Evgeny Kissin, born in Moscow in October 1971, began playing the piano by ear and improvising at the age of two. From the age of seven, he attended the Moscow Gnessin Music School, where he received lessons from Anna Pavlovna Kantor; she was to remain his only teacher. He made his concerto debut at the age of ten, performing Mozart's Piano Concerto K. 466; he gave his first piano recital the following year in Moscow. He attracted international attention in March 1984 when he played Chopin's Piano Concerto Nos. 1 and 2 with the Moscow State Philharmonic under Dmitri Kitaenko in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. Kissin's first performances outside his home country took place in Eastern Europe in 1985, followed a year later by his first tour of Japan. In 1987 he performed in Western Europe for the first time at the Berlin Festival. In 1988 he toured Europe with the Moscow Virtuosi and Vladimir Spivakov, and in the same year, he made his first guest appearance in London, with the London Symphony Orchestra under Valery Gergiev. In December of the same year, he appeared with the Berlin Philharmonic under Herbert von Karajan in a New Year's Concert that was broadcast in numerous countries; this performance was repeated the following year at the Salzburg Easter Festival. In 1990 Kissin made his first appearance at London's BBC Promenade Concerts and his US debut, playing Chopin's two piano concertos with the New York Philharmonic under the baton of Zubin Mehta. The following week he opened Carnegie Hall's 100th season with a spectacular first piano recital, recorded live by RCA Victor Red Seal. In recognition of his achievements, Kissin has received awards and honors worldwide. In 1987, he received the Osaka Symphony Hall Crystal Prize for the best performance of 1986 (his first performance in Japan). He was guest of honor at the 1992 GRAMMY(r) Awards Ceremony, which was watched live by a television audience of over a billion people, and in 1995 he was named Instrumentalist of the Year by Musical America - the youngest musician to receive this honour. Two years later, he was awarded the prestigious Triumph Prize, one of the Russian Republic's highest awards, for his outstanding contribution to Russian culture, and there, too, he was the youngest ever to receive the honour. He was the first pianist to give a piano recital at the BBC Promenade Concerts in 1997, and in the 2000 season, he was the first concerto soloist to perform at the opening concert of the Proms. In May 2001, Kissin was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree by the Manhattan School of Music. Kissin has played under many famous conductors, including Abbado, Ashkenazy, Barenboim, Levine, Maazel, Ozawa, Svetlanov and Temirkanov, as well as with numerous world-renowned orchestras. His tours regularly take him to Japan and Europe as well as to the USA. His recordings have also received numerous awards, including the Echo Klassik 2006 ("Scriabin, Medtner, Stravinsky", 82876 653902), the Diapason d`Or, the Edison Klassiek and a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Solo Performance 2005 ("Scriabin, Medtner, Stravinsky", 82876 653902). Evgeny Kissin also received one of the most prestigious prizes in the music world, the Herbert von Karajan Prize, in 2005. He decided to donate this prize to the Music of Life Foundation and the Royal Academy of Music in London. This enables the Music of Life Foundation to continue its unique programme of helping young disadvantaged musicians from Russia and the UK. In the same year, Kissin became an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Music. Because of his musicality, the profound and poetic quality of his interpretations and his extraordinary virtuosity, Kissin is today one of the leading figures of the new generation of pianists. Much sought after as a soloist throughout the world, he has performed under many great conductors, including Abbado, Ashkenazy, Barenboim, Dohnányi, Giulini, Levine, Maazel, Ozawa, Svetlanov and Temirkanov, working with all the major orchestras. He tours regularly throughout the United States, Japan and Europe. Kissin's recordings have also received numerous awards, such as the Edison Klassiek of the Netherlands, the Diapason d'Or and the Grand Prix de la Nouvelle Académie du Disque in France, as well as prizes from numerous music magazines around the world.