Scott Speck, conductor
Zlata Chochieva, piano
Saturday, April 11, 2026 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, April 12, 2026 at 2:30 pm
Saenger Theatre
This concert, including intermission, is approximately 1 hour, 30 minutes.
PROGRAM
Michael Daughtery: Desi
(b. 1954)
George Gershwin: An American in Paris
(1898-1937)
INTERMISSION
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3, D minor, Op. 30
(1873-1943)
Zlata Chochieva, piano
Our Soloist
Zlata Chochieva
Writing in Gramophone of Zlata Chochieva’s sensational recording of the Chopin Etudes, being included in Gramophone’s list of 10 greatest Chopin recordings, critic Jeremy Nicholas exclaimed, “it is certainly one of the most consistently inspired, masterfully executed and beautiful-sounding versions I can recall.”
In the 2024/2025 season, Zlata Chochieva made her Carnegie Hall solo debut in New York and orchestral debut in Paris with Marzena Diakun, as well as playing recitals at the new Bechstein Hall in London, Konzerthaus Berlin, Sala Verdi in Milan, at Victoria Concert Hall Singapore among others.
Recording exclusively for Naïve Records, her debut orchestral CD with BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra was released in 2024 featuring piano with orchestra works by Rimsky-Korsakov, Prokofiev and Tsfasman. Her most recent solo release, ‘Im freien’, met much critical acclaim, named ‘Editor’s Choice’ on Gramophone Magazine and earning 5-star review by Musica magazine. Her ‘(re)creations’ disc, recorded during the pandemic on Accentus (a collection of piano transcriptions by Rachmaninov, Liszt, and Friedman), won a prestigious ‘German Record Critics’ Award.
At the age of four Zlata made her first stage appearance, and just three years later, made her orchestral debut performing a Mozart Concerto at the Grand Hall of the Moscow State Conservatory. Since then, she has given concerts at the Herkulessaal Munich, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Philharmonie de Paris, Wigmore Hall, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Konzerthaus Berlin, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Victoria Hall in Geneva, Tivoli Concert Hall in Copenhagen, Casa da Música Porto, the Grand Hall of Moscow Conservatory, and Taiwan’s National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts.
Having a remarkably extensive and varied orchestral repertoire of about 60 concerti, Zlata Chochieva has performed with numerous major orchestras, including the Russian National Orchestra, Russian State Symphony Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Copenhagen Philharmonic, Munich Chamber Orchestra and National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan. Conductors Zlata has enjoyed working with include Mikhail Pletnev, Simon Gaudenz, Dmitry Matvienko and Tugan Sokhiev.
She is a devoted chamber music performer having worked with Stephen Kovacevich, Lynn Harrell, Gilles Apap, Wenzel Fuchs and Jacquelyn Wagner, among others.
Zlata was born in Moscow and now resides in Berlin. A protege of Mikhail Pletnev at the Central Special Music School, she also studied with Pavel Nersessian at the Moscow State Conservatory. She completed her studies at Mozarteum University of Salzburg with Jacques Rouvier and was subsequently his assistant for several years.
In 2018, Zlata established the International Festival at Rachmaninov’s estate in lvanovka and serves as its director. In 2023 she performed and spoke about Rachmaninoff at his Villa Senar in a project titled ‘The Alchemy of the Piano’ by the German film producer Jan Schmidt-Garre.
Find out more about Zlata at zlatachochieva.com
TakeNote! Learn More, Enjoy More
Enhance your concert experience with Take-Note! Join music experts and explore the world of classical music from an in-depth perspective. This informative pre-concert talk begins at 6:30 p.m. before Saturday classical performances and 1:30 p.m. before Sunday classical performances in Room 1927 adjacent to the Saenger entrance on Joachim Street.
Bring the kids for FREE on Sunday!
Through MSO’s Big Red Ticket program, sponsored by Alabama Power Foundation and the Figures Foundation, students in grades K-12 can attend any classical Sunday matinee FREE when accompanied by a paying adult. It’s a great cultural opportunity and an amazing concert experience! Seats are limited, so please purchase tickets by phone at (251)432-2010. Please no children under 5 and no babies in arms. Want to bring a student on a Saturday? Student tickets are just $10.
Comments from our Music Director and Program Notes will be added soon.