Valentina Lisitsa

Valentina Lisitsa
Background information
Birth name Valentina Lisitsa
Born 1973
Origin Kiev, Ukraine, USSR
Genres Classical
Occupations Classical Pianist
Instruments Piano
Website Official Website

Valentina Lisitsa (Ukrainian: Валентина Лисиця, translit. Valentina Lisitsya, Russian: Валенти́на Лисица) is a Ukrainian-born classical pianist. Lisitsa resides in North Carolina in the USA.[1][2] Her husband, Alexei Kuznetsoff, is also a pianist and her partner in a number of piano duets.

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.[3] Despite her early disposition to music, her dream at that point was to become a professional chess player.[4] Lisitsa attended the Lysenko music school for Gifted Children and, later, Kiev Conservatory,[5] where she and her future husband, Alexei Kuznetsoff, studied under Dr. Ludmilla Tsvierko.[6] It was when Lisitsa met Kuznetsoff that she began to take music more seriously.[7] In 1991 they won the first prize in The Murray Dranoff Two Piano Competition.[5][8] In the same year, they moved to the United States to further their careers as concert pianists. Their New York debut was at the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center in 1995.[6]

Lisitsa has performed in various venues around the world, including Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, and the Musikverein. Recently, she has been the pianist in recital engagements collaborating with violinist Hilary Hahn.[5] (Her recording of the 4 sonatas for violin and piano by composer Charles Ives, made with Hahn, was released in October, 2011.) Many of Lisitsa's performances, including Frédéric Chopin's Op. 10 and Op. 25 Etudes and Beethoven's Appassionata Sonata, can be viewed on YouTube.

Lisitsa has recorded 6 CDs for Audiofon Records (including two solo CDs, other two are in duet with Alexei Kuznetsoff), a Gold CD for CiscoMusic label with cellist DeRosa, a duet recital on VAI label with violinist Ida Haendel, DVDs of Frédéric Chopin's 24 Etudes, Schubert-Liszt Schwanengesang, and her most recent DVD titled Black and Pink.

Lisitsa was featured on the HORSE the band song "Rape Escape" from their 2009 album Desperate Living.

References

  1. ^ "Valentina Lisitsa and Alexei Kuznetsoff". Southern Arts Federation. http://www.southernartistry.org/Valentina_Lisitsa_and_Alexei_Kuznetsoff. Retrieved 2009-07-12. 
  2. ^ "The North Carolina Symphony Ends the Summerfest Season with Spectacular Russian Masterpieces". North Carolina Symphony. http://www.ncsymphony.org/news/index.cfm?nid=307. Retrieved 2009-07-12. 
  3. ^ "Calendar of Events and Exhibitions". National Museum of Women in the Arts. http://www.nmwa.org/calendar/detail.asp?eventId=846. Retrieved 2009-07-12. 
  4. ^ "Valentina Lisitsa". http://www.last.fm/music/Valentina+Lisitsa. 
  5. ^ a b c "Valentina Lisitsa, piano". Fresno Philharmonic. http://fresnophil.org/LisitsaBio.html. Retrieved 2009-07-12. 
  6. ^ a b "N.C. Arts Council - Organizations Page". North Carolina Arts Council. http://www.ncarts.org/orgspage.cfm?ser=59948. Retrieved 2009-07-16. 
  7. ^ "Valentina Lisitsa performs with the Oregon Symphony". Oregon Symphony. http://www.orsymphony.org/bios/guestartists/lisitsa.aspx. Retrieved 2009-07-12. 
  8. ^ "The Dranoff International Two Piano Foundation - 1991 Winner Biographies". The Dranoff International Two Piano Foundation. http://dranoff2piano.org/bio_page_1991.htm#lk. Retrieved 2009-07-16. 

External links