Maria Mudrova

Maria Mudrova, who was born in 1982 in Nizhniy Novgorod, Russia, and grew up in a family of philologists and engineers, showed her exceptional musical skills at a very young age. Since she was five years old she took piano lessons and a year later also her first cello lessons. Maria successfully graduated from the Music Lyceum for Specially Gifted Children. She then continued her studies in Moscow, where she studied first at Gnessin College and then at the Moscow State Conservatory. Her teachers in Russia include Professor German Gavrilov, Zoya Kuimova and Professor Igor Gavrysh. After graduating cum laude from the Moscow Conservatory, Maria was invited to take a postgraduate course in Vienna with Valentin Erben, professor at the "Universität der Musik und darstellende Kunst" and a member of the "Alban Berg Quartet."

Maria's first public performance took place when she was seven years old. When she was nine, she performed for the first time as a soloist with the State Chamber Orchestra in Nizhniy Novgorod. Since then, she has performed as a soloist with numerous orchestras, both in Russia and in other countries.

Maria is passionate about chamber music. During her years of study she became a laureate of numerous chamber music competitions and festivals, such as the international competition "Maria Yudina" in St. Petersburg (Grand Prix and Special Prize for the best performance of Shostakovich's cello sonata), the "International Chamber Music Competition" in Kiev (Grand Prix), the Festival "International Week of Conservatories" in St. Petersburg and the "Mikkeli" festival in Finland, as well as the festival of contemporary music "Moscow Autumn". Among others, J. Rachlin, N. Boriso-Glebsky, A. Marguliss, P. Gulda and A. Kandinsky were regular chamber music partners. While staying in Vienna, she collaborated with the "Wiener Razumovsky Quartet" and founded a number of ensembles of her own, such as the "Kirschgartenquartett" and her duo with pianist Kiril Kozlovsky.

In addition, Maria has always had a fondness for playing in an orchestra. She was principal cellist in the student orchestras of Gnessin's College and the Moscow State Conservatory, as well as in the symphonic orchestra of the Vienna Music Society.

Since September 2010, Maria has been a permanent member of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra.

Since then, she can also be heard regularly in Belgium in various chamber music ensembles.