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Valentina Lisitsa

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Valentina Lisitsa
Valentina Lisitsa beside a piano
Pianist Valentina Lisitsa during an interview in Leiden, Netherlands
Background information
Born1973
Kiev, Ukraine, USSR
GenresClassical
OccupationClassical Pianist
InstrumentPiano
Websitewww.valentinalisitsa.com

Valentina Lisitsa ([Валентина Лисиця, translit. Valentyna Lysytsya] Error: {{Lang-xx}}: text has italic markup (help)) is a Ukrainian-born classical pianist who resides in North Carolina.[1][2] Lisitsa is among the most frequently viewed pianists on YouTube;[3] and has been referred to as "the Justin Bieber of classical music".[4] Lisitsa followed a unique path to success, independently launching the beginnings of her career via social media, without initially signing to a tour promoter or record company.[3][4]

Biography

Lisitsa was born in Kiev, Ukraine, in 1973. She started playing the piano at the age of three, performing her first solo recital at the age of four.[5]

Despite her early disposition to music, her dream at that point was to become a professional chess player.[6] Lisitsa attended the Lysenko music school for Gifted Children and, later, Kiev Conservatory,[7] where she and her future husband, Alexei Kuznetsoff, studied under Dr. Ludmilla Tsvierko.[8] It was when Lisitsa met Kuznetsoff that she began to take music more seriously.[9] In 1991, they won the first prize in The Murray Dranoff Two Piano Competition in Miami, Florida.[7][10] In the same year, they moved to the United States to further their careers as concert pianists.[3] Their New York debut was at the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center in 1995.[8] In 1992 the couple married.[3]

After the death of her manager, and with the thought that she was "just another blonde Russian pianist"[11]Lisitsa almost gave up on her career as a concert pianist, and contemplated becoming a local worker for the government in Washington, D.C. However, this fall was prevented through the support of a telephone operator at the center Lisitsa was applying to. With new-found support and determination, Lisitsa posted her first YouTube video in 2007, gaining even more online attention after uploading her own set of Chopin etudes online for free (in response to an illegal upload of the same set beforehand). Her set of Chopin etudes reached the number one slot on Amazon's classical video recordings, and became the most-viewed online set of Chopin etudes on YouTube.[3]

Furthering her career, Lisitsa and her husband put their life savings in recording a CD of Rachmaninov concertos with the London Symphony Orchestra in 2010.[3] In the spring of 2012, before her Royal Albert Hall debut, Lisitsa was signed on to Decca Records, who later released her Rachmaninov CD.[3] By mid 2012 she had nearly 50 million views on her YouTube videos.[4]

Lisitsa has performed in various venues around the world, including Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Musikverein and Royal Albert Hall. She is well-known for her online recitals and practicing streams. She has been the pianist in recital engagements collaborating with violinist Hilary Hahn.[7]

Discography

Lisitsa has recorded six CDs for Audiofon Records, including three solo CDs and two discs of duets with husband Alexei Kuznetsoff; a Gold CD for CiscoMusic label with cellist DeRosa; a duet recital on VAI label with violinist Ida Haendel; and DVDs of Frédéric Chopin's 24 Etudes, Schubert-Liszt Schwanengesang.[12]

Her recording of the 4 sonatas for violin and piano by composer Charles Ives, made with Hahn, was released in October 2011. Her album "Valentina Lisitsa Live at the Royal Albert Hall" (based on her debut performance at that venue 19 June 2012) was released 2 July 2012.

Lisitsa has recently recorded several projects from the composers Rachmaninoff, Liszt, Chopin, and Beethoven. Her complete album of Rachmaninoff concertos was released in October by Decca Records.[13]

References

  1. ^ "Valentina Lisitsa and Alexei Kuznetsoff". Southern Arts Federation. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  2. ^ "The North Carolina Symphony Ends the Summerfest Season with Spectacular Russian Masterpieces". North Carolina Symphony. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Pianist Valentina Lisitsa:interview with the YouTube star, Telegraph.co.uk (19 August 2012)
  4. ^ a b c Pianist Valentina Lisitsa on her debut at the Royal Albert Hall, BBC News (19 June 2012)
  5. ^ "Calendar of Events and Exhibitions". National Museum of Women in the Arts. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  6. ^ "Valentina Lisitsa".
  7. ^ a b c "Valentina Lisitsa, piano". Fresno Philharmonic. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  8. ^ a b "N.C. Arts Council - Organizations Page". North Carolina Arts Council. Retrieved 16 July 2009.
  9. ^ "Valentina Lisitsa performs with the Oregon Symphony". Oregon Symphony. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  10. ^ "The Dranoff International Two Piano Foundation - 1991 Winner Biographies". The Dranoff International Two Piano Foundation. Retrieved 16 July 2009.
  11. ^ "Pianist Valentina Lisitsa: interview with the YouTube star". (the) Telegraph (www.telegraph.co.uk). Retrieved 19 August 2012.
  12. ^ "About Valentina Lisitsa". Audiofon-records.com. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
  13. ^ http://www.valentinalisitsa.com/#!cds

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