Valentina Lisitsa is a Ukrainian-born classical pianist. Born into a family of non-musicians in Kiev, Ukraine, she started playing piano at the age of three, performing her first solo recital only a year later. Despite her early disposition to music, her dream at that point was to become a professional chess player. She attended the Lysenko music school for Gifted Children and, later, Kiev Conservatory. She currently lives in the United States and performs in many prestigious concert venues worldwide.