Bloch “Shelomo” and her own Cello Concerto which she premiered in San
Francisco to rave reviews, the Dvorak Cello Concerto with the Philharmonia ...
Nina Kotova Biography (short) According to Newsweek magazine, Russian-born cellist Nina Kotova “is a fantastically gifted cellist. Very expressive, imaginative, and she has a powerful stage presence”. Time magazine states: “She is a musician of high seriousness and real talent”. Nina Kotova studied at Moscow Conservatory and the Musikhochschule in Cologne, giving her first performance as a soloist with orchestra the at age 11. She made her Western debut in Prague in 1986 and followed with debuts at Wigmore Hall, the Barbican Centre in London, Carnegie Hall in New York, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Berlin Philharmonic. Nina Kotova has appeared in recital and as a soloist with major orchestras across the globe touring the capitals of Europe, Asia and the USA in collaboration with leading soloists and conductors such as Vladimir Jurowski, Jean Yves Thibaudet, Antonio Pappano, Helene Grimaud, Joshua Bell, Sir James Galway, Lang Lang, Sting, and many more. Ms. Kotova has had the distinction of performing live in broadcast from Red Square in Moscow, for the Imperial family of Japan and at Buckingham Palace. Nina Kotova’s recordings include her chart-topping debut album for Philips Classics, the Bloch “Shelomo” and her own Cello Concerto which she premiered in San Francisco to rave reviews, the Dvorak Cello Concerto with the Philharmonia Orchestra for Sony Classics and the Deutsche Grammophon compilation “Masters of the Bow”, which pays homage to the greatest cellists of the last 50 years. In addition to being the co-founder of the Tuscan Sun Festival in Cortona, Italy and the Festival Del Sole in Napa Valley, Ms. Kotova has taught as a visiting artist at the University of Texas and has been the subject of numerous features in Time, Newsweek, Vogue, Elle and the Wall Street Journal, as well as being on the covers of Classic FM, Gramophone China, Il Venerdi Italia and Reader's Digest and appearing on television on A&E’s “Breakfast with the Arts” and the “Charlie Rose Show”. In 2011 Ms. Kotova was presented an award for her outstanding cultural contributions to Tuscany from the Tuscan - American Association as a co-founder of the Tuscan Sun Festival. A composer herself and a champion of contemporary music, Ms. Kotova has commissioned works from leading composers that she has premiered with ensembles including the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic with Jaap Van Zweden conducting.
The highlights of this concert season include performances in Brazil, at the Berlin Philharmonic, at the Placido Domingo Festival in Spain, a concerto premiere with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, and a UK orchestral tour featuring the Shostakovich Cello Concerto N.1 and the Rococo Variations by Tchaikovsky.
