Violinist Lana Trotovšek has established herself internationally through collaborations with distinguished conductors including Zubin Mehta, Valery Gergiev, Gianandrea Noseda, Rafael Payare and Vasily Petrenko, appearing with leading orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra and the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. A student of the legendary Ruggiero Ricci, she combines appearances on the concerto platform with a longstanding commitment to chamber music, reflected in acclaimed recordings and collaborations with distinguished artists. The Washington Post has described her as “radiant” and praised her “clean, refined tone with musical sense of phrasing and impeccable intonation”, while The Strad has admired her “true feel of live intuitive performance” and interpretations of “freshness, depth and insight”.
Among her recent highlights is a performance of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with Zubin Mehta and the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, recorded at the Ljubljana Festival and broadcast internationally on Mezzo Live and Medici.tv.
Since making her concerto debut with the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra under Valery Gergiev in 2012, Trotovšek has appeared with leading orchestras throughout Europe, Asia and North America. Her concerto engagements have included Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with the London Symphony Orchestra under Gianandrea Noseda, Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Rafael Payare, Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with Maxim Rysanov and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Vasily Petrenko, Mozart’s Violin Concerto with the Staatskapelle Weimar, performances with the Moscow Soloists under Yuri Bashmet, and double concertos with Sergey Krylov and the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, including at the Al Bustan Festival in Lebanon. Recent engagements have also included the Wieniawski Violin Concerto with the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra under Alfonso Scarano and the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Orchestra del Teatro Massimo Bellini under Epifanio Comis in Catania, Sicily.
Alongside her international engagements, Trotovšek has maintained close artistic ties with her native Slovenia and the wider region, appearing regularly with the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, the SNG Maribor Symphony Orchestra, the RTS Symphony Orchestra Belgrade and the Sarajevo Philharmonic, collaborating with conductors including Uroš Lajovic, George Pehlivanian and Ilan Volkov.
Alongside the core concerto repertoire, Trotovšek is committed to championing contemporary music and rediscovering neglected works. She has performed Tan Dun’s Violin Concerto under the composer’s own baton with Orchestra Teatro Verdi, Deirdre Gribbin’s Violin Concerto Venus Blazing with the Ulster Orchestra under David Brophy, broadcast on BBC Radio 3, and gave the first performances of Howard Blake’s Violin Concerto since its 1993 world premiere with the Maribor Theatre Orchestra in Maribor and at the Teatro Comunale di Monfalcone, conducted by Dayner Tafur-Díaz. She also gave the premiere of the Hugo Wolf Violin Concerto with Ensemble Dissonance at the Congress Center Villach.
Trotovšek has appeared at many of the world’s leading concert halls, including Wigmore Hall, Vienna Konzerthaus, Teatro La Fenice, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Muziekgebouw Eindhoven, the Weimarhalle, Minato Mirai Hall in Yokohama and the Shanghai Oriental Art Center. She has also performed at festivals including the Ljubljana Festival, Rheingau, Aix-en-Provence, Shanghai International Arts Festival, Festival Internacional de Santander, Dubrovnik, Bad Kissingen, Aldeburgh and St Magnus International. In 2017 she toured with John Malkovich and I Solisti Aquilani, performing at festivals in Italy and Slovenia.
Born in Ljubljana into a family of musicians, Trotovšek began her music education in Ljubljana with Majda Jamsek before continuing her studies with Volodja Balžalorsky, Primož Novšak and the legendary Ruggiero Ricci at the Mozarteum University Salzburg. She subsequently studied at Trinity College of Music and the Royal College of Music in London, where her principal teachers included Vasko Vassilev, Boris Brovtsyn, Izakh Rashkovsky and Rivka Golani. She also had a privilege to work with Ivry Gitlis and Ida Haendel.
Since 2006, Trotovšek has been a member of the Greenwich Trio. Tutored by Bernard Greenhouse, Menahem Pressler and Stephen Kovacevich, the ensemble has released acclaimed recordings of the complete Brahms Piano Trios for Linn Records / Outhere Music, receiving five-star reviews from BBC Music Magazine, Diapason and Classica.
Between 2011 and 2013 she was first violinist of the Badke String Quartet, winners of the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition.
With pianist Maria Canyigueral, she has performed the complete Beethoven Sonatas for Violin and Piano and recorded the complete Beethoven Violin Sonatas as well as the complete works for violin and piano by Sergei Prokofiev, released by ZKP RTV Slovenija and SOMM Recordings to critical acclaim, including praise from Gramophone magazine. Their recital at Wigmore Hall was described as “remarkable” by The Strad.
The recipient of the 2021 Prešeren Fund Award, Slovenia’s highest national distinction for artistic achievement, Lana Trotovšek is Professor of Violin at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London and Professor at the Academy of Music, University of Ljubljana. She performs on a 1750 Pietro Antonio dalla Costa violin.