AKIPRESS.COM - Uzbekistan-born American pianist Lola Astanova visited Tashkent, the city where she grew up. Lola met with first lady of Uzbekistan Ziroathan Mirziyoyeva, centralasian.org reports.

Born to an Uzbek family, at the age of six Astanova entered the V. Uspensky Specialized School of Music for Gifted Children.

Astanova started touring as a concert pianist at the age of eight. She performed in Germany, France, Austria, Italy and Russia in both solo programs and performances with orchestras. She became a laureate at the 1996 International Chopin Competition for Young Pianists in Moscow. In 1998, she was featured in the UNESCO documentary "Prodigies of the 20th Century". In 2003, she emigrated to the United States; her debut there was at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, the following year.

Astanova has received attention for her performance style and appearance, often wearing extremely high-heels and tiny mini skirts. She has expressed her love for fashion stating that "some extraordinary artists" work in this field.