Alexei Sultanov

Alexei Sultanov was born in Tashkent in the family of musicians Fayzulkhak Abdulkhakovich Sultanov and Natalia Mikhailovna Pogorelova. Grandson of the famous Uzbek actress Zamira Khidoyatova. Has a younger brother Sergei. From the age of four, Sultanov studied at the Republican Music School with teacher Tamara Popovich. He first appeared on stage at the age of seven, performing Mozart's Rondo in D major (K. 382) with the orchestra, and from the age of eight he performed regularly in concerts. At the age of fifteen, he became a laureate of the Komsomol Prize of Uzbekistan. He entered the Moscow Conservatory in the class of Lev Naumov. In 1986, at the VIII International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, 16-year-old Alexei Sultanov was the favorite of the competition. An hour before the draw during the draw, Alexei dropped the lid of the piano on his hand - the doctor stated that his finger was broken. Sultanov decided to play, behind the scenes the doctor did anesthesia. The audience, having learned about what had happened, applauded for a long time after his performances for all two rounds. Despite this, Sultanov was not among the finalists. In 1989, Sultanov became the winner of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, performing Rachmaninov's Second Concerto in the final. The audience gave the pianist a standing ovation, calling for bows more than five times. The Grand Prix of the competition was presented to him by Van Cliburn himself, who presided over the jury. A…