"Hard to imagine an instrument understading your thoughts and ideas better than Bechstein. It is a true poet which makes music speak and sing."
- Zlata Chochieva
Zlata Chochieva first came to international attention with her highly-praised recordings of works by Chopin and Rachmaninov. Displaying a deep affinity with these composers, combined with probing honesty and imagination, they have established her as a distinctive voice amongst pianists. Hailed by Gramophone as “the possessor of a comprehensive technique who brings an inner glow to every bar”, Zlata Chochieva has been regularly appearing at many prestigious concert halls, most notably at Herkulessaal Munich, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Philharmonie de Paris, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Konzerthaus Berlin, Victoria Hall in Geneva, Tivoli Concert Hall in Copenhagen, Casa da Música Porto, the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory and Grand Hall of Saint Petersburg Philharmonia. She has performed with numerous major orchestras, including the Russian National Orchestra, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the Copenhagen Philharmonic, the Slovak Radio Symphony, the Munich Chamber Orchestra, and the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra. Conductors Zlata has enjoyed working with include Mikhail Pletnev, Karl-Heinz Steffens, Simon Gaudenz, Terje Mikkelsen, Charles Olivieri-Munroe, Tugan Sokhiev and Vladimir Spivakov. Highlights of the previous seasons include her Wigmore Hall debut, as well as performances in Russia with the Svetlanov State Orchestra and the National Philharmonic. Furthermore, she was guest artist in the Serate Musicali series in Milan, at the Berliner Klavierfestival and at Zaubersee Festival Lucerne. In the 2019/20 season Zlata appeared as “Artist in Focus” in three different programmes with the Aachen Symphony Orchestra as well as making her debut with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Solo debuts included the Vienna Konzerthaus, Vancouver Chopin Society, as well as at the Brussels Chopin Days. She also performed a solo recital at the Schinkel Pavillon in Berlin and participated in the online “Moments Musicaux” of the Berliner Klavierfestival, digitally streamed from the Konzerthaus Berlin. Over the years Zlata has acquired many international competition prizes, including Szymanovsky International Competition (Poland), Tivoli Piano Competition (Denmark), Mozart Prize at ARD Competition (Germany), First prizes at Frechilla-Zuloaga Competition (Spain) and Alberto Fano Piano Competition (Italy) and Silver Medal at the First International Piano Competition of Santa Catarina (Brazil), where she was also declared Best Performer of Chopin and Audience Favourite. She has been regularly invited to leading music festivals, including the Miami International Piano Festival, the Gilmore Keyboard Festival (as a Gilmore Rising Star in the 2017-18 season), the «Rarities of Piano Music» in Husum, the Lugano festival «Il Progetto Martha Argerich» and the Lucerne Festival.
Zlata was born in Moscow and is now a resident of Berlin. Her teachers have included Mikhail Pletnev at the Central Special Music School and Pavel Nersessian at the Moscow State Conservatory. Subsequently, Chochieva completed two years of postgraduate studies under Professor Jacques Rouvier at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg where she was his assistant for several years. Zlata established the International Festival at Rachmaninov’s estate in Ivanovka and has been Director since 2018.
Photos @ Uwe Arens & Gregor Willmes
