Nina Kotova (born 27 October 1969)[1] is an American cellist of Eastern European descent. As well as being a versatile artist and an established composer she is a recording artist who performs both as a soloist with major orchestras and as a chamber musician.
Early life and education
Nina Kotova was born in Moscow. Her father was double bassist Ivan Kotov, who died when she was 15. Kotova began studying at the Moscow Conservatory when she was seven years old, and later studied in Cologne at the encouragement of her mother. When she was 21, Kotova received a scholarship for Yale University but could not afford to study there and moved to New York. She was scouted by a modeling talent scout in 1990.[2]
Career
As a soloist, Kotova made her Western debut at the Smetana Hall in Prague in 1986 with Elgar Cello Concerto and at the Wigmore Hall in 1996, performed at the Barbican Centre, signed contract and released her chart-topping debut album for Philips Classics, and made her Carnegie Hall debut in 1999.[3]
In 2011, Kotova received an award for outstanding cultural contribution to Tuscany from the Tuscan-American Association as a co-founder of the Tuscan Sun Festival.[7][8] She co-founded the Tuscan Sun Festival in 2003 and its sister-festival Festival Del Sole in Napa Valley in 2006[9][10] and served as the Artistic Director of the Tuscan Sun Festival (also known as the Festival del Sole) in Cortona, Italy.[11] She is an Artistic co-director of the concert series Domus Artium.[12]
As a professor, Kotova has taught as an Artist in Residence at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas.Ms. Kotova was recently appointed this year as a permanent professor of Violoncello at the prestigious International Academy of Imola in Italy.
Shortly before the fall of the Soviet Union, Kotova defected to the West. In her early twenties, she briefly pursued her second career as a top high fashion model, working with such designers as Emanuel Ungaro, Missoni, Chanel and others for fashion shows and editorial. After she left the government owned cello in her country, her dream was to own a cello and to begin performing.
As an artist, Kotova has been featured in the books of several leading photographers such as Arrowsmith: Fashion, Beauty &[36] and Joyce TennesonJoyce Tenneson: Transformations.[37]
"...Nina is a musician of high seriousness and real talent..." - Time magazine[38]
"...She's a talent to reckon with - poised, committed, graceful and spirited." - Los Angeles Times[39]
Discography
Nina Kotova - Chopin, Faure, Falla, Glazunov, et al. with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra; Constantine Orbelian, conductor - Philips Records, 1999
Bloch, Bruch, Kotova: Nina Kotova-Cello Concerto with Philharmonia of Russia; Constantine Orbelian, conductor - Delos Productions, 2002
Masters Of The Bow - Cello (2 CD) - Deutsche Grammophon, 2003
Dvorak: Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104 with Philharmonia Orchestra; Andrew Litton, conductor - Sony Classical, 2008
Bach: 6 Suites for Cello Solo (2 CD) - Warner Classics, 2014
Rachmaninov - Prokofiev: Cello Sonatas with Fabio Bidini, pianist - Warner Classics, 2017
Nina Kotova Plays Tchaikovsky with Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra; Vladimir Fedoseyev, conductor - Delos Productions, 2017
A Romantic Recital: Brahms, Reger, Schumann, with Jose Feghali, pianist - Warner Classics, 2021
