The Justin Bieber Of The Classical World Will Play A Concert At The Royal Albert Hall

YouTube star and virtuoso pianist Valentina Lisitsa signs record deal and will play a concert at the Royal Albert Hall.

Valentina Lisitsa, who has been playing piano since the age of 3, began her rise to Internet stardom five years ago, when she posted a Rachmaninov etude nicknamed "Little Red Riding Hood" on the Internet.

Perhaps in part bolstered by her flashing long fingers and blonde tresses, that video clip has had 1.5 million views, while her Beethoven "Moonlight Sonata" has garnered almost 3 million views and numerous other videos of hers have viewership of a half million and up.

Some classical music clips on the Internet, even by famous performers, have viewership in the low thousands.

Lisitsa, who had been pursuing her career without a professional manager or promoter, attributed her success to "word of mouth" and said she thought the Internet had created a new way to reach the public.

"If people pretend to be something they're not, people can feel that in the digital age," she told Reuters in a telephone interview. "They know when they are being sold something."

Lisitsa, who trained at the Kiev Conservatory, said: “I could not have done this without all my online fans around the world. Their reactions tell me every day that I am doing the right thing and that’s the best reward for my hard work. Now I want to say thank you and give them a great concert live and online.”

Jasper Hope, Chief Operating Officer of the Royal Albert Hall, said: “Valentina is a force of nature and an extraordinary talent. I don’t know anybody else who has done this before.”

Although she will now be playing in one of the world's most renowned venues, it won't be her first London gig. Last October, she played a concert at St Mary's Church, Perivale, near Ealing. The concert, at the small 12th-century church, was attended by around 130 people who paid £10 (wine included) for the special fundraiser. She used the church piano and the creaky old piano stool giving a dazzling display that included an encore featuring Ave Maria.

Lisitsa fans will be able to vote online to decide what she will play in the slightly grander setting of the Royal Albert Hall.