Acclaimed world-class pianist, recipient of the ‘Swiss Wilhelm Tell Award-2020’ from the Swiss government, and one of the leading specialists in Rachmaninoff’s music worldwide, Alexey Botvinov joined the Zakhar Bron School of Music in the summer of 2025.
Alexey has collaborated with celebrated artists—including Daniel Hope (violin), Vadim Repin (violin), Zakhar Bron (violin), Pinchas Zukerman (violin/viola), Mischa Maisky (cello), Antonio Meneses (cello), and Matthias Goerne (baritone)—and has performed in many of the world’s most prestigious concert halls, from the Berlin Philharmonie and Tonhalle Zürich to La Scala in Milan and Wigmore Hall in London.
In 2020 he was named a Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy by the President of the Italian Republic, and also received the Swiss Wilhelm Tell Award from the Swiss government. In 2024 he was further honored with the Platinum Medal of the French Arts-Science-Lettres Academy in Paris, recognizing his international career and cultural achievements.
Alexey’s artistry has been highly praised by the international press. Svenska Dagbladet described him as “one of the greatest interpreters of Rachmaninoff of our time,” while the Jakarta Post noted that “few pianists in the world possess Botvinov’s high technical level and emotional depth of performance.” The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung praised his playing as “astonishingly meticulous and convincing.”
He has performed in 48 countries, is the only pianist to have played Bach’s Goldberg Variations more than 300 times on stage, and is the founder and president of Odessa Classics—one of the leading classical music festivals in Eastern Europe.
Born into a family of musicians in Odessa, Botvinov studied with Prof. Mogilewskaja and later at the Odessa Conservatory under Prof. Kardaschew. From 1987 to 1989 he was assistant to Prof. Gornostayeva at the Moscow Conservatory, and his final mentor was the legendary pianist Alexis Weissenberg. He is also a prizewinner of the 1st Rachmaninoff Competition in Moscow (1983), the 8th International Bach Competition in Leipzig (1988), and the 1st Clara Schumann Competition in Düsseldorf (1994).
At the Zakhar Bron School of Music, Alexey teaches chamber music and piano exclusively to advanced and professional-level students. He teaches in English, German, and Russian, and offers lessons by arrangement only, due to his active international concert schedule.