Russian Pianist Alexander Zolotarev was born in 1968 in St. Petersburg (Leningrad). He is teaching at the Siegen University and at the Cologne conservatory. The pianist Alexander Zolotarev - born in 1968 in St. Petersburg (Leningrad), Russia - began playing piano at the age of five. His professional music education started at the age of 7 when he entered the Central Music School affiliated with the St. Petersburg Conservatory.After studying at the St. Petersburg Conservatory with Professor Halfin and Professor Zolotarev, he continued his musical education at the "Hochschule für Musik" in Cologne, Germany under the tutelage of Professor Pavel Gililov. He is a prize-winner of numerous piano competitions including the National Russian Piano Competition, as well as "Cittá di Senigallia" and "Cittá di Finale Ligure" International Piano Competitions in Italy.
In 1991 Alexander Zolotarev gave concerts at the Schleswig-Holstein Festival and was invited to perform a recital before the President of the Federal Republic of Germany. Since then, has performed extensively throughout the former Soviet Union, Europe, the USA, and Japan as a recitalist, soloist with orchestra, and on radio and television including recordings for SWR, NDR, WDR, BBC, Russian State Television, Radio Suisse Romande, and RAI among others.Alexander Zolotarev has been combining his active concert career with teaching at the University of Siegen, Germany. In addition, since 2001 he has been the artistic director of the chamber music festival in Schmallenberg (Hochsauerland), Germany.