Katya Apekisheva, Piano
Born in Moscow into a family of musicians, Katya moved to London in 1994 to study at the Royal College of Music and in 1995 she was awarded President's Rose Bowl which was presented to her by HRH Prince of Wales. In 1996, in addition to her successes in the Leeds and Scottish competitions, Katya won London Philharmonic Orchestra Soloist of the year and also the prestigious Terence Judd Award.
Katya Apekisheva is one of Europe's foremost pianists, in demand internationally as a soloist and chamber musician, and has been described by Gramophone magazine as 'a profoundly gifted artist' who has 'already achieved artistic greatness'. Katya has appeared as soloist with many of the world's leading orchestras including the London Philharmonic, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Halle Orchestra, the Moscow Philharmonic, the Jerusalem Symphony and the English Chamber Orchestra. She has collaborated with such conductors as Sir Simon Rattle, David Shallon and Alexander Lazarev.
Her solo CD release of Grieg solo piano works this year has received over-whelming critical acclaim. It was also chosen by Classic FM as CD of the week and selected by Gramophone Magazine as Editor's Choice. It received a Rising Star award in International Piano Magazine and was Critic's choice for the year 2008 in Gramophone Magazine. Katya has also collaborated on several recordings with the violinist Jack Liebeck, including a Classical Brit-nominated CD. Katya’s role as the Jack Liebeck’s accompanist has been critically acclaimed.
Equally at home as a chamber musician, Katya collaborates with Janine Jansen, Natalie Clein, Maxim Rysanov, Jack Liebeck, Boris Brovtsyn, Alexei Ogrinchouk and Nicholas Daniel among others. In this capacity she is a regular guest at major chamber music festivals around the world. Recent highlights include performances at Utrecht, Leicester, Ancona, Homecoming Festivals , tour of USA with Nicola Benedetti and appearances at Berlin Spectrum Series. She also made recordings for BBC radio 3 and German radio. Her most recent performances include concertos with Santiago Philarmonic Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra , Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and collaboration with Jan Latham-Koenig, Paul Watkins, Jason Lai and Emmanuel Siffert. This season highlights include concerto tour of South Africa, CD release with Jack Liebeck on Sony Label and Wigmore Hall Recital.