Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, in 1974 into a family of musicians, Andrei Pushkarev began studying piano at the age of five. In 1980, he entered the Kyiv Special Music School and, at fourteen, turned to percussion. From 1992, he continued his professional training at the Tchaikovsky National Academy of Music in Kyiv.
During his studies, he began composing and making his own transcriptions, focusing in particular on the vibraphone, which became his main solo instrument. In 1995, he won First Prize at the “New Names of Ukraine” competition as a solo vibraphonist, performing one of his own compositions at the award ceremony. Between 1995 and 1999, he performed as a soloist with numerous chamber ensembles in Ukraine. In 1996, he was appointed principal timpanist of the Kyiv Philharmonic Orchestra, becoming, at the age of 22, the youngest principal timpanist of a Ukrainian symphony orchestra.
In 1999, he joined Kremerata Baltica, taking part in numerous recordings for labels including Nonesuch, Deutsche Grammophon and ECM. He is featured as solo timpanist on After Mozart, which won a Grammy Award and an ECHO Award in 2002.
He subsequently developed an extensive career as a solo vibraphonist, performing, among other venues, at the Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival with his own arrangements of music by Astor Piazzolla, Richard Rodgers and Tchaikovsky. He has created numerous arrangements for vibraphone and violin, both with and without chamber orchestra. At Lockenhaus, at Gidon Kremer’s suggestion, he developed Bach Vibrations, a project based on J. S. Bach’s 15 Two-Part Inventions, reworked in the styles of jazz pianists including Oscar Peterson, Dave Brubeck and Chick Corea. First presented in 2004 in Basel at Gidon Kremer’s “Les Musiques” festival, the project was recorded the same year for the Austrian label Gramola and was selected by Deutsche Schallplattenkritik Bestenliste among the discoveries of the year. In 2005, Pushkarev presented Bach Vibrations as a solo recital at the Verbier Music Festival.
He has collaborated with musicians including Yo-Yo Ma, Martha Argerich, Vadim Repin, Julian Rachlin, Gabriela Montero, Didier Lockwood, Michel Portal, Mario Brunello, Peter Sadlo, Katia Skanavi, Maxim Rysanov and Gábor Boldoczki, and with conductors including Yury Temirkanov, Voldemar Nelsson and Roman Kofman. In 2004, he also received the prize for solo vibraphonist from the “Pro Europe” Foundation.
In 2005, he toured worldwide in duo with Gidon Kremer and, in 2006, took part in the project From Bach to Piazzolla with Kremer and Lithuanian pianist Andrius Žlabys, which received great acclaim in the United States and South America. Since 2009, he has regularly given masterclasses in South America, Europe and Australia and has served on the juries of numerous international percussion competitions, including the TROMP Percussion Competition in the Netherlands (2010) and the International PAS Competition in Italy (2011 and 2012).
In 2010, together with Gidon Kremer and Argentine bandoneonist Dino Saluzzi, he recorded Themes from the Songbook, a collection of music for film and theatre by Georgian composer Giya Kancheli, released by ECM Records in October of the same year.
Since 2013, Pushkarev has been an endorser and official artist of Majestic Percussion and Innovative Percussion. Alongside his own compositions, he creates numerous arrangements for orchestra and chamber ensembles, collaborating with internationally renowned musicians.
