Violinist Lana Trotovšek has captivated audiences with her ‘true feel of live intuitive performance’ (The Strad ) and for bringing ‘freshness, depth and insight’ to her interpretations. Washington Post has described her as ‘Radiant’ and praised her ‘clean, refined tone with musical sense of phrasing and impeccable intonation’.
Lana Trotovšek was a student of Ruggiero Ricci. Since her solo debut with the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra under Valery Gergiev in 2012, Lana Trotovsek appeared with some of the world’s finest orchestras.
Trotovsek has performed Beethoven Violin Concerto with Zubin Mehta and Orchestra Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in July 2024. The performance can be viewed on Mezzo Live and Medici TV.
In 2014, she toured with the Moscow Soloists and Yuri Bashmet, 2016 she performed Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No.1 with the London Symphony Orchestra under Gianandrea Noseda, the Tchaikovsky violin concerto with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Rafael Payare in 2019 and the Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with Maxim Rysanov and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Vasily Petrenko in 2022. Her recent schedule took her to Bangkok to perform the Wieniawski Violin Concerto with the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra under Alphonso Scarano as well as the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in Teatro Massimo Bellini in Sicily. She has performed Deirdre Gribbin Violin Concerto “Venus Blazing” with the Ulster Orchestra in Belfast broadcast by the BBC 3 radio, a premiere of Hugo Wolf Violin Concerto in Congress Centre Villach in Austria, Mendelssohn violin concerto with the RTS Symphony Orchestra in the Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre as well as in Klagenfurt Konzerthaus with Carinthian Symphony Orchestra, and an evening recital in Wigmore Hall, which has been described as “remarkable” by the Strad magazine. Lana has collaborated with Tan Dun and Orchestra Teatro Verdi, the Shanghai and Slovenian Philharmonic, as well as Uros Lajovic and the Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra, the RTV Slovenia under George Pehlivanian, the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, and the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, where she was described as “an emerging voice to watch” by Philadelphia Inquirer. Lana performed double violin concertos with Sergey Krylov and the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra on a number of occasions including the Al Bustan Festival in Lebanon in 2018. In summer 2017 she was touring with John Malkovich and I Solisti Aquilani, performing Bach’s A minor violin concerto in festivals Emilia Romagna, Ljubljana, and Mittelfest.
Trotovšek has performed at some of the most prestigious venues, including Wigmore Hall, Vienna’s Konzerthaus, Teatro la Fenice in Venice, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and Muziekgebouw in Eindhoven. Her talent has taken her beyond Europe to perform in China, Japan, Thailand, Lebanon, the UAE, Canada, Mexico, the USA.
She has also featured as an artist at renowned international festivals including Rheingau, Aix en Provence, Shanghai International Arts Festival, Festival Internacional de Santander, Dubrovnik, Bad Kissingen, St Magnus International and Aldeburgh.
Trotovšek was born in Ljubljana, Slovenia, to a family of musicians. At the age of 4, she began playing the violin under the guidance of Majda Jamsek. When she was 17 years old, her talent was recognised by Ruggiero Ricci who mentored her at the Academy Mozarteum in Salzburg. During this period, she continued her studies at the Academy of Music, University of Ljubljana with Volodja Balzalorsky and Primoz Novsak. In 2005, her passion and skill were rewarded with the Prešeren University Award, the highest university award for arts in Slovenia, following her performance of the Khachaturian Violin Concerto with the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra under George Pehlivanian.
Trotovšek continued her studies at Trinity College of Music with Vasko Vassilev, Boris Brovtsyn, and Rivka Golani, and at the Royal College of Music with Itzhak Rashkovsky, winning many prizes. Between 2011 and 2013, she was the first violinist of the Badke String Quartet, winners of the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition.
Since 2006 Lana has been a member of the Greenwich Trio whose member originally included cellist Stjepan Hauser. They were guided by the legendary Beaux Arts Trio cellist Bernard Greenhouse and pianist Menahem Pressler as well as Stephen Kovachevich. Now with cellist Heather Tuach, Yoko Misumi and Lana Trotovšek released three volumes of Brahms piano trios under Linn Records, Outhere music label. For this most recent recording, Greenwich Trio achieved critical acclaim, receiving five stars from BBC Music Magazine, Classica, Diapason, and more.
In 2020, for the 250th Anniversary of L. van Beethoven, Trotovšek gave performance of the complete sonatas for violin and piano at the Festival Ljubljana with pianist Maria Canyigueral. Lana and Maria have been collaborating since 2016 and have been performing in the UK, Spain, France, Belgium, Slovenia and Japan. In 2021 they released the complete Beethoven Violin sonatas under ZKP RTV Slovenija label. Recently they have recorded the complete recital works for violin by Sergei Prokofiev released by SOMM Recordings in two volumes, praised by Gramophone Magazine.
Lana Trotovšek is the recipient of the 2021 Prešeren Fund Award of the Republic of Slovenia, which she received for her achievements in the past three years. She lives in London and is a Professor at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. She maintains close ties to her home country where she performs regularly and is a visiting Professor at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana. She plays a 1750 Pietro Antonio dalla Costa violin.