BiografieVitalij Kuprij, born 1974 in Volodarka, Kiev, Ukraine, has been the recipient of numerous awards and prizes. He won the prestigious First Prize as the youngest person to compete in the All-Union Chopin Competition held in the Republic of Kazan, Soviet Union; the Gold Medal in the Kiev Conservatoire Competition; and the Poltawa, Ukraine Mykola Lyssenko Competition. In addition, he received First Prize in the Geneva Duo Competition for Violin and Piano and the First Prize in the Piano 80 and Swiss Youth Competition, after he had left Ukraine at the age of 16. It was also in Switzerland where he met incredible guitarist Roger Staffelbach, who he formed his first band with in 1993 - "Atlantis Rising".



Vitalij´s appearance on Ukrainian radio and television brought him critical acclaim for his performance of concertos by Beethoven and Chopin.



Internationally renowned flutist James Galway chose Vitalij as his accompanist for the 1995 International Flute Seminar Master Classes held in Weggis, Switzerland.



Vitalij has been much in demand as a soloist, recitalist and as a chamber musician throughout the United States and abroad, including France, Poland, Switzerland, U.K. and Luxembourg. On March 7th 1999, he even performed with the New York Youth Symphony at Carnegie Hall. In addition, as a composer, he often performs his own works in concert.



Vitalij has studied piano with Professor Nina Najditsch at Kiev´s Mykola Lyssenko Music Academy for Highly Talented Students. Prior to coming to the United States, he was a student of Vienna´s Professor Rudolph Buchbinder, at the Basel Conservatoire, Switzerland. In 1995, Vitalij moved to the United States in order to begin his musical studies with Gary Graffman, President and Director of the prestigious Curtis Institute Of Music, where he graduated in May 2000.



There is yet another side to this multi-talented performer, composer and keyboardist - neo-classical alternative rock. Vitalij and his old friend and guitarist Roger Staffelbach are the founding members of neo-classical progressive rock/metal band "Artension". Vitalij has released several CDs - six with the band Artension, several solo instrumental albums, and a couple of collaborations with other artists.



In 1999, after recording Artension´s 4th album, Vitalij married the love of his life, beautiful violinist MuNa, in San Francisco.



Currently, Vitalij is still busy performing classical concerts and planning his next releases, while every now and then he still takes the time to participate in other musical projects.



Despite of his successful career as a rock musician, Vitalij is still deeply involved with classical music as he thinks it is the highest form of art in the world. Vitalij considers both of his careers as a main journey of his life, and says he will never give up any chance or opportunity to do anything that is related to music.



Music critics have said that "...Kuprij fascinated as an astonishing, powerful and confident virtuoso..." and that Vitalij Kuprij performs "wonders on the keyboard... his performances are truly artistic achievements."Quelle: http://www.metal-inside.de/admin/frame.jspDiscografieSOLO:



Forward and Beyond (2004)

VK3 (1999)

Extreme Measures (1998)

High Definition (1997)



ARTENSION:



New Discovery (2002)

Sacred Pathways (2001)

Machine (2000)

Forces Of Nature (1999)

Phoenix Rising (1997)

Into The Eye Of The Storm (1996)



RING OF FIRE:



Dreamtower (2002)

Burning Live In Tokyo" (2002)

The Oracle (2001)



CLASSICAL MUSIC:



Works of Liszt and Chopin (2001)



COLLABORATIONS:



John West - Earth Maker (2002)

Ferrigno, Leal, Kuprij - Promised Land (2002)

Tony Hernando - The Shades Of Truth (2002)

Mark Boals - Ring Of Fire (2000)

Greg Howe - Ascend (1999)

James Murphy - Feeding The Machine (1999)


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