Karine Georgian began her cello studies at the age of five under her father, later studying at the Moscow Conservatory under Rostropovich. After winning the Gold Medal at the Third Tchaikovsky Competition she launched an international career by giving the American première of Khachaturian’s Cello Rhapsody with the Chicago Symphony conducted by the composer. Other notable first performances have been the American première of Schnittke’s First Cello Concerto in Carnegie Hall, and the Australian première of Britten’s Cello Symphony.

Her repertoire embraces more than forty concertos and a huge range of instrumental and chamber music ranging from the baroque to the contemporary. Having left the Soviet Union in 1980, two years later Karine Georgian succeeded André Navarra as Professor of Cello at the Musikhochschule in Detmold. She now teaches at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, and gives master-classes worldwide. Her discography includes acclaimed recordings on the Chandos, Hyperion, Carlton Classics, Biddulph and Somm Recordings labels.