Dmitry Kouzov

Biography

A first-prize winner at the International Beethoven Competition in the Czech Republic and a winner of the New York Cello Society Rising Star Award, Dmitry Kouzov has appeared as soloist with many orchestras including the State Academic Symphony of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, South Bohemian Chamber Philharmonic, the National Symphony of Ukraine, and the Johannesburg Philharmonic, to name a few. He has recorded cello concertos by Shostakovich, George Walker, and Sean Hickey with the Sinfonia Varsovia and the St. Petersburg Symphony orchestras.

Kouzov has been a guest artist at numerous international festivals including the Verbier Festival, International Bach Festival (Switzerland), Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival (Germany), May of Janáček International Festival (Czech Republic), Seoul International (South Korea), and the Kiev Summer Music Nights International Festival (Ukraine), among others. In the U.S. he has appeared at the Caramoor and Ravinia festivals' Rising Stars concert series. And, for the past eight years, Kouzov has served as artist-faculty at the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival.

A compelling chamber musician, he was a founding member of the award-winning Manhattan Piano Trio. He has collaborated with Krzysztof Penderecki, Yuri Bashmet, Joshua Bell, Evgenii Sudbin, Nicholas Angelich, Shmuel Ashkenasi, and the Pacifica and Jupiter string quartets, among others. He frequently appears in a duo with his wife, pianist and educator Yulia Fedoseeva.

Among Kouzov’s numerous accolades, he was praised for his “astounding virtuoso skills" (Gramophone) and “bold and hugely committed performances” (The Strad).

Kouzov’s most recent recordings appear on the on Onyx and Delos recording labels and include complete piano trios by Robert Schumann, music for violin and cello by Eisler, Widmann, and Ravel, and an album of French cello sonatas on Delos in collaboration with his longtime chamber partners, violinist Ilya Gringolts and pianist Peter Laul.

Kouzov was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, where he began cello lessons at age 7. A graduate of the St. Petersburg Conservatory Lyceum, he went on to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees in cello performance at the Sibelius School in Helsinki as well as an artist diploma at the Juilliard School.

Kouzov is a member of The Oberlin Trio.