NATALIA GUTMAN

Russian cellist, People's Artist of USSR (1991).

The famous cellist Natalia Gutman was born in Kazan in 1942 in a musical family. Her first solo performance took place at the age of 9. She graduated from the Moscow Conservatory and went on to complete her musical education at the Leningrad Conservatory.

A pupil of well-known teachers (Mstislav Rostropovich and Mikhail Kozolupov), she easily won prizes at prestigious international competitions in Vienna, Prague, Munich and Moscow. First prize winner at the World Youth Festival in Vienna (1959), First Prize at the Dvorak International Competition for Cellists in Prague (1961), second place at the All-Union Competition for musicians in Moscow (1961) and many other international competitions.

On the Russian scene, Natalia Gutman was the first performer of modern and avant-garde works by European composers (Paul Hindemith and Lutoslawski Witold). Professor Gutman enjoys enormous prestige among the young practitioners of music. Her students at the Moscow Conservatory and the Stuttgart Academy of Music include many talented artists.

She has performed with leading orchestras and distinguished conductors: the philharmonic orchestras of Vienna, Berlin, Munich, St. Petersburg, London Symphony Orchestra, Concertgebouw Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, and has played in ensembles with Isaac Stern, Oleg Kagan, Eliso Virsaladze, Martha Argerich, Yuri Bashmet, Evgeny Kisin and others. Alfred Schnittke and Sofia Gubaidulina have devoted works to her.

She played at prestigious festivals in Berlin, Salzburg, Lucerne, and at the BBC Proms  and Moscow’s December Nights.

The repertoire of Natalia Gutman includes practically all significant works written for the cello. Her particular passion is playing in an ensemble. For many years, Natalia Gutman was one of the ensemble partners of the great pianist Sviatoslav Richter.