BIOGRAPHY

Ekaterina Chebotareva is a Russian concert pianist based in Italy, acclaimed for the depth of her musical vision, her poetic sensitivity, and the intellectual clarity of her interpretations. Described by Pascal Devoyon as “a sincere musician whose playing has direction and comes truly alive, free of artificial effects,” and by London-based music critic Christopher Axworthy as “a pianist with intelligence, authority, and a poetic understanding,” she represents a refined synthesis of the Russian pianistic tradition and the Italian artistic school.

Born in Russia in 1997, Ekaterina began studying piano at the age of three under the guidance of her grandmother, Natalia Grukhina. She won her first competition at the age of five and made her orchestral debut at seven with the State Philharmonic Orchestra of Cheboksary. After twelve years of musical training in Russia, she continued her artistic development in Italy, graduating from the prestigious Accademia Pianistica Internazionale di Imola “Incontri col Maestro”, where she studied with renowned masters including Boris Petrushansky and André Gallo.

Her concert career has taken her to major stages and festivals across Italy, Russia, Japan, China, Germany, France, Spain, the Czech Republic, and other countries. She has performed in prestigious venues such as the Teatro Dante Alighieri in Ravenna, the Teatro Filarmonico di Verona, the Grand Concert Hall of the Moscow International House of Music, and Sunport Hall Takamatsu in Japan, where she participated in the 6th Takamatsu International Piano Competition, selected among 45 pianists from more than 1,000 applicants worldwide.

Ekaterina’s repertoire is extensive and includes more than twenty piano concertos, as well as a broad solo and chamber music repertoire ranging from the classical tradition to Romantic and twentieth-century masterpieces. She has collaborated with important orchestras including the Svetlanov Youth Symphony Orchestra, the State Symphony Orchestra of the Republic of Tatarstan, and the New Music Orchestra, working with conductors such as Günter Stegmüller, Bogusław Dawidow, Vasily Valitov, Ann Gulishmbarova, and Alexander Sladkovsky.

A laureate of numerous international competitions, Ekaterina has received awards in Italy, Russia, Germany, and France. Among her most recent achievements are the First Prize Absolute, Best Pianist Award, and Special Mention from the Teatro Comunale di Bologna at the Premio Alberghini International Competition, the Second Prize at the Domenico Scarlatti International Piano Competition in Trapani, and prizes at the Città di Riccione, MIMAS Music Festival, Tadini, San Donà di Piave, Gubaidulina, Yudina, and Igumnov international competitions.

Her discographic activity includes participation in the project “Schumann: The Works for Solo Piano”, released by 2R Studio Produzioni Multimediali, with her recording of Robert Schumann’s Humoreske Op. 20. In 2025, she also took part in a recording project dedicated to the complete piano works of Johannes Brahms, recording the 8 Klavierstücke Op. 76 at the Yamaha Europe Studio in Milan. The album was presented at the Fondazione Accademia Internazionale di Imola as part of the series Performing Brahms, in front of an international audience of distinguished musicologists and critics.

Since 2024, Ekaterina has been Artist-in-Residence at Teatro Mazzacorati 1763 in Bologna, where she regularly presents solo and chamber music programs. In 2026, she is scheduled to undertake an extensive concert tour in China, performing both solo and chamber music programs in a series of thirty concerts.

Alongside her solo career, Ekaterina is deeply active in chamber music and vocal repertoire. At the Accademia di Imola, she has collaborated as a pianist with leading artists and professors including Boris Belkin, Maurizio Sciarretta, Giovanni Puddu, and Marco Boni. She has also worked as collaborative pianist in masterclasses with artists such as Pinchas Zukerman and Pavel Berman, and has performed major vocal cycles including Schubert’s Winterreise and Mussorgsky’s Songs and Dances of Death.

In 2023, together with Italian guitarist and artistic director Diego Melfi, Ekaterina co-founded the International Gala Music Festival, a cultural project dedicated to promoting young international artists and bringing high-level classical music to audiences throughout Italy. The festival has rapidly expanded from its first season to a wide national activity, with concerts across Sicily, Emilia-Romagna, Trentino, Lombardy, and other Italian regions.

Ekaterina is also an active teacher, with students awarded in national and international competitions. She gives private lessons in Bologna and has developed international online teaching projects involving young professional pianists from Europe and Asia.

Fluent in Russian, Italian, and English, Ekaterina Chebotareva continues to build an international artistic profile as a pianist of rare sensitivity, intellectual depth, and expressive authority.