Lora Tchekoratova’s professional journey has been multifaceted.
She is renowned soloist, chamber music, festival maker and artistic director and advisor to multiple prestigious organizations in the United States and her native Bulgaria.
Her career began as a soloist when at age 21, she won first prize at the Washington International Competition for pianists, where she was also awarded the audience prize and the prize for the youngest finalist. Subsequently, Ms. Tchekoratova made her debut at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Recital appearances followed throughout the United States, most notably at the Phillips Collection (broadcast over WGTS-FM), Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, as well as in Alexandria, Chicago, Minneapolis, and New York. Since then, she has become a frequent soloist and recitalist, performing in major venues worldwide. During the current season, Ms. Tchekoratova is scheduled to perform as a soloist and chamber musician in the United States (New York, Washington, Toronto, Tampa, Louisville, Naples, Los Angeles) and in Europe (Italy, Sweden, England, and Bulgaria), including premieres of new works, a concert in honor of the 70th Anniversary of UNESCO, and an appearance with the New Symphony Orchestra in Bulgaria, performing Brahms Concerto No. 1.
As an active advocate for new music, Ms. Tchekoratova has premiered numerous contemporary works by American and Bulgarian composers. Currently, she is the co-chair of Bulgarian Concert Evenings in New York, a concert series dedicated to presenting music and musicians from Bulgaria. The Lower Manhattan Cultural Fund, the Puffin Foundation, the Arthur Foundation, and the Kittredge Fund have all awarded her grants to perform lesser-known music from her country. In addition, she has presented Bulgarian music on tour with her husband, noted violinist Georgy Valtchev, represented by the organization World Artists Experiences in Washington, D.C. Lora has appeared at many festivals for new music, such as Focus, Summergarden, and Piano Century at the Juilliard Theater, MoMA, and Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center. Recently she performed at the American Composers’ Festival in New York’s Symphony Space and the Keys to the Future festival for new and recent piano music in New York. She has commissioned works by Dobrinka Tabakova, Peter Kerkelov, Valentin Silvestrov, Kenji Bunch, and is working of projects with composers Amanda Harberg, David Ludwig, Penka Kouneva and Dalit Warshaw.
Lora Tchekoratova is a dedicated chamber musician. She frequently performs with her husband, violinist Georgy Valtchev. During the past season, they presented a series of concerts in Maryland, Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, and New York. She also appears regularly in various chamber music programs with members of the New World Symphony, where she was a fellow for two seasons under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. These collaborations led her to performances in Miami (at the Lincoln Theater,) Palm Beach (Kravis Center,) and New York (Union Club), as well as on tours in Boston, Long Island, and abroad in Prague, Rome, and Monte Carlo. She has also been a featured artist at many international festivals, including Kuhmo Nuori Musikii in Finland; Lappland Festspel and Bastad Festspel in Sweden; Kneisel Hall in Blue Hill, Maine; Apolonia, and Sofia Music Weeks in Bulgaria. In 2017, Ms. Tchekoratova established the nonprofit foundation Off the Beaten Path in her native country. In addition, she launched a chamber music festival in the picturesque village of Kovachevitsa in the Rhodope mountains during the summer of 2018. The festival’s night edition will take place in July and August 2027.
Lora Tchekoratova began her piano studies at age four and gave her first recital five years later at the State Music School in Sofia, Bulgaria. At age eighteen, she continued her studies at The Juilliard School in New York City, where she received her Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees as a student of Seymour Lipkin. Other teachers include Lydia Kuteva, Vessela Marinova, Prof. Jenny Zaharieva, and Oxana Yablonskaya. She has made numerous recordings for Radio and Television in Bulgaria, Sweden, Finland, and the U.S. She serves on the faculty of Mannes Prep at the New School College of Performing Arts in New York. She also serves as the Artistic Director of Salon de Virtuosi, a renowned organization in New York, dedicated to the promotion and nourishment of exceptional young classical musicians.
Her recordings for Albany Records and Gega New have received worldwide critical acclaim. Her next Album, featuring solo and chamber music works by composer Dobrinka Tabakova will be released on NMC in fall, 2026.
