Ekaterina Mechetina

• Honoured Artist of Russia (2018)

Ekaterina Mechetina was born in Moscow. Began to study music at the age of four. In 2001 she graduated from the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory (class of Vladimir Ovchinnikov), in 2004 completing a postgraduate study at the conservatory (class of Sergei Dorensky). While a student Ekaterina was a grant recipient of the Vladimir Spivakov International Charity Foundation and the Mstislav Rostropovich Foundation, and on the invitation of the latter, in 2004 she undertook a traineeship in Paris. Since 2007 she was a soloist with the Moscow Philharmonic Society.

Prize-winner at the Premio Mozart competition (Verona, 1989; Grand Prix), the International Chopin Youth Competition (Moscow, 1992; 2^nd prize and special award “For Artistry and Charm”), the Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition (Bolzano, Italy, 1995; 5^th prize), the Épinal International Piano Competition (France, 1999; 2^nd prize), the Giovan Battista Viotti International Music Competition (Vercelli, Italy, 2002; 2^nd prize), the International Chamber Music Competition Pinerolo e Torino – Città metropolitana (Italy, 2003; 1^st prize) and the Cincinnati World Piano Competition (USA, 2004; 1^st prize and Gold Medal).

Has taken part in the Rodion Shchedrin Music Festival (Moscow, 2002, 2007 and 2012), the festivals Europalia (Brussels), Consonances (Saint-Nazaire, France), December Nights of Sviatoslav Richter, Moscow Autumn, Crescendo, Russian Winter, Benois de la Danse, Stars on Baikal, the Dubrovnik Summer Festival (Croatia) and the Lille Piano(s) Festival. On stage she has been partnered by Rodion Shchedrin, Vladimir Spivakov, Mstislav Rostropovich, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Saulius Sondeckis, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Alexey Utkin, Alexander Knyazev,  Alexander Ghindin, Boris Andrianov, Daniil Kogan and Graf Murzha among other acclaimed Russian and international musicians. Since 2007 she has performed in a trio – alongside violinist Nikita Boriso-Glebsky and cellist Sergey Antonov. Has appeared at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia, the Moscow International Performing Arts Centre, the St Petersburg Philharmonia, the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and the Salle Gaveau (Paris), the Conservatorio di Musica Giuseppe Verdi di Milano’s Sala Grande, the Auditorium di Milano and Tokyo’s Yamaha Hall and Casals Hall among other venues. Actively collaborates with contemporary composers, including Rodion Shchedrin (who entrusted her with the world premiere of his Sixth Piano Concerto), Alexey Rybnikov, Alexander Tchaikovsky, Tolib-khon Shakhidi, Efrem Podgaits, Kuzma Bodrov and Oleg Paiberdin.

Ekaterina Mechetina’s recordings include a release with Fuga Libera (solo disc featuring works by Rachmaninoff, 2005), Empire of Music (a disc featuring works by Shchedrin and Tolib-khon Shakhidi, 2008) and Melodiya (solo disc featuring works by Tchaikovsky, Musorgsky and Rachmaninoff, 2013). In 2019 she recorded and released at the Moscow Conservatory an album of works by Tchaikovsky entitled Original Suite. For many years Mechetina has been collaborating with the Melodiya label, where she released solo albums with piano compositions by Tchaikovsky, Musorgsky and Rachmaninoff (2013), with works by Chopin and Scriabin (2018), as well as a disc with piano concerti by Ravel and Gershwin, recorded together with Krasnoyarsk’s Siberian State Symphony Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Lande (2021). Together with Vyacheslav Butusov she recorded the concert-performance Joy Awoken (2016) and the instrumental album Chiaroscuro (2020).

Recipient of the Triumph youth award (2003) and the Russian Presidential Prize for Young Workers of Culture for 2010. In November 2017 Ekaterina Mechetina received 1^st prize at the 1^st International Cultural Festival Russian Rome in the category “For the advancement of world culture in the sphere of music”.

Since 2011 she has been a member of the Council for Culture and Arts of the President of the Russian Federation. Since 2013 Mechetina has been President of the Green Noise International Youth Festival of Arts (Surgut) and since 2021 has been Artistic Director of the Attraction of Music festival (Almetyevsk and Nizhnekamsk, Tatarstan). From 2009 she was an assistant and since 2020 has been an associate professor at the Department of Special Piano at the Moscow Conservatory. Has composed and presented the programmes Diary of a Pianist and Musical Alphabet with Ekaterina Mechetina on Radio Orpheus.
Author of a teaching book about Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto and a collection of pieces Notebook of Ekaterina Mechetina. Part 1. Both books were released by the Composer · St Petersburg publishing house in 2022.
Information for April 2023