Valentina Lisitsa
Encyclopedia
Valentina Lisitsa is a Ukrainian-born
classical pianist. Lisitsa resides in North Carolina
in the USA. Her husband, Alexei Kuznetsoff, is also a pianist and her partner in a number of piano duets.
, Ukraine
, in 1973. She started playing the piano at the age of three, performing her first solo recital at the age of four.
Despite her early disposition to music, her dream at that point was to become a professional chess
player. Lisitsa attended the Lysenko music school
for Gifted Children and, later, Kiev Conservatory
, where she and her future husband, Alexei Kuznetsoff, studied under Dr. Ludmilla Tsvierko. It was when Lisitsa met Kuznetsoff that she began to take music more seriously. In 1991 they won the first prize in The Murray Dranoff Two Piano Competition. 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.
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
. (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, DVD
s 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
.
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
classical pianist. Lisitsa resides in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
in the USA. Her husband, Alexei Kuznetsoff, is also a pianist and her partner in a number of piano duets.
Biography
Lisitsa was born in KievKiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, in 1973. She started playing the piano at the age of three, performing her first solo recital at the age of four.
Despite her early disposition to music, her dream at that point was to become a professional chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
player. Lisitsa attended the Lysenko music school
Lysenko music school
Lysenko music school is a private music school organized by Ukrainian composer Mykola Lysenko.-Bandura classes at Lysenko's Music School:In the Fall of 1908 the first bandura classes were organized at Mykola Lysenko's Music School....
for Gifted Children and, later, Kiev Conservatory
Kiev Conservatory
The Tchaikovsky National Academy of Music is a Ukrainian state institution of higher music education. Its courses include postgraduate education.-History:...
, where she and her future husband, Alexei Kuznetsoff, studied under Dr. Ludmilla Tsvierko. It was when Lisitsa met Kuznetsoff that she began to take music more seriously. In 1991 they won the first prize in The Murray Dranoff Two Piano Competition. In the same year, they moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to further their careers as concert pianists. Their New York debut was at the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center in 1995.
Lisitsa has performed in various venues around the world, including Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, Avery Fisher Hall
Avery Fisher Hall
Avery Fisher Hall is a concert hall, in New York City and is part of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex. It is the home of the New York Philharmonic, with a capacity of 2,738 seats.-History:...
, and the Musikverein. Recently, she has been the pianist in recital engagements collaborating with violinist Hilary Hahn
Hilary Hahn
Hilary Hahn is an American violinist.Hahn was born in Lexington, Virginia. Beginning her studies when she was three years old at Baltimore's Peabody Institute, she was admitted to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia at age ten, and in 1991, made her major orchestral debut with the...
. (Her recording of the 4 sonatas for violin and piano by composer Charles Ives
Charles Ives
Charles Edward Ives was an American modernist composer. He is one of the first American composers of international renown, though Ives' music was largely ignored during his life, and many of his works went unperformed for many years. Over time, Ives came to be regarded as an "American Original"...
, 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
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
.
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, DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s of Frédéric Chopin's
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
24 Etudes
Études (Chopin)
The Études by Frédéric Chopin are three sets of solo studies for the piano, There are twenty-seven overall, comprising two separate collections of twelve, numbered Opus 10 and 25, and a set of three without opus number.-Composition:...
, Schubert-Liszt
Liszt
Liszt is a Hungarian surname. Notable persons with that surname include:* Franz Liszt , Hungarian composer and pianist* Adam Liszt , father of Franz Liszt* Anna Liszt , mother of Franz Liszt...
Schwanengesang
Schwanengesang
Schwanengesang is the title of a posthumous collection of songs by Franz Schubert.Unlike the earlier Die schöne Müllerin and Winterreise, it uses poems by three poets, Ludwig Rellstab , Heinrich Heine and Johann Gabriel Seidl . Schwanengesang has the number D 957 in the Deutsch catalogue...
, and her most recent DVD titled Black and Pink.
Lisitsa was featured on the HORSE the band
HORSE the band
Horse the Band is a band from Lake Forest, California who are best known for their 8-bit Nintendo-influenced sound combined with metalcore. Frontman Nathan Winneke once described their sound as "Nintendocore".-Biography:...
song "Rape Escape" from their 2009 album Desperate Living
Desperate Living (album)
Desperate Living is the fifth album by Horse the Band, released October 6, 2009, through Vagrant Records.-Overview:The album sees a departure from the band's reliance on the Nintendocore sound which they helped to pioneer with their demos and first two full-length albums...
.