Emilia Kopatchinskaja

Emilia Kopatchinskaja was born in Moldova and attended music school in the capital Chișinău. She completed her studies at the state Conservatoire, where she studied classical violin and gained a soloist diploma. In 1989 she emigrated with her family to Austria. As a soloist, primarily as an interpreter of Romanian-Moldovan folk music, she has performed with various ensembles and orchestras all over the world. She is particularly renowned for her performances with her husband and duo partner, cimbalom player Viktor Kopatchinsky. In 2010, Kopatchinskaja recorded a CD entitled ‘Rapsodia’ with her husband and daughter Patricia Kopatchinskaja for French label Naïve Classique. The disc, which explores the roots of George Enescu’s music with examples of authentic Moldovan and Romanian folk music – has been highly acclaimed. It was selected as ‘Editor’s Choice’ by Gramophone magazine and received recommendations from The Strad magazine and a “Supersonic Award’ from Luxembourg music magazine Pizzicato. Kopatchinskaja and her family has performed their ‘Rapsodia’ programme at many major venues and festivals across Europe, most notably at the Dresdner Festspiele, the Beethoven fest Bonn, the Menuhin Festival Gstaad, at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden. Her performances in Saint Paul will be her debut appearance in the United States.