Pianist VALENTINA LISITSA is capturing the attention of audiences throughout the world with her stunning virtuosity and unequaled sense of lyricism. Widely known and respected as a duo-pianist alongside her husband Alexei Kuznetsoff, she brings to the concert stage a rare technical mastery combined with deep understanding of musical inner life.

Born in Kiev, Lisitsa presented her first solo recital at the age of six. A graduate of the famed Kiev Conservatory, she has won numerous international prizes, such as the Murray Dranoff Two Piano Competition, Concertino Prague, the Lysenko Piano Competition, the Paris Chamber Music Competition, and the Ukrainian Chamber Music Competition. Since making her New York debut in 1995 at the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center with Gerard Schwarz conducting, she has maintained an active international schedule in recital and with orchestras, including a U.S. tour with the Orchestre National de France under Charles Dutoit, performing the Poulenc Concerto for Two Pianos with her husband in, among other places, New York and Boston. She has also performed in a 30-performance tour with the Prague Chamber Orchestra.

Her recent engagements include a tour with the Talich String Quartet, a month-long tour with the Russian Symphony Orchestra in the United States and Mexico, recitals and an orchestra tour in Italy, a U.S. tour with the Russian State Symphony Orchestra, a European tour with the Stuttgart Symphony Orchestra, and solo and chamber music recitals in Milan, Vienna, Amsterdam, London, Glasgow, San Diego, Miami, New York, and Chicago.

Lisitsa's upcoming 2006/07 season engagements include orchestral appearances with the Pacific Symphony, the Oregon Symphony, and the Black Hills Symphony Orchestras. Lisitsa will also tour the U.S. in recital. In the 2007/08, Lisitsa will join Hilary Hahn in extensive tours throughout the U.S. and Europe.

Lisitsa can be heard on the Audiofon label. Her discography consists of seven highly acclaimed recordings, including performances of Shostakovich's First Piano Concerto with the Ekaterinburg Symphony Orchestra, Sarah Caldwell conducting; two CDs of duo piano performances; the Rachmaninoff Cello Sonata with William De Rosa; and three solo recital programs ranging from Mozart to Prokofiev. In addition to her extensive discography, Lisitsa has also recorded a television program "Valentina in Miami," a one-hour music special produced and presented by PBS. A DVD of Lisitsa's interpretation of all 24 Chopin Etudes is also available. Recently, Lisitsa was featured in a segment of the CBS News program "Sunday Morning."

12/06