Anna Zassimova

Pianist Anna Zassimova draws upon the national and pedagogical elements of her background in both her repertory choices and interpretive approach, while also maintaining a prominent role as an educator. Born in Moscow in 1976 during the Soviet era, she grew up with a physicist father and a pianist mother; the household contained an aging instrument once owned by her great-grandfather. As a young child she experimented with melodies on that piano, mirroring her mother’s playing. Her parents responded to this curiosity by enrolling her at the Gneissin School, where she later continued lessons in Moscow under Ljudmila Roschina and Vladimir Tropp. For a period she also pursued art history, an interest she credits with sharpening her awareness of the broader artistic settings that surround musical works. After relocating to Germany she pursued interdisciplinary projects that linked music with the visual arts. The instability surrounding the Soviet Union’s dissolution led her to regard artistic pursuits as a reliable refuge amid surrounding disorder. A DAAD scholarship enabled her to attend the Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe, where her teachers were Markus Stange and Michael Uhde. She joined the faculty there in 2007 and has remained a member of the teaching staff. Her first recording, Vergessene Weisen, appeared on Zebralution in 2009; she maintained an association with that label through the following decade while issuing Georgy Catoire: Works for violin and piano on CPO in 2010. Her doctoral dissertation examined Catoire’s music. Chamber-music activities have formed a recurring part of her career, encompassing appearances with the Silesian String Quartet in Poland, the Stanislas Quartet in France, the Minguet Quartett in Germany, and the Phorminx Ensemble, which specializes in contemporary repertoire. As soloist she has performed with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra and the Württemberg Chamber Orchestra, among other ensembles. Recital engagements have included the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg as well as festivals such as the Ruhr Piano Festival, the Bloomsbury Festival in London, the Heidelberg Spring Music Festival, and Musica Viva in Munich. Her programming spans German and Russian compositions from the Romantic period through the present day, with particular attention to Russian composers who remain little recognized outside their homeland. Additional releases comprise Sonata Reminiscenza, issued by Hänssler Classic in 2018, and a program of Chopin works on the BIS label in 2023.