Valery Kuleshov was born in 1962 in Chelyabinsk, Russia. At the age of seven, he entered the Central Musical School of the Moscow Conservatory. At the age of nine, he made his concert debut with a symphony orchestra in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. He earned his Master’s Degree at Gnessin Academy of Music and his Doctoral Degree from the State Jewish Academy, both in Moscow. He studied with some of the best Russian pianists, including Dmitry Bashkirov, Nikolai Petrov, and Vladimir Tropp. In addition, Mr. Kuleshov studied at the International Piano Foundation in Italy with the world’s most acclaimed piano teachers, including Karl Ulrich Schnabel and Leon Fleischer.
Mr. Kuleshov’s first major international success was at the Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition in Italy in 1987, where he was awarded second place. Valery also received the Gold Medal along with the Second Prize winner. That year he began intensive concert activity in Russia and abroad.
In his North American debut at the Ninth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 1993, Russian pianist Valery Kuleshov was awarded the Silver Medal as well as the Prize for Best Performance of the Commissioned Work, Ghost Waltzes, by American composer, Morton Gould. His performance in the final round prompted the Le Mond reviewer to exclaim, “What sound! What allure! What a musician!”
Valery Kuleshov has accomplished the unique and incredibly difficult work of writing out, from listening only to the LP recordings, Vladimir Horowitz’s unpublished piano transcriptions. After listening to the recordings of his transcriptions played by Mr. Kuleshov, Vladimir Horowitz  wrote to the young musician: “I was not only delighted by your fantastic performances, but I congratulate you on your keen ear and great patience that were required to write out, note by note, the scores of these unpublished transcriptions, by listening to my recordings.” (October 6, 1987).
Documented by historic photographs, their meeting in 1989 at Horowitz’s apartment in New York was touching and intimate. The maestro not only listened to the young virtuoso play, but also gave him most valuable advice and offered to give him consultations free of charge. The great pianist’s death left this plan unrealized.
Valery Kuleshov’s performing art is based on the best Russian piano traditions. One can find in his playing emotional sincerity, rich colors, brilliant virtuosity, profound understanding of composers’ styles and freshness of interpretation. His playing has been compared to the style of Vladimir Horowitz with vast dynamic contrasts, consisting of tremendous double-fortissimos followed by sudden delicate pianissimos. Mostly he is attracted to the romantic music by Schumann, Liszt, Chopin, Brahms, and Rachmaninov. The great place in his concert programs belongs to Scriabin’s works, as well as classical and contemporary music.
In 1997, by decree of the President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, Valery Kuleshov was conferred the title of “Honored Artist of the Russian Federation.”
Soon after this great recognition, he became the single winner of the Pro Piano International Piano Competition in New York and was a great success later in October of the same year in his Carnegie Hall recital.
Valery Kuleshov‘s spectacular career has included performances in the best concert halls in Russia as well as in Europe, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the United States. His concert appearances have included performances with numerous symphony orchestras of Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as orchestras in Chicago, San Francisco, Miami, Dallas, Memphis, Pasadena, Montevideo, Santo Domingo and Birmingham, England. His international festival and recital appearances include two performances at Carnegie Hall in New York, as well as concerts in Washington, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Pasadena, Helsinki, Montpellier, Munich, Bonn, Milan, Rimini and Davos. He has toured Australia three times, culminating in an appearance with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra before an audience of 25,000 at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. At the invitation of Vladimir Spivakov, he played at the International Festival of Colmar, France. In addition, Mr. Kuleshov travels throughout Russia every year and performs sold-out recitals and symphony appearances in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, as well as in other cities.
Valery Kuleshov’s recording career includes his award-winning performance at the Ninth Van Cliburn Competition which was released on CD worldwide on the Philips label. The Gramophone review stated, “Valery Kuleshov declares his nationality in every bar, roaring and whispering Liszt's bravura to the heavens, and I doubt whether the Six Paganini Eludes have often been given with such a gloriously spontaneous verve and glitter.” In addition, these performances were featured in the award-winning documentary, A Life in Music, on the PBS network. Mr. Kuleshov’s discography includes eight CD’s. The most recent CD, Valery Kuleshov Plays Liszt, was recorded in 2006 on the Vai Audio label and is available on Amazon.com
In addition to maintaining an international performing schedule, Valery Kuleshov serves as artist-in-residence at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Oklahoma. He also performs duo piano repertoire with his incredibly talented daughter, Tatiana Kuleshova.
A concert or recital by Valery Kuleshov is not just a performance, it is an experience for the heart, soul, and senses. It is for his sensitive interpretations, virtuosic technique, glittering bravura, and passion for the music that he has been named the “Russian Virtuoso of the Romantic Piano”.