Garry Yakovlevich Grodberg (1929-2016) was a Soviet and Russian organist, People's Artist of the Russian Federation, winner of the State Prize of the Russian Federation. He was born on January 3, 1929 in Klaipeda (Lithuania) and died on November 10, 2016 in Moscow (Russia). He was buried at the Vagankovo cemetery.
Grodberg gained fame as an interpreter of the musical legacy of J. S. Bach, as well as works by other composers of previous eras — Mozart, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Frank, Reinberger, Saint-Saens and others. He is the author of program organ cycles dedicated to the music of 20th century composers — Shostakovich, Khachaturian, Slonimsky, Pirumov, Nirenburg, Tariverdiev.
He studied at a music school in Vilnius, and graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in 1955 with a degree in piano and organ. In the same year, he was accepted into the Moscow Philharmonic as a soloist and gave his first solo concert. He has performed with many famous musicians, including Mstislav Rostropovich, Evgeny Mravinsky and Kirill Kondrashin.
He was Deputy Chairman of the Organ Council under the USSR Ministry of Culture. Thanks to his efforts, the number of active bodies in the country has increased significantly. In 1959, an organ made in the Czech Republic by Rieger-Kloss was installed in the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall.
Grodberg is an honorary member of the Bach and Handel Societies in Germany, and was a member of the jury of the International Bach Competition in Leipzig. He established the Bach Worship Festival in Kaliningrad and helped create the Bach Festival in Tver, which now takes place annually. For his contribution to the cultural life of Tver, the musician was awarded the title of honorary citizen of the city.
Grodberg's awards include:
the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1982);
title of People's Artist of the Russian Federation (1992);
Order of Honor (2000);
State Prize of the Russian Federation in the field of literature and art (2001);
Knight's Cross of the Order of the Republic of Lithuania "For Services to Lithuania" (2003);
Honorary title of Tver citizen (2005);
Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree (2004);
Order of Friendship (2010).
