Dmitry Malikov

Dmitry Malikov is a Soviet and Russian pop singer, composer, pianist, conductor, producer, theater and film actor, and television presenter. He was born on January 29, 1970, in Moscow. He became widely known as a pop artist in the late 1980s and later developed an active parallel career in instrumental and classical music. In 2010 he was named People's Artist of the Russian Federation, and in 2015 he was awarded the Order of Friendship.

Malikov was born into a musical family. His father, Yuri Malikov, is a People's Artist of Russia and the founder and artistic director of the ensemble Gems, while his mother, Lyudmila Vyunkova, was a soloist of the Moscow Music Hall. His sister Inna Malikova also became a performer. He spent his childhood in the Preobrazhenka district of Moscow, often in the care of his grandmother while his parents were on tour. He began studying music at the age of five, graduated from music school, studied from 1985 to 1989 at the music college attached to the Moscow Conservatory, and in 1994 graduated with honors from the Moscow State Conservatory as a pianist.

He recorded his first song, "Iron Soul," at the age of fourteen. His television debut came in 1986 on the program Wider Circle, where he performed his song "I Am Painting a Picture," and in 1987 he appeared on Morning Mail with "Terem-Teremok." On June 25, 1988, he first appeared on a major stage in Gorky Park with the songs "Moon Dream" and "You Will Never Be Mine," after which he quickly rose to popularity. According to the Moskovsky Komsomolets poll Sound Track, he was named Discovery of the Year for 1988, and he was later twice recognized as Singer of the Year for 1989 and 1990.

In 1990 he gave his first two solo concerts at the Olimpiyskiy Sports Complex, one of the main concert venues of the Soviet Union. His debut album, Search for the Soul, was released in 1991 and reissued in 1993 under the title With You. In 1993 he acted in Alexander Proshkin's film See Paris and Die, playing the young pianist Yuri Orekhov. That same year the single "Don't Be Afraid" was released in Germany by the duo Baroque, made up of the Dutch singer Oscar and Malikov; in that project he appeared as composer, arranger, and pianist. In 1994 he released the successful song collection Until Tomorrow and the album Come to Me, which included not only songs but also his own instrumental pieces and a duet with Larisa Dolina.

Alongside his pop career, Malikov devoted much attention to classical music. In 1995 he performed a Franz Liszt concerto with orchestra on television, and in the same year he appeared at the World Music Awards festival in Monte Carlo, where he performed "No, You Are Not for Me" and received the festival Grand Prix in the category World's best-selling recording artist of the year. His 1996 album One Hundred Nights combined popular music with classical and folk traditions, and songs from it brought him major recognition, including his first Golden Gramophone. In 1997 he gave piano concerts in Stuttgart and released his first instrumental album, Fear of Flying. As a pianist, he also performed solo with leading symphony and chamber orchestras, including Moscow Virtuosi, Moscow Soloists, Musica Viva, and other ensembles.

His later recording career included the albums My Distant Star in 1998, Beads in 2000, the instrumental album Game in 2001, and the song album Love Story in 2002. A number of his songs received Golden Gramophone awards, including "You Alone, You Such," "My Distant Star," "Happy Birthday, Mom," "Birdcatcher," "Love Story," and "Who Told You." From 1999 to 2004 he was the producer of the group Plazma. In 2007 he received the Popov Prize in the Radio Hit category and an Ovation award as Best Performer, and he launched the long-developed instrumental project Pianomania, which included premiere concerts and an album.

In the late 2000s and 2010s he continued releasing both song and instrumental works, including From a Clean Slate, the soundtrack album to the series And Still I Love..., My, My, Panacea, 25+, and Café Safari. He also developed large-scale concert concepts such as Simphonic Mania and Pianomania Classic, appearing not only as pianist but also as conductor. Since 2011 he has been a composer and participant in the Moscow International Festival Circle of Light, and in 2012 he performed his suite at the Scarlet Sails graduation celebration in St. Petersburg with the Baltic Symphony Orchestra.

Malikov also became active in educational and charitable work. From 2012 he devoted himself to the charitable educational project Music Lessons, aimed at supporting children's music education across Russia through interactive meetings and master classes. From September 2012 to September 2016 he hosted the popular children's television program Good Night, Little Ones!, where more attention began to be given to music. He served as a mentor in the television show Battle of the Choirs, representing St. Petersburg in the first season and Moscow in 2013. In 2011 he founded the charity fund Penetrating the Heart, and part of the proceeds from his concert projects went toward building a rehabilitation center for deafblind children.

In 2016, as a continuation of the Music Lessons project, he premiered the musical educational stage production Turn the Game Around, for which he served as idea author, producer, actor, and musician. The show combined education and entertainment and presented both classical and contemporary music, including stories about the origins of blues, jazz, and rock and roll. The production toured Russia and neighboring countries, and in 2025 it became a prizewinner of the Theater of Victory festival in the category Cultural Front: Classical Music. Malikov also remained visible in new media, appearing in popular online programs in 2016 and 2017.

Connections

This figure has 1 connection in the Music Lineage catalog.