Born in Moscow, violinist Svetlana Makarova won first prize in the Moscow International Youth Tchaikovsky Competition at the age of just ten, and thereafter received many other awards. After gaining her master’s degree and postgraduate diploma as well as her PhD with Maya Glezarova at Moscow Conservatory, in 2008 she was invited by Lorin Maazel to join the orchestra of Palau de Les Arts Reina Sofía in Spain.

An artist in popular demand, Svetlana Makarova regularly performs at major international festivals such as the Verbier Festival, the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival, the Miyazaki Shrine Grand Festival and the Paganiniana Festival. She has played in halls including Zurich’s Tonhalle, the La Scala, La Fenice and La Pergola opera houses, the Auditorio Nacional de Música in Madrid, the Seoul Arts Center and Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Concert Hall.

Chamber music plays an important role in her musical career, and has led her to work with respected artists such as Frans Helmerson, Pavel Vernikov, Natalia Gutman, Gilles Apap and Patrick Demenga. As an established soloist she has performed with renowned orchestras including the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, Kremerata Baltica, Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen, South-west German Chamber Orchestra Pforzheim, the Valencia Orchestra, the Korean Soloists Orchestra, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra and the Odessa State Symphony Orchestra.

In addition to performing, Svetlana Makarova conveys her experience to the next generation as a teacher. Prior to becoming a professor at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Lausanne in 2014, she taught at institutions including Gnessin State Musical College (Moscow), Scuola di Musica di Fiesole (Florence) and at Lieceu Conservatory (Barcelona). Furthermore, she gives numerous masterclasses in Italy, France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Russia, Japan, Korea and China. As a respected teacher, she is regularly invited to sit on the juries of international competitions.

Svetlana Makarova plays a violin by Niccolò Gagliano dating from 1745.