous Ukrainian Musician.  His biography has been translated into 51 different languages on wikipedia.

Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz (October 1 [O.S. September 18] 1903 – November 5, 1989) was a Russian and American pianist. Considered one of the greatest pianists of all time, he was known for his virtuoso technique, timbre, and the public excitement engendered by his playing.

Photo of Sviatoslav Richter

2. Sviatoslav Richter (1915 - 1997)

With an HPI of 66.63, Sviatoslav Richter is the 2nd most famous Ukrainian Musician.  His biography has been translated into 44 different languages.

Sviatoslav Teofilovich Richter (March 20 [O.S. March 7] 1915 – August 1, 1997) was a Soviet and Russian classical pianist. He is regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time, and has been praised for the "depth of his interpretations, his virtuoso technique, and his vast repertoire".

Photo of David Oistrakh

3. David Oistrakh (1908 - 1974)

With an HPI of 66.17, David Oistrakh is the 3rd most famous Ukrainian Musician.  His biography has been translated into 44 different languages.

David Fyodorovich Oistrakh (né Eustrach; 30 September [O.S. 17 September] 1908 – 24 October 1974) was a Soviet Russian violinist, violist, and conductor. He was also Professor at the Moscow Conservatory, People's Artist of the USSR (1953), and Laureate of the Lenin Prize (1960) Oistrakh collaborated with major orchestras and musicians from many parts of the world and was the dedicatee of numerous violin works, including both of Dmitri Shostakovich's violin concerti and the violin concerto by Aram Khachaturian. He is considered one of the preeminent violinists of the 20th century.

Photo of Emil Gilels

4. Emil Gilels (1916 - 1985)

With an HPI of 61.96, Emil Gilels is the 4th most famous Ukrainian Musician.  His biography has been translated into 34 different languages.

Emil Grigoryevich Gilels (Russian: Эми́ль Григо́рьевич Ги́лельс; 19 October 1916 – 14 October 1985) was a Soviet pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time. His sister Elizaveta, three years his junior, was a renowned violinist. His daughter Elena became a successful pianist.

Photo of Isaac Stern

5. Isaac Stern (1920 - 2001)

With an HPI of 60.18, Isaac Stern is the 5th most famous Ukrainian Musician.  His biography has been translated into 36 different languages.

Isaac Stern (July 21, 1920 – September 22, 2001) was an American violinist. Born in Ukraine, Stern moved to the US when he was 14 months old. Stern performed both nationally and internationally, notably touring the Soviet Union and China, and performing extensively in Israel, a country to which he had close ties since shortly after its founding. Stern received extensive recognition for his work, including winning the Presidential Medal of Freedom and six Grammy Awards, and being named to the French Legion of Honour. The Isaac Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall bears his name, due to his role in saving the venue from demolition in the 1960s.

Photo of Heinrich Neuhaus

6. Heinrich Neuhaus (1888 - 1964)

With an HPI of 59.55, Heinrich Neuhaus is the 6th most famous Ukrainian Musician.  His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Heinrich Gustav Neuhaus (Polish: Henryk (Henry) Neuhaus, Russian: Ге́нрих Густа́вович Нейга́уз, Genrikh Gustavovič Nejgauz, 12 April [O.S. 31 March] 1888 – 10 October 1964) was a Russian pianist and teacher. Part of a musical dynasty, he grew up in a Polish-speaking household. He taught at the Moscow Conservatory from 1922 to 1964. People's Artist of the RSFSR (1956). His piano textbook The Art of Piano Playing (1958) is regarded as one of the most authoritative and widely used approaches to the subject.

Photo of Leonid Kogan

7. Leonid Kogan (1924 - 1982)

With an HPI of 59.21, Leonid Kogan is the 7th most famous Ukrainian Musician.  His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Leonid Borisovich Kogan (Russian: Леонид Борисович Коган; Ukrainian: Леонід Борисович Коган; 14 November 1924 – 17 December 1982) was a preeminent Soviet violinist during the 20th century. Many consider him to be among the greatest violinists of the 20th century. In particular, he is considered to have been one of the greatest representatives of the Soviet School of violin playing.

Photo of Igor Oistrakh

8. Igor Oistrakh (1931 - 2021)

With an HPI of 58.65, Igor Oistrakh is the 8th most famous Ukrainian Musician.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Igor Davidovich Oistrakh (Russian: И́горь Дави́дович О́йстрах; April 1931 – 14 August 2021) was a Soviet and Russian violinist. He was described by Encyclopædia Britannica as "noted for his lean, modernist interpretations".

Photo of Gregor Piatigorsky

9. Gregor Piatigorsky (1903 - 1976)

With an HPI of 57.41, Gregor Piatigorsky is the 9th most famous Ukrainian Musician.  His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Gregor Piatigorsky (Russian: Григо́рий Па́влович Пятиго́рский, Grigoriy Pavlovich Pyatigorskiy; April 17 [O.S. April 4] 1903 – August 6, 1976) was a Russian Empire-born American cellist.

Photo of Nathan Milstein

10. Nathan Milstein (1902 - 1992)

With an HPI of 57.15, Nathan Milstein is the 10th most famous Ukrainian Musician.  His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Nathan Mironovich Milstein (January 13, 1904 [O.S. December 31, 1903] – December 21, 1992) was a Russian-born American virtuoso violinist. Widely considered one of the finest violinists of the 20th century, Milstein was known for his interpretations of Bach's solo violin works and for works from the Romantic period. He was also known for his long career: he performed at a high level into his mid-80s, retiring only after suffering a broken hand.

Pantheon has 33 people classified as musicians born between 1807 and 1990. Of these 33, 9 (27.27%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living musicians include Arkady Luxemburg, Valentina Lisitsa, and Estas Tonne. The most famous deceased musicians include Vladimir Horowitz, Sviatoslav Richter, and David Oistrakh. As of April 2022, 7 new musicians have been added to Pantheon including Felix Blumenfeld, Yakov Zak, and Ignacy Feliks Dobrzyński.

Living Musicians

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Deceased Musicians

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Newly Added Musicians (2022)

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Which Musicians were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 24 most globally memorable Musicians since 1700.