Amir Tebenikhin is a Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...

i pianist, b. 1977, who won the 1999 Vianna da Motta Competition

Vianna da Motta International Music Competition

The Vianna da Motta International Music Competition was first constituted in 1957 in Lisbon in honor of José Vianna da Motta by his disciple Sequeira Costa, who remains its president; this inaugural edition was won by Naum Shtarkman. The competition, a member of the World Federation of...

 - its last winner to date. He subsequently made his discographical debut for Naxos Records

Naxos Records

Naxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...

 and performed at the Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....

, the Salle Pleyel and the Wigmore Hall

Wigmore Hall

Wigmore Hall is a leading international recital venue that specialises in hosting performances of chamber music and is best known for classical recitals of piano, song and instrumental music. It is located at 36 Wigmore Street, London, UK and was built to provide London with a venue that was both...

.

He later ranked 6th at the inaugural edition of the Sendai International Music Competition

Sendai International Music Competition

The Sendai International Music Competition is a violin and piano music competition held in Sendai, Japan, presented in association with the Sendai International Music Competition Organizing Committee, City of Sendai and the Sendai Cultural Foundation...

, obtained a diploma at the 2003 Queen Elisabeth Music Competition

Queen Elisabeth Music Competition

The Queen Elisabeth Music Competition, a founding member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions has been, since its foundation, considered the world over to be one of the most prestigious and most difficult. It is devoted to violin , piano , to composition and to singing...

 and was awarded the 2004 Glasgow Competition's 3rd prize. In 2007 Tebenikhin won the Anton Rubinstein Competition

Anton Rubinstein Competition

The original Anton Rubinstein Competition was staged by Rubinstein himself every five years from 1890 to 1910 . The winners of the piano competition usually received a white Schroeder piano as the prize. Winners include:...

and reached the II Beethoven Competition in Bonn semi-finals.