Zlata Chochieva
The international press describes Zlata Chochieva as “the possessor of a comprehensive technique who brings an inner glow to every bar… Poetic and pianistic command could hardly go further” (Gramophone). Crescendo magazine speaks of an “amazing easiness and extraordinary inner power” and Piano News writes: “… in each piece, she seems to be telling a story which words are unable to express.” Stephen Kovacevich calls her “one of the most interesting and unusual pianists today. She has superb technical abilities, but it is her personal intuition in the music she plays that is special. I would be interested to hear anything she does and that is rare.”

At only five years old, Zlata made her first stage appearance and gave her debut with an orchestra two years later performing Mozart’s Concerto No. 17 at Grand Hall of Moscow State Conservatory. In 1997 she gave a full recital at Rachmaninov Hall of Moscow Conservatory which was broadcast on Russian television and prompted an enthusiastic newspaper critic to write: “One was impressed with no means childish contents of the concert programme. And yet — the meaningfulness of style, combined with the technical boundlessness.”

Shortly after that she caught the attention of Mikhail Pletnev, one of Zlata’s main influences, who invited her to play concerts with Russian National Orchestra and study with him as one of only two students at that time.

Zlata Chochieva has been regularly appearing at world-famous concert halls, most notably at Herkulessaal (Munich), Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Teatro La Fenice (Venice), Tivoli Concert Hall (Copenhagen), Casa da Música (Porto), Belem Cultural Center (Lisbon), Tchaikovsky Concert Hall (Moscow), Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, and Grand Hall of Saint Petersburg Philharmonia. She has performed with numerous major orchestras, including «Russian National Orchestra», «National Philharmonic of Russia», «Svetlanov Symphony Orchestra», «Danish Tivoli Orchestra», «Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia», «Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra», «Nice Philharmonic Orchestra», and «Munich Chamber Orchestra», under such conductors as Terje Mikkelsen, Marek Pijarowski, Paul Goodwin, Mikhail Pletnev, Vladimir Spivakov, Simon Gaudenz, Tugan Sokhiev and Gintaras Rinkevičius.

lata Chochieva has been awarded top prizes at 14 international piano competitions, including Shimanovsky Competition (Poland), Tivoli Piano Competition (Denmark), Mozart Prize at ARD Competition (Germany), First prizes at Frechilla-Zuloaga Competition (Spain) and Alberto Fano Competition (Italy), Gold Medal at the Piano Competition in Copenhagen (Denmark), and Silver Medal at the 1st International Piano Competition of Santa Catarina (Brazil) where she was also distinguished as the Best Performer of Chopin and Audience Favourite.

Zlata is an award winner from «Russian Performing Arts Foundation» (Moscow). In 2005, she was also named «Honorable Artist of the North Ossetia Republic», becoming the youngest ever artist to hold such a distinction.

Chochieva has been regularly invited to many important festivals in Russia, Sweden, Switzerland including Lugano festival «Il Progetto Martha Argerich».

Her performances have been broadcast on television and radio in Italy, Belgium, Spain, Germany, Poland, Russia, Denmark, Norway.

Zlata Chochieva’s discography includes two CDs with «Piano Classics» Label. Her recording of Rachmaninov’s Variation on a Theme of Chopin and First Sonata received outstanding reviews in several prestigious classical music magazines including «Gramophone», «Fono Forum» and «Piano News».

Her recent disc of the complete Chopin Etudes with the same label has been nominated for the «The German Record Critics’ Award» (Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik) and was selected as Editor’s Choice in Gramophone. Critics have already placed this recording among the most noteworthy versions of the Chopin Etudes: “It is certainly one of the most consistently inspired, masterfully executed and beautiful-sounding versions I can recall.”(Jeremy Nicholas, Gramophone), “This recording goes straight into the premier league, together with Perahia and Pollini.” (Jan de Kruijff, Musicalifeiten.nl)

Highlights of the current concert seasons include an appearance of the new album of complete Rachmaninoff Etudes-tableaux, recitals at the Paris Philharmonie, Berlin Philharmonie, Moscow State Philharmonic’s project «Stars of the 21st Century» which includes performing recitals and concerts with orchestras in almost all of the important culture centers in Russia.

Born in Moscow, in 1985, Zlata Chochieva began her musical education at the age of four, studying piano with Nina Dolenko at Flier Music School. From 2000 to 2003 she continued her studies under the supervision of Mikhail Pletnev at Central Special Music School (Studio of Kira Shashkina) and in 2012 graduated with distinction from Moscow State Conservatory under the instruction of Pavel Nersessian. She went on to participate in master-classes with many world-renowned professors, including Pavel Gililov, Pascal Devoyon, Dmitriy Bashkirov, Paul Badura-Skoda, Abdel El Bacha, Jerome Lowenthal, Stephen Kovacevich.

In 2012-2014 attended the Postgraduate Course at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg, the class of Professor Jacques Rouvier, who in 2013 appointed Zlata his assistant.