Liu Shikun

Liu Shikun (simplified Chinese: 刘诗昆; traditional Chinese: 劉詩昆; pinyin: Liú Shīkūn; born March 8, 1939) is a Chinese pianist and composer.

Liu Shikun 刘诗昆
Born	(1939-03-08) March 8, 1939 (age 86) Tianjin[1]
Origin	Beijing, Moscow
Occupation(s)	Pianist, composer
Instrument	Piano
Years active	1944–present

In this Chinese name, the family name is Liu.

He began his piano training at the age of three^[2] and started publicly performing by the age of five. He won third prize and the Special Prize of the Liszt International Piano Competition in Budapest in 1956 and was awarded a strand of Franz Liszt's hair. In 1958, he shared with Lev Vlassenko the second prize in the First Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition in Moscow.^[3][4]

Liu became one of China's top concert performers until 1966, when the Cultural Revolution and the Gang of Four attacked the country; Western music was banned and, along with thousands of other artists, Liu was arrested. He stayed in prison for eight years.^[5][3]

Liu studied at Beijing's Central Conservatory of Music and graduated from the Moscow Conservatory of Music.^[4]