ElinaCherchesova

Elina Cherchesova was born in Vladikavkaz, Russia. She began playing the piano at five and composing at seven, performing her first pieces on Russian television as a child.

In Moscow she graduated with honours from the Gnessin College in the class of Irina Naumova, then from the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music in the class of Mikhail Arkadiev, where she also studied composition and conducting. In Italy she earned a second degree in piano with honours at the Conservatory of Cosenza, and attended masterclasses with Aldo Ciccolini, Sergio Perticaroli, François-Joël Thiollier, Ivan Sokolov and Alexei Sultanov, among others.

Irina Naumova and her husband Lev Naumov were both pupils of Heinrich Neuhaus, the teacher of Sviatoslav Richter and Emil Gilels.

As a soloist she has performed Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 2 at the Teatro Rendano in Cosenza and Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Orchestra of the Cosenza Conservatory under Donato Sivo. She teaches piano at the Conservatory of Reggio Calabria and has served on the juries of competitions including the Luciano Luciani, the A.M.A. Calabria and the Anna Rosa Taddei.

Her music has been performed in Russia, Italy, France, Germany, Norway, Scotland and the United States, and is published by Da Vinci Publishing, distributed by Hal Leonard. It has also been used in documentary film. Today she writes mainly for solo piano: pieces such as Nocturne, Starlit Night and Valse Triste, born in the educational collection Album Divertente, now reach listeners around the world through streaming.

“Artista completa e raffinata.” — Italynews, 2025