Lachezar Kostov

cello

Lachezar Kostov is Associate Principal Cellist of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and holder of the Ona Hixson Dater Endowed Chair. Hailed by European and American critics for “the awesome purity of his playing” and described as a “prodigiously skilled protagonist,” he made his official Carnegie Hall debut in 2009 at Zankel Hall, performing rarely heard works for cello and piano by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Nikolai Roslavets, and Dmitri Kabalevsky. He has appeared as a guest soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States, Japan, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Bulgaria.

A prizewinner in numerous international competitions, Mr. Kostov was the National Winner of the 2006 MTNA Young Artist Competition. His honors include the Cello Award at the Kingsville International Competition, the Grand Prix at the International Music and Earth Competition in Bulgaria, and concerto competition victories at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and Rice University. In October 2011, he and pianist Viktor Valkov won First Prize and all Special Prizes at the Third International Liszt–Garrison Piano and Duo Competition in Baltimore, Maryland. His principal teachers include Bogomil Karakonov, Aldo Parisot, Norman Fischer, David Grigorian, and Zvi Plesser, and he has participated in master classes with Yo-Yo Ma, Steven Isserlis, and Bernard Greenhouse.

 A Larsen Strings World Ambassador, Mr. Kostov performs exclusively on the Il Cannone string set and plays a rare 1738 Italian cello by Carlo Antonio Testore, graciously on loan from a private sponsor.