Elina Christova | Piano 

A classical pianist with an affinity for contemporary music, Elina Christova has been praised by critics for her “deeply considered interpretations,” “facile pianism,” and “sure musical instincts.” 

Her double CD with Alexander Scriabin’s ten piano sonatas was released in December 2020 and has since been cited by music critic Rob Challinor of Musicweb International as  an impressive entry into the ranks of previously recorded sets. Challinor further commends Elina for being “successful and often quite beautiful in the more lyrical sections,” for possessing “all the requisite technique” and being  “as effective in the later sonatas as the early ones.”

An avid chamber musician, in 2019 Elina performed with violinist Albert Markov at the Summit Music Festival and Institute at Manhattanville College. In 2011 she toured across the United States performing the complete Beethoven violin sonatas as part of the Elan Duo, the project ending with a recording of all ten sonatas at Radford University, VA in the summer of 2012. The CD set was released in December 2015 to critical acclaim, with the duo’s partnership described in Fanfare Magazine as “well matched musically,” and rivaling “any number of famous performers in this repertoire.” 

A sought-after educator, Elina judged and performed in the Juror's Recital at the Rosewood Fanning Piano Competition at Union College in Schenectady, NY in 2019 and in 2018 played a solo recital at the World Piano Conference in Novi Sad, Serbia, where she traced Scriabin's stylistic evolution through his piano sonatas. Earlier that year she performed a solo faculty recital at the Chapel of the Holy Spirit at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT. 

Highlights of 2017 include a solo/chamber recital in May with violinist Stanichka Dimitrova at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York, and an all-Scriabin recital at the Fifth International Piano Festival in Havana, Cuba in June. 

Born in Sofia, Bulgaria but raised in Vienna, Elina began her musical education there at age nine. She entered the Preparatory Division at the Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in the classes of Prof. Hans Graf and Prof. Imola Fonyad at eleven, and as a teenager continued her education in Sofia at the Lyubomir Pipkov National Music School. She later graduated from both the Bachelor and Master's Programs at the Pancho Vladigerov National Music Academy under the guidance of Prof. Jenny Zaharieva. 

Relocating to New York in 1996 as a Fulbright Scholar, Elina has been living, working, and performing in the United States for the past twenty-five years. She holds a Master’s and Doctoral Degree from Manhattan School of Music where she studied with Dr. Solomon Mikowsky.

Elina’s Scriabin CD is available as a hard copy or download through her website, www.elinachristova.com, Amazon, Apple Music, Spotify,  and other streaming services.