For her weighty contribution to cultural development and music in Israel and the world, for her establishment and artistic direction of the Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival, bringing first class artists to Israel to perform music together with emphasis on comradeship and excellence, and for her great contribution to education in Israel and her cooperation with the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, this honor was conferred on pianist Elena Bashkirova at the opening evening of the Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival at the Jerusalem International YMCA.
Coinciding with the Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival, the “Jerusalem Sounds” International Seminar for Strings, Voice and Chamber Music took place under the auspices of the Academy and under the musical direction of internationally renowned cellist Zvi Plesser. The seminar is the outcome of collaboration between the Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival and the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.
Russian-born Elena Bashkirova studied under her father, celebrated pianist and teacher Dimitri Bashkirov, at the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory. She frequently appears with leading orchestras, such as the Munich Philharmonic, the North German Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Among the conductors she has worked with are Sergiu Celibidache, Pierre Boulez, Zubin Mehta, Christoph von Dohnányi, Christoph Eschenbach, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, David Robertson and Michael Gillen.
Alongside Classical and Romantic repertoire, Bashkirova is a devotee of 20th century music and has taken part in a number of world premieres. She is also a chamber music enthusiast and has accompanied some of the greatest singers. In 1998, she established the Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival, remaining its artistic director. She has taken many concert tours of Europe and the USA with ensembles comprising important musicians of the festival.
Elena Bashkirova joins the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance’s Honorary Colleagues list, among those on it being Professor András Schiff, Daniel Barenboim, Mstislav Rostropovich, Isaac Stern, Menahem Pressler, Claude Frank, Murray Perahia, Mendi Rodan, Tzvi Avni, Yosef Tal, Gary Bertini, Mark Kopytman, duo-pianists Bracha Eden and Alexander Tamir, Arie Vardi, and others.