Honored Artist of Russia, winner of only First Prizes in international competitions, Ludmila Berlinskaya has performed on the world’s most prestigious stages, among them the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Wigmore Hall, the Barbican and the Royal Albert Hall in London, La Fenice in Venice, the Royal Academy in Brussels, the National Auditorium in Madrid, City Hall in Hong Kong, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, as well as the greatest halls of Moscow, where she grew up. She is a regular guest at major festivals such as La Roque d’Anthéron, the Festivals of Colmar, Auvers-sur-Oise, Aix-en-Provence, Evian, Kuhmo, Edinburgh, Aldeburgh, Orlando, Stavanger, Portogruaro, and many others.
Having played with the Borodin Quartet from the age of 14, chamber music is an essential part of her artistic life. She has performed with some of the greatest names on the international classical scene, such as Mstislav Rostropovich, Yuri Bashmet, Ivry Gitlis…, as well as with several generations of outstanding soloists, including Jean-Jacques Kantorow, Gérard Caussé, Paul Meyer, Alexander Kniazev, Gautier Capuçon, Henri Demarquette, Boris Andrianov, Aylen Pritchin, Alena Baeva, Valentin Uryupin, Christian-Pierre La Marca…. She has given a very large number of quintet concerts with quartets such as Modigliani, Van Kuijk, Orlando, Fine Arts, Ardéo, Danel, St. Petersburg, New Russian, RusQuartet…
Raised among the Soviet cultural elite, her father being Valentin Berlinsky, cellist and founder of the Borodin Quartet, Ludmila Berlinskaya studied brilliantly at the Gnessin School and then at the Moscow Conservatory. Immersed since childhood in the music of Shostakovich, she is today considered one of its finest interpreters, with the complete chamber works with piano in her repertoire, including rare or unpublished works, which she has performed worldwide.
She had the privilege of being part of the extremely select circle surrounding pianist Sviatoslav Richter, with whom she played four hands, whom she once replaced for his own production of Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, and who was a guiding influence in the affirmation of her artistic freedom. Within her extensive discography, Ludmila Berlinskaya has recorded works by Rachmaninov, Glinka, Schnittke, Mendelssohn, Janáček, Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Scriabin, Liszt, Schumann, Beethoven, Medtner, Ravel…
Since 2013, as a Melodiya artist, she has recorded nine albums for the label and has received numerous awards, including the Choc from Classica and Editor’s Choice from Gramophone.
Since 2011, she has formed a piano duo with pianist Arthur Ancelle, an ensemble that seems perfectly natural given the profound artistic and personal understanding between them. Their recordings have been widely acclaimed by the international press, and they are invited both by festivals (Tokyo Spring Festival, Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad…) and prestigious orchestras (St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Freiburg Philharmonic Orchestra…). Together, they founded the “La Clé des Portes” Festival in the enchanting setting of the Loire Valley castles, as well as the Rungis Piano-Piano Festival, entirely dedicated to the repertoire for two pianos and four hands.
In 2014, Ludmila Berlinskaya received in France the Trofemina Prize for International Woman of the Year, honoring her exceptional commitment to promoting music and the arts, as well as the many cultural bridges she has built between Russia and France. Alongside her career as a concert pianist, she also taught for 12 years at the École Normale de Musique de Paris, where many of her students have gone on to win international prizes.