Biography
Sofiya Kagan is a russian pianist, born in Moscow in 1982. She began her music education in the Russian cultural capital at the age of 6. The middle school that Sofiya attended - was famous Gnessins special school of music for highly gifted young musicians. After graduating this legendary school with honours, Sofiya was admitted to the State Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatorium in the class of Prof. Naum Schtarkmann, and later on in the class of Prof. Ksenia Knorre. In those years of education Sofiya took part in international music competitions and won Prizes in:
1995, 1996 Moscow (Russia) - diplom winner in the international piano competition «Klassicheskoe nasledie».
1998 - Hanover (Germany) laureate at the Dmitri Schostakovitch International Competition
2005 - Kaluga (Russia) special prize winner at the Sergey Taneev Chamber Music Competition
2007 - Pinerolo (Italy) 3rd Prize and special prize of the Pinerolo chamber music competition
At the same time Sofiya attended actively master classes of such outstanding musicians such as Menahem Pressler, Oxana Yablonskaya, Konstantin Bogino, Elisso Virsaladze, Jean-Bernard Pommier and others.
In 2009 Sofiya moved to Germany and there she was admitted to the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln on Master Degree Piano Solo faculty. In the class of Prof. Vasiliy Lobanov Sofiya played the last concert with the highest note. While studying in Germany Sofiya was attending postgraduate course in Italy in a well known school in Fiesole ''Scoula di Musica'' in the class of Prof. Elisso Virsaladze. Same year spanish cellist Gabriel Urenia Havie was also attended to this school and it was the place and time since when Sofiya and Gabriel strated to play togeather chamber music. During education abroad, Sofiya played in many festivals and concerts as a soloist and as a chamber music player with world famous musicians such as Natalia Gutman, Diemut Poppen, Klaus Kanngiesser, Alexander Buzlov, Veit Hertenstein. In 2010 Sofiya was a participant, a scholarship holder and a finalist of the Paderewsky Piano academia in Bigdozsch (Poland), where she performed with a great success Johaness Brahms piano concerto op.15 in d - moll with Torun Symphony Orchestra. In 2011 Sofiya performed successfully with the Philharmonie Südwestfalen - Landesorchester Nordrhein-Westfalen - Robert Schumann Piano Concerto op.54 in Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln. Recently Sofiya has graduated with honours Folkwang Universität der Künste in Essen, Germany (Chamber Music Class of Evgeni Sinaiski) and nowadays is working as a pianist and concertmeister on the string faculty in Hochschule für Musik Düsseldorf (Germany), Scuola di Musica di Fiesole (Italy) and as a permanent piano teacher in Rheinische Musikschule Cologne and in Musikschule La Musica in Bergheim (Germany).