Maja Bogdanović
Maja Bogdanović (born Маја Богдановић, in Belgrade, Serbia, Yugoslavia) is a Serbian-French Paris based cellist.
“[Maja Bogdanovic] offered uncommon tonal beauty of distinctive character, interpretative maturity and technical security.”
[THE STRAD]
Hailed by [The Strad] after her [Carnegie Hall] recital for “an outstanding performance of exceptional tonal beauty, great maturity of interpretation, and technical excellence," Maja Bogdanovic is rapidly becoming one of today’s foremost cellists.
Recent worldwide performances include the [Belgrade Philharmonic], [Berlin Symphony], [Bergische Philharmonie], Korean Wonju Philharmonic Orchestra, Macedonian Philharmonic, Morelia Philharmonic Orchestra/Mexico, Muenchener Kammerorchester, Orchestre de Chambre Nouvelle Europe, Orchestra del Teatro Civico Schio, Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, Salta Symphony Orchestra/Argentina, Serbian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Slovenian Philharmonic, Städtisches Orchester/Bremerhaven, Sydenham Festival Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Tonhalle Orchester/Zurich, as well as several chamber orchestras: Dušan Skovran, St. George Strings, and the Sejong Soloists. After a highly successful debut with the Lubbock Symphony last season, she will return to the U.S. in 2015/2016 to make her debut with the Spokane Symphony as well as a return performance with the Lubbock Symphony.
An avid chamber musician, Ms. Bogdanovic has also appeared at many of the world’s leading venues and festivals, including the Amphithéâtre Sorbonne, Amsterdamse Cello Biënnale, Festival de Radio France et Montpellier, Folles Journées/Nantes, Giverny Festival, Kempten ClassiX Chamber Music Festival in Germany, Muziekgebouw/Amsterdam, Palais des Congrès/Nantes, Prinzregententheater/Munich, Salle Gaveau and Salle Pleyel/Paris, and the Zeist Festival in Holland. This past season she returned to the Royal Concertgebouw/Amsterdam with violinist Frederieke Saeijs and pianist Nino Gvetadze, with whom she concertizes regularly in Europe.
Continuing her activities as a recording artist, Ms. Bogdanovic has produced several internationally-released CDs for the French label Lyrinx, as well as a Nimbus label recording of Philip Sawyers’s Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, dedicated to her by the composer.
Within her wide repertoire, Maja Bogdanovic devotes a special place to contemporary music. She has premiered works of Nicolas Bacri, Sofia Gubaidulina, Ivan Jevtic, [Krzysztof Penderecki], [Philip Sawyers], Eric Tanguy, and [Benjamin Yusupov], among others. Her collaboration with Krzysztof Penderecki began in France with the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, continued in Belgrade with the Belgrade Philharmonic, and in Ljubljana, where she performed his Cello Concerto No. 2 with the Slovenian Philharmonic conducted by the composer himself. Among a select group of the world’s leading artists, including Lorin Maazel, Anne-Sophie Mutter and others, she was invited to play for a special performance in Warsaw celebrating Penderecki’s 80th birthday, collaborating with [Yuri Bashmet], [Julian Rachlin], and [Barry Douglas].
Laureate of numerous international competitions, Ms. Bogdanovic won the First Prize at the Aldo Parisot Cello Competition in South Korea and received the Second Prize and Special Audience Award at the Gaspar Cassado International Competition in Tokyo. She was awarded the Special Prize at the Concours Rostropovich in Paris and, in the same year, became a multiple laureate of the International Jeunesses Musicales Competition in Belgrade. She was named UMUS Artist of the Year in 2011.
Maja Bogdanovic graduated with a First Prize from the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Paris, where she completed her postgraduate course with Michel Strauss; while there, she also studied chamber music with Itamar Golan and Pierre-Laurent Aimard. Following her studies in Paris, she pursued further training at the UDK Berlin with Professor Jens Peter Maintz, as well as Bernard Greenhouse, Alban Gerhardt, Young-Chang Cho, and Heinrich Schiff.
Ms. Bogdanovic’s instrument was custom made for her by French violin and cello maker Frank Ravatin. She currently divides her time between Chicago and Paris.
www.majabogdanovic.com