Rachmaninov: Romance op.4 (Ne poy, krasavitsa)
Glazunov: Élégie in D flat, op.17 (Pensée à Liszt)
Chopin: Étude, op.25 no.7
Stravinsky: Danse russe from Petrushka
Fauré: Élégie
Rimsky-Korsakov: Hymn to the Sun (Turkish Princess) from Le Coq d’or
Kotova: Sketches from the Catwalk
Lyadov: Preludia, op.11 no.1
Kotova: Reminiscence
Glazunov: Entracte (to scene II) from Raymonda, arr: Kotova
Rachmaninov: Vocalise, op.34 no.14, arr: Kotova
Kotova: Dark Blue
Falla: Ritual Fire Dance from El amor brujo
Russian born, Kotova started her first lessons at 6 and at 7 was accepted into adult classes. By 15 Nina had played with all the Soviet Union’s major orchestras. At the age of 18 she had left Russia and graduated from the Cologne Conservatoire at 19, followed by Yale University’s School of Music. By 21 she had two bachelor’s and one master’s degree.
Kotova’s concert playing has been described as “unforgettable”, “passionate and inspiring” and as having “powerfully expressive energy”. At her 1996 debut at the Wigmore Hall in London, she was described as having “flawless technique and unforgettable eloquence”, and in October 1999 she had a triumphant Carnegie Hall debut.
In addition to this prestigious musical career, Kotova was a very successful model appearing in Vogue, Cosmopolitan and Glamour, to name a few.
Time Magazine, 4 October 1999
“Passionate and inspiring. Close to perfection”
Culture, Finland
“Sensation of the evening … She has a unique musical language and the power of expressive energy”
Sotto la Bertazzoli, Italy