Aisha Orazbayeva

Violinist Aisha Orazbayeva concentrates on avant-garde repertoire alongside Baroque pieces, pursuits that remain rare for performers originating from Central Asia. Born in 1985 in Almaty, then the capital of Soviet Kazakhstan, she grew up in a household of musicians and actors and recalls her grandfather’s singing accompanied by the Kazakh dombra lute. At four and a half she watched violinist Aiman Mussahadjaeva on television and resolved to play the instrument herself. Enrolled at Almaty’s Special Music School, she received conventional Russian-style training yet later described discovering her personal approach only after rejecting that method. She pursued further studies in Italy and England; while in London she began presenting her unconventional style at venues such as Cafe Oto, where cellist Lucy Railton curated contemporary-music programs, and she eventually made her home in the south of France.

Her performances have taken her to Carnegie Hall in New York, HAU2 in Berlin, and the Reykjavik Arts Academy. She has delivered solo recitals on Radio France and BBC Radio 3 and appeared at London’s Gagosian Gallery during an exhibition of Richard Serra’s work. Her first album, Outside, appeared on the Nonclassical label in 2011 and drew notice for her interpretations of Salvatore Sciarrino’s demanding Caprices. She has worked with composer Peter Zinovieff, who composed the computer-and-violin concerto Our Too for her, and with Bryn Harrison, whose Receiving the Approaching Memory she premiered alongside frequent duo partner pianist Mark Knoop; their 2018 recording of Morton Feldman’s For John Cage received a Diapason d’Or in France. She has also performed with the chamber group Plus-Minus Ensemble.

As a composer Orazbayeva has contributed to the soundtrack of the film The Have-Nots and to the television series The Village for BBC and Tin Star for Sky Atlantic. She has written plays as well. Nine of her albums and EPs have been issued, several on the Prah label. She has also recorded Baroque music, including the 2016 release Telemann: Fantasias. In 2021 she moved to ECM New Series for J.S. Bach: Three or One, joined by Railton on cello and pianist Fred Thomas.