Markova, Juliana

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Markova, Juliana

Markova, Juliana, gifted Bulgarian pianist; b. Sofia, July 8,1945. She studied at the Bulgarian State Cons, in Sofia (1963–65) and then with Ilonka Deckers at the Milan Cons., graduating with the highest honors in 1969. She won prizes in the Enesco Competition in Bucharest (1964) and the Long-Thibaud Competition in Paris (1965). In 1973 she made her recital debut at the Berlin Festival, and that same year her U.S. recital debut in Chicago. After appearing as soloist in the Tchaikovsky 1st Piano Concerto with the Los Angeles Phil, in 1974, she appeared as soloist with the leading orchs. of Europe and the U.S., including the London Sym., Phil-harmonia Orch., Royal Phil., Chicago Sym., Cleveland Orch., and Philadelphia Orch.; also toured in solo recitals. During the 1991–92 season, she toured Japan as soloist with the San Francisco Sym. She settled in London and married Michael Roll. A technically brilliant pianist, she excels in the Romantic and the early modern repertoire.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire