Elina Gotsouliak

Elina Gotsouliak, Piano
Born in Riga, Latvia, young concert pianist Elina Gotsouliak is one of the most versatile and promising talents of her generation. She received her first music training in her home town where she studied piano and harpsichord at the Riga Music Academy. She already began to regularly attend master classes given by Rudolf Buchbinder in Zurich while studying in Riga and after completing her degree in Latvia studied with him in his master class at the Musikhochschule Basel, obtaining a Piano Performance degree with honors in 2008. Rudolf Buchbinder has written about her: “Elina Gotsouliak is an excellent pianist who has a brilliant, smooth technique which she skillfully places at the service of musical interpretation. She also possesses deep knowledge of music, allowing her to choose just the right timbre for each style of music she performs.”

Elina Gotsouliak was a scholarship recipient of the Dr. Gerber Foundation and has won First Prizes at various piano competitions including Concours Musical de France Ginette Gaubert and the Concours International de Piano Maryse Cheilan in France.

Because she feels at home performing on the harpsichord or piano, her repertoire ranges from the early Baroque period all the way to the most recent New Music. She has also gained important musical inspiration from working with Heinz Holliger, György Kurtag, Gerard Wyss, Andrey Jashinski, Hans Schicker, and Alexey Lubimov. During her studies and especially after her success at piano competitions, she began an active career as a concert pianist throughout Europe, performing with Latvian Chamber Orchestra and the Basle Symphony Orchestra. She has also appeared as a guest artist at international music festivals including Musica Viva (Germany), the J. S. Bach International Chamber Music Festival (Latvia), the Berengaria Festival (Cyprus) and as the chamber music partner of Francois Benda and Felix Renggli.
Her first solo CD to mark the 200th birthday of Frederic Chopin will be released in the winter of 2009/2010 and features the composer’s late works.