BIOGRAPHY
Ekaterina Chebotareva is a Russian-born concert pianist based in Italy, whose artistic identity combines the expressive depth of the Russian pianistic tradition with the refinement and interpretative sensibility cultivated through her musical education in Italy. Distinguished by her poetic imagination, intellectual clarity, and expressive intensity, she has developed an international career encompassing solo recitals, orchestral performances, chamber music, and recording projects.
French pianist Pascal Devoyon has described her as “a sincere musician whose playing has direction and comes truly alive, free of artificial effects,” while London-based music critic Christopher Axworthy has praised her as “a pianist with intelligence, authority, and a poetic understanding.”
Born in Russia in 1997, Chebotareva began studying the piano at the age of three under the guidance of her grandmother, Natalia Grukhina. She won her first piano competition at five and made her orchestral debut at seven with the State Philharmonic Orchestra of Cheboksary. These early achievements marked the beginning of a musical journey that would eventually take her to concert stages across the world.
Her formal education began at the Special Music School for Gifted Children affiliated with the Kazan State Conservatory, where she studied with Professor Elfiya Burnasheva. She subsequently graduated from the N. G. Zhiganov Kazan State Conservatory, completing specialist studies in piano performance, chamber music, and pedagogy.
Continuing her artistic development in Italy, she studied at the renowned Accademia Pianistica Internazionale di Imola “Incontri col Maestro” with Boris Petrushansky, André Gallo and Franco Scala. In 2024, she completed her advanced studies with the highest distinction, receiving a final grade of 110/110 and an academic honour. Her final project, "Russian Culture in Italy", reflected the artistic dialogue between the two musical traditions that have shaped her career. She continued her professional development at the Academy in 2024–2025 under the guidance of André Gallo.
Chebotareva's international performing career has taken her to Italy, Russia, Germany, France, Spain, the Czech Republic, Japan, and China. She has appeared at distinguished concert venues including the Teatro Dante Alighieri in Ravenna, Teatro Filarmonico di Verona, Sala Bossi in Bologna, the Grand Concert Hall of the Moscow International House of Music, and Sunport Hall Takamatsu in Japan.
Her festival appearances include the international VVFest in Brno, the Lugo Music Festival in Italy, the International Music Festival in Paris, and artistic projects associated with the Vladimir Spivakov Foundation and the Yuri Bashmet Festivals in Russia.
In 2026, she was selected as one of 45 pianists from many international applicants to participate in the 6th Takamatsu International Piano Competition in Japan, representing her artistic connections with both Russia and Italy.
An experienced orchestral soloist, Chebotareva commands a repertoire of more than twenty piano concertos, alongside an extensive selection of solo and chamber music spanning the Classical, Romantic, and twentieth-century repertoire. She has collaborated with orchestras including the Svetlanov Youth Symphony Orchestra, the State Symphony Orchestra of the Republic of Tatarstan, and the New Music Orchestra in Kazan. Her work with conductors includes collaborations with Günter Stegmüller, Bogusław Dawidow, Vasily Valitov, Anna Gulishmbarova, and Alexander Sladkovsky.
In September 2026, she made her debut with the Orchestra del Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania under the direction of Rubén Micieli, performing music by the Italian composer Azio Corghi. Earlier that year, she undertook an extensive concert tour of China together with Russian violinist Timur Gilyazutdinov in "Infinitum" duo, comprising thirty performances of chamber music and solo programs.
A prizewinner of more than twenty piano competitions, Chebotareva has received numerous distinctions throughout her career. Among her achievements are the First Prize, Best Pianist Award, and Special Mention from the Teatro Comunale di Bologna at the Premio Alberghini International Competition (2023); Second Prize at the Domenico Scarlatti International Piano Competition in Trapani (2024); First Prize at the Tadini International Music Competition (2022); and First Prize at the Città di San Donà di Piave International Piano Competition (2021).
Her earlier distinctions include First Prizes at the Sofia Gubaidulina International Piano Competition in Kazan and the Maria Yudina International Piano Competition in St Petersburg, both in 2016, as well as awards at the Konstantin Igumnov, Stanislav Neuhaus, and Yuri Egorov competitions. She was also a semifinalist at the Étoiles du Piano International Competition in France and the Verona International Piano Competition in 2023.
Her discographic work reflects a particular affinity for the Romantic repertoire.
- In 2022, she participated in Schumann: The Works for Solo Piano, released by 2R Studio Produzioni Multimediali, contributing a recording of Robert Schumann's "Humoresque", op. 20.
- In February 2025, she recorded Johannes Brahms's "8 Klavierstucke", op. 76, at Yamaha Europe Studio in Milan as part of a project dedicated to the composer's complete piano works. The recording was presented on 15 November 2025 at the Fondazione Accademia Internazionale di Imola during the Performing Brahms series, before an international audience of musicologists and scholars, including Walter Frisch, Teresa Cäcilia Ramming, Cecilia Oinas, Johannes Leertouwer, and Guido Salvetti.
Alongside her solo career, Chebotareva is an accomplished chamber musician and collaborative pianist. During her studies at the Accademia di Imola, she collaborated with distinguished artists including violinists Boris Belkin and Maurizio Sciarretta, guitarist Giovanni Puddu, and conductor Marco Boni. She has also participated as a collaborative pianist in masterclasses led by Pinchas Zukerman and Pavel Berman.
Her work with singers encompasses major vocal repertoire, including Franz Schubert's "Winterreise", Modest Mussorgsky's "Songs and Dances of Death", and romances by Sergei Rachmaninoff. In 2024, she successfully passed an audition for a collaborative piano position at the Opéra National de Paris, ultimately choosing to concentrate on her solo performing career.
Since 2024, Chebotareva has been Artist-in-Residence at the historic Teatro Mazzacorati 1763 in Bologna, where she regularly presents solo and chamber music programmes.
An active and dedicated educator, she teaches piano internationally, working with students in Italy and abroad. Her teaching combines the technical foundations of the Russian piano school with an emphasis on interpretative independence, musical imagination, and stylistic awareness. Her students have received prizes at competitions including "Premio Alberghini", the "Domenico Scarlatti International Piano Competition", "MusicArte", and "Recondite Armonie" in Italy.
Her commitment to music education also extends to international competition juries. She has served as a jury member of the "Giovanissimi Suoni International Youth Competition" in Italy in 2024, 2025, and 2026, as well as the "Ludus Classicus International Online Piano Competition" in Russia in 2026.
Beyond the concert stage, Chebotareva is actively engaged in artistic leadership and international cultural exchange. Together with Italian classical guitarist Diego Melfi, she co-founded Gala Music Festival in 2023, serving as its Vice-President and contributing to the development of concert seasons and international artistic collaborations. The festival presented twenty concerts across three Italian cities during its inaugural season and expanded to more than sixty performances throughout Italy in its second season.
Through her performances, recordings, educational initiatives, and international collaborations, Ekaterina Chebotareva continues to pursue an artistic path defined by intellectual curiosity, expressive sincerity, and a commitment to bringing classical music to audiences around the world.