Photo: Lisa-Marie Mazzucco

Nadejda Vlaeva, born in Sofia, Bulgaria, began playing the piano at the age of five. At fifteen, she won First Prize at the Liszt Competition in Lucca, Italy. Her other accolades include Third Prize at the International Liszt Competition in Budapest and the Yamaha Prize for Best Brahms Interpretation. She studied in Bulgaria, the Netherlands, and New York City and currently divides her time between Europe and New York. Nadejda Vlaeva is an award-winning pianist and composer, celebrated for her poetic musicality and dazzling virtuosity. A recipient of Bulgarian National Radio’s prestigious Musician of the Year award, she has performed in North America, Europe, and Asia, playing in prestigious concert halls such as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall and Rose Hall at Lincoln Center, the Oriental Arts Center in Shanghai, and the Concertgebouw in the Netherlands. She studied in Bulgaria, the Netherlands, and New York City and currently divides her time between Europe and New York. As a Hyperion Recording Artist, Vlaeva was the first pianist to record Camille Saint-Saëns’ complete Bach transcriptions, a release hailed as “absolutely breathtaking.” Her album “Piano Music of Liszt” received the Grand Prix “Liszt” du Disque, and her recording “Piano Music of Sergei Bortkiewicz” was chosen as MusicWeb’s Recording of the Year. Her latest CD, featuring world premiere recordings of works by Pancho Vladigerov, was named Gramophone’s Editor’s Choice and International Piano’s Critic’s Choice. Her festival appearances include the Bortkiewicz Festival, the Chopin Festival in Kosovo, the Evmelia Festival in Greece, the Portland Piano International, and the Houston International Piano Festival in the USA. She has been a guest artist at numerous universities, where she gave concerts and taught masterclasses, and has served as a jury member at competitions in New York, Colorado, California, Texas, Hawaii, North Carolina, and other North American cities. In addition, she is involved in programs that provide access to music for people with physical and intellectual disabilities in America and Europe. Alongside her concert activities, Vlaeva is also active as a composer. Her original works and arrangements are published by the Contemporary Composers Circle.