Miroslav Kultyshev is a pianist, whose name became known to the general public in 2007, after the victory on the Tchaikovsky International Competition. Five years later, in 2012, this young soloist won the prestigious Monte Carlo Piano Masters International competition in Monaco where are the best of the best pianists have been invited. Miroslav was born in 1985, in Leningrad. He graduated from the St. Petersburg Conservatory (class of Honored Artist of Russia, professor Alexander Sandler), and before he was the student of Zora Zuker at the ten-year school under the Conservatory.
 
Miroslav Kultyshev opens the series of interviews with the Music House and these young soloists will tell about themselves more than in short biography lines.
 
St. Petersburg Music House (SPMH): Miroslav, do you have your favourite composer?
Miroslav Kultyshev: Most favourite authors are those whose compositions I play currently. It doesn’t mean that performer should be "omnivorous" as many people, even the musicians-performers consider. Most favourite authors are those, whose compositions you refer at this moment - that you play today, played yesterday or will play tomorrow. For example, I performed in Yekaterinburg (on the 7th of February there was the recital of Miroslav Kultyshev in the Sverdlovsk Philharmonic), Chopin's Ballades, Stravinsky's Petrushka, and Rachmaninoff's Variations on Corelli Themes. These authors coincide with my repertory priorities, because the music of Romantic Period between XIX and early XX centuries is really the closest for me.
 
SPMH: And if we’ll talk about performers? Can you pick out somebody?
Miroslav Kultyshev: Maestro Valery Gergiev, whose concerts helped me to grew up as a musician. I am a native Petersburger and therefore, unlike many of my colleagues, I listened to hundreds of his live concerts and operas under his baton at the Mariinsky Theatre since my childhood.
 
SPMH: What’s the meaning and content of performer’s creation? What the performer may add to the composer`s work?
Miroslav Kultyshev: It is very difficult to give unambiguous answer for this question.  However much we like it or not, as performers we are creators of the second level. We should remain within the author's worldview system and try to get close to the author’s opinion. From this perspective, musical education, musical culture, upbringing and individual experience may help a lot. In most cases, we are not able to ask the composer, because mostly we play the music that is far distant from our time. Moreover, the performer's personality is always recognized, because performing is self-expression, and whereby the performer is more outstanding then he plays more individually. Each significant musician, artist, interpreter presents the whole system with its own internal principles.
 
SPMH: Miroslav, what phrase would you take as epigraph to your biography?
Miroslav Kultyshev: I would say that my motto is: "Do what you must and come what may". We must make our own lifelong career and make it in accordance with our inner understanding and our inner conscience.
 
SPMH: Do you have any non-musical hobby?
Miroslav Kultyshev: I like reading, especially during my trips. Recently, I read a lot of special literature - either musical or journalistic one.
 
 
Interesting Facts:

• Miroslav made his debut at the age of as ten in the Great Hall of St. Petersburg Philharmonia under the baton of Maestro Yuri Temirkanov, performing the Mozart`s Twentieth Concert in D Minor.
• He is currenty the teacher at the Special Piano Department of St. Petersburg Conservatory.

 
He has scheduled 2017-2018 season performances for concerts in Russia - Mariinsky Theatre (November 26th, 2018),  Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow (March 4th, 2017),  St. Petersburg Capella (April 7th, 2018) and abroad: Tokyo (September 21st, 2017), French Sibur (October 14th, 2017), Linz (October 31st , 2017) and Chinese Guiyang (December 2nd, 2017).
 
You may see some performances by Miroslav Kultyshev via the following links:
Pyotr Tchaikovsky Concert Fantasy, Part I (October 23, 2015)
Pyotr Tchaikovsky Concert Fantasy, Part II (October 23, 2015)
Recital to the 175th anniversary of Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Vilnius (November 5, 2015)
 
New video recordings from the Music House’s archive:
The recital in the English Hall of Music House, part I (January 18th 2017)
The recital in the English Hall of Music House, part II (January 18th 2017)
Sergei Prokofiev. Piano Concerto № 2 (February 1st 2017)

IN RUSSIAN