Alexei Sultanov

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Alexei Sultanov (7 August 1969–30 June 2005) was a Russian-American classical pianist of Uzbek origin.

His father was a cellist, his mother was a violinist, and his grandmother was a well-known Uzbek actress. At the age of 6, he began piano lessons in Tashkent with Tamara Popovich. He became famous after winning the Eighth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 1989, at the age of 19. He was the youngest contestant in that year's competition. Listeners were awed by the volume he was able to generate. After winning the Van Cliburn, he made appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and Late Night with David Letterman.

In October 1995, Alexei won second prize at the International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition; the grand prize was not awarded. Sultanov refused to accept the second prize, and suffered a severe stroke soon after. Even after a second stroke in 2001 paralyzed his left side, Sultanov continued to play the piano with his right hand with his wife, Dace Abele, accompanying him with the left hand. He died on June 30, 2005 at the age of 35 in Fort Worth.