Lola Astanova

Lola Astanova (Russian: Лола Астанова, born 1985 in Tselinograd, former USSR) is a Russian-American pianist, noted for her interpretations of compositions by Chopin, Liszt and Rachmaninoff, as well as piano transcriptions.

At the age of six Astanova entered the V. Uspensky Specialized School of Music for Gifted Children, an elite school in Tashkent, present-day Uzbekistan where she was born, grew up, and where she started studying piano under Professor Tamara Popovich. She frequently visited Moscow, studying at the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory for lessons with Professor Lev Naumov, who described Astanova's pianism as "rare and truly ingenious", adding that "Chopin performed by Lola is simply outstanding."

Astanova started touring as a concert pianist at the age of eight. She performed in Germany, France, Austria, Italy and Russia in both solo programs and performances with orchestras. She became a laureate at the 1996 International Chopin Competition for Young Pianists in Moscow. In 1998, she was featured in the UNESCO documentary "Prodigies of the 20th Century". In 2003, she emigrated to the United States. Astanova had her US debut in 2004 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC.

Astanova became a star of the October 2007 Classical Superstars Fantasy Concert alongside Valery Gergiev and Kirov Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theater, hosted by ABC's television host Regis Philbin. The concert was featured in the 100th anniversary issue of the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book and offered for $1.6 million. In August 2008, The National September 11 Memorial & Museum announced Ms. Astanova's performance on the famed Steinway concert grand piano of Vladimir Horowitz at the "Notes of Hope" benefit hosted by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The event included performances by comedian & actor Denis Leary and rock musician John Mellencamp.

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