Alexei Sultanov

Alexei Sultanov was a Soviet and American pianist. He was born on 7 August 1969 in Tashkent and died on 30 June 2005 in Fort Worth, United States; he received United States citizenship in 2004.

He studied from the age of four at the Republican Music School with Tamara Popovich. Sultanov first appeared on stage at the age of seven, performing Mozart's Rondo in D major, K. 382, with orchestra, and from the age of eight he was already giving concerts regularly. At fifteen he became a laureate of the Komsomol Prize of Uzbekistan, and later entered the Moscow Conservatory in the class of Lev Naumov.

At the 8th International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1986, the 16-year-old Sultanov was considered a favorite. Shortly before the draw he injured his hand and was diagnosed with a fractured finger, but decided to perform anyway, receiving pain relief backstage. The audience, having learned what had happened, applauded him at length after his performances in both rounds, yet he did not reach the final.

In 1989 he won the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, performing Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto in the final. The public gave him a standing ovation and repeatedly called him back to the stage, while Van Cliburn himself presented him with the Grand Prize. After this victory Sultanov gained worldwide fame and began a contract tour of 200 concerts that extended over the next two years.

Between 1988 and 1996 he lived in constant fear of military conscription. Although he had entered the Moscow Conservatory, the changing rules on student deferment and his interrupted studies left him vulnerable to the draft. This situation forced him to avoid appearing in the country until he passed draft age, especially after an episode in which he was nearly sent into the army directly from the airport. He ultimately did not resume his studies, and from 1991 he settled in the United States.

Later Sultanov took part in two more major international competitions, and both appearances were accompanied by scandal. At the 1995 International Chopin Piano Competition, despite enthusiasm from the public and praise from the press, the jury awarded him only second prize and withheld first prize entirely. Deeply offended, he refused to accept the second-prize diploma, after which he suffered a minor stroke. In 1998, at the International Tchaikovsky Competition, the jury judged his performance of Prokofiev's Seventh Sonata excessively temperamental and did not admit him to the final, causing a major public and press outcry.

In 2001 Sultanov suffered a series of further strokes that led to paralysis of the left side of his body and blindness in his left eye. He nevertheless tried to continue appearing in charity concerts, assisted by his wife Dace Abele, who performed the left-hand parts. He died in Fort Worth at the age of 35 from cardiac arrest.

Sultanov was drawn by temperament to the Romantic and post-Romantic repertoire. His principal recordings included works by Sergei Rachmaninoff, Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt, and Alexander Scriabin. His art was noted for its expressiveness, total emotional commitment, depth of lyrical feeling, and high pianistic mastery.