Biography
Michail Lifits captured a string of significant competition triumphs toward the end of the 2000s, converting those successes into a thriving worldwide presence as both a recitalist and ensemble performer. He quickly became a familiar presence on European and American stages while maintaining a steady schedule of summer festival appearances.
Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan—then within the Soviet Union—on September 25, 1982, Lifits began piano studies at age five. At thirteen he made his first public appearance, performing Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18, with the National Philharmonic of Uzbekistan. He later relocated to Germany for training at the Hochschule für Musik, Drama und Medien in Hannover, where his teachers were Karl-Heinz Kämmerling and Bernd Goetzke; he has remained a Hannover resident ever since. Additional instruction came from Boris Petrushansky at the Accademia Pianistica Incontri col Maestro in Imola, Italy.
A sequence of decisive contest victories drew the attention of concert presenters, among them awards at the international piano competition Rina Sala Gallo in Monza, Italy, in 2006, the Hilton Head International Piano Competition in the United States in 2009, and the Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition in Bolzano, Italy, also in 2009. Lifits has appeared in recital at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York, the Salle Cortot in Paris, and numerous other leading European venues. His orchestral collaborations have included the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Thüringen Philharmonie Gotha, and the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra in South Carolina. A regular participant at festivals, he has served as accompanist to violinist Vilde Frang, cellist Nicolas Altstaedt, and violist Nils Mönkemeyer, and he belongs to a piano trio alongside violinist Corina Belcea and cellist Antoine Lederlin.
Under an exclusive agreement with the Decca label, Lifits has issued solo recordings devoted to Mozart, Schubert, and Shostakovich; in 2019 he joined Frang on Warner Classics for a program of works by Paganini and Schubert. He is a Steinway artist.
Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan—then within the Soviet Union—on September 25, 1982, Lifits began piano studies at age five. At thirteen he made his first public appearance, performing Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18, with the National Philharmonic of Uzbekistan. He later relocated to Germany for training at the Hochschule für Musik, Drama und Medien in Hannover, where his teachers were Karl-Heinz Kämmerling and Bernd Goetzke; he has remained a Hannover resident ever since. Additional instruction came from Boris Petrushansky at the Accademia Pianistica Incontri col Maestro in Imola, Italy.
A sequence of decisive contest victories drew the attention of concert presenters, among them awards at the international piano competition Rina Sala Gallo in Monza, Italy, in 2006, the Hilton Head International Piano Competition in the United States in 2009, and the Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition in Bolzano, Italy, also in 2009. Lifits has appeared in recital at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York, the Salle Cortot in Paris, and numerous other leading European venues. His orchestral collaborations have included the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Thüringen Philharmonie Gotha, and the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra in South Carolina. A regular participant at festivals, he has served as accompanist to violinist Vilde Frang, cellist Nicolas Altstaedt, and violist Nils Mönkemeyer, and he belongs to a piano trio alongside violinist Corina Belcea and cellist Antoine Lederlin.
Under an exclusive agreement with the Decca label, Lifits has issued solo recordings devoted to Mozart, Schubert, and Shostakovich; in 2019 he joined Frang on Warner Classics for a program of works by Paganini and Schubert. He is a Steinway artist.
Albums
