Yurii Mykolaiovych Kot (born 22 January 1966) is a Ukrainian pianist, winner of international competitions, People's Artist of Ukraine (2019). Laureate of the L. Revutsky Prize (2000), husband of Iryna Aleksiychuk.
He was born on 22 January 1966 in Krasnoarmiisk, Donetsk region (Ukraine).
In 1977-1984, he studied at the Mykola Lysenko Kyiv Specialised Music School for Ten Years (teacher - L. Weintraub). In 1991, he graduated with honours from the Tchaikovsky Kyiv State Conservatory with a degree in piano, and in 1993, he completed an assistantship at the piano department of the above-mentioned educational institution (class of Prof. V. Kozlov).
Laureate of the Mykola Lysenko National Piano Competition (Kyiv, 1988); diploma winner of the All-Union Rachmaninoff Piano Competition (Moscow, 1990); laureate of the First Prokofiev International Piano Competition (St. Petersburg, 1992). As part of a piano duo with Iryna Aleksiychuk, he was a laureate of the First International Chamber Music Competition "Golden Autumn" (Khmelnytsky, 1993); winner of the 45th ARD International Piano Duo Competition (Munich, 1996); winner of the 6th Murray Dranoff International Piano Duo Competition (Miami, 1997).
He has toured extensively as a soloist in Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Yugoslavia, Poland, Slovakia, Germany and the USA with concert programmes of works by composers of different eras and musical styles, as well as as a piano duo with Iryna Aleksiychuk.
He has performed with many symphony orchestras in Ukraine, Russia, Germany and the USA. Blinov, R. Nigmatulin, N. Ponomarchuk, V. Redia, O. Dolinsky); Bavarian Radio Orchestra (Munich, Germany, conductors - Wolfgang Balzer, Lothar Zagrosek); MERCK Chamber Orchestra (Darmstadt, Germany, conductor - Christian Rudolf Riedel); New World Symphony Orchestra (Miami, USA, conductor - Neil Stahlberg), etc.
He regularly collaborates with Ukrainian Radio and Television in Ukraine, Russia, Yugoslavia, Germany and the USA.
He is a member of the Ukrainian Rachmaninoff Society and the Ukrainian Association of Pianists - Laureates of International Competitions.
He has participated in international festivals: "Kyiv-Music-Fest", "Musical Premieres of the Season", the festival in memory of Volodymyr Horowitz (Kyiv); "Musiksommer-97" (Dresden); "Two Pianos Plus" (Miami); Prokofiev Music Festival (St. Petersburg), 13th International Festival of Music by Krakow Composers (Krakow, 2001), etc.
He participated in the work of the jury of such competitions: I Pukhalsky City Competition for Young Pianists (Kyiv, Ukraine); I Prokofiev International Competition for Young Pianists (St. Petersburg, Russia); I International Competition for Young Pianists, Violinists and Cellists (Tbilisi, Georgia); I International Competition for Young Pianists GRADUS AD PARNASSUM (Kragujevac, Yugoslavia).
Since 1994, he has been teaching at the Department of Special Piano of the Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Kyiv. Since 1995, twice a year he has been conducting masterclasses in Serbia (Yugoslavia), and has held masterclasses in Japan (2000 - Tokyo, Kyoto, Matsuyama, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi). In the same year, he was awarded the title of Honoured Artist of Ukraine, and in 2019 - People's Artist of Ukraine
