Zlata Chochieva, piano Union College

Sunday, February 21, 2027 - 3:00 PM

Making her Carnegie Hall debut this year, the Russian artist is renowned for her breathtaking virtuosity and insightful interpretations. Called “a greatly gifted pianist,” (Gramophone), Chochieva makes her highly anticipated debut in a program of keyboard classics spanning two centuries highlighting her enormous gifts.

Program:
- Beethoven: “Appassionata” Sonata, Op. 57
- Cowell: Aeolian Harp
- Ravel: Gaspard de la nuit
- Saint-Saëns: Prélude & Fugue, Op. 52, No. 3
- Brahms: Third Sonata, Op. 5

Runtime: 2 hours

Union College
Memorial Chapel
Schenectady, NY

General Admission seating—doors open 45 minutes before concert.
All kids and college students admitted free at door.

Pianist Zlata Chochieva is celebrated worldwide by critics and audiences alike. Described as “reminiscent of Sergei Rachmaninov’s playing,” she was hailed for combining “the overwhelming power of Martha Argerich with the subtle, refined tonal sensitivity of her mentor Mikhail Pletnev,” — a highlight from a rave review in the Berliner Morgenpost. Gramophone called her “a greatly gifted pianist,” and selected her recording of the Chopin Etudes as one of the 10 greatest Chopin recordings.

Recording exclusively for Naïve Records, her orchestral album with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra — featuring works for piano and orchestra by Rimsky-Korsakov, Prokofiev, and Tsfasman — received 5-star reviews from BBC Music Magazine and Musica. Her solo release Im freien was named an Editor’s Choice by Gramophone. Her album (re)creations, recorded for Accentus and featuring transcriptions by Rachmaninov, Liszt, and Friedman, was awarded the German Record Critics’ Award (Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik).

Following her Carnegie Hall debut, Zlata Chochieva’s 2025/2026 season includes performances at venues such as the Cologne Philharmonie and the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, recitals in the World Master Pianists series at deSingel in Antwerp and in the Netherlands, and appearances as soloist with orchestras including the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, Mobile Symphony Orchestra, Norrköpings Symfoniorkester, and Aachen Symphony Orchestra. The season features extensive touring across Europe, the United States, and South Africa.

She made her first stage appearance at the age of four and gave her orchestral debut three years later, performing a Mozart concerto at the Grand Hall of the Moscow State Conservatory. From a young age she distinguished herself as a top-prize winner in more than 15 international piano competitions.

With an extensive concerto repertoire of around 60 works, she has appeared with major orchestras such as the Russian National Orchestra, Russian State Symphony Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Copenhagen Philharmonic, Munich Chamber Orchestra, and the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan. She has collaborated with conductors including Tugan Sokhiev, Mikhail Pletnev, Vladimir Spivakov, Dmitry Matvienko, Marzena Diakun, and Christian Øland, and as a chamber musician has performed with Stephen Kovacevich, Lynn Harrell, Gilles Apap, Vilde Frang, Wenzel Fuchs, and Jacquelyn Wagner.

She studied with Mikhail Pletnev at the Central Special Music School, with Pavel Nersessian at the Moscow State Conservatory, and completed her studies at the Mozarteum University Salzburg with Jacques Rouvier, subsequently serving as his assistant for several years.

In 2025, Zlata Chochieva was appointed Professor of Piano at the Hochschule der Künste Bern (HKB). She was born in Moscow to Ossetian parents and now resides in Berlin. She speaks Ossetian. In addition to her performing career, her current main passion is film scoring — she makes her first attempt this year. In 2018 she established the International Festival at Rachmaninov’s estate in Ivanovka and serves as its Director. She is an ambassador for Bärenreiter Verlag.