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
continues to reward audiences worldwide as one of the leading cellists of today.
Ms. Bogdanovic’s concerto engagements include Tonhalle Orchester Zurich, Berlin Symphony at
the Berlin Philharmonic Hall, Tokyo Philharmonic, Bremerhaven Staatsorchester, Bergische
Philharmonie, Slovenian, Belgrade and Macedonian Philharmonic, Orchestra del Teatro Civico
Schio, Lubbock Symphony, Spokane Symphony, Munchenner kammerorchester, Sydenham
Festival Orchestra, Serbian Radio Symphony, Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, Korean
Wonju Philharmonic Orchestra, Salta Symphony Orchestra, Morelia Philharmonic Orchestra, St.
Bartholomew Orchestra London, Vojvodina Symphony, Orchestre des Laureats du Conservatoire
de Paris, Orchestre de Chambre Nouvelle Europe as well as chamber orchestras Dusan Skovran,
St. George Strings and the Sejong Soloists.
The quality of her recital and chamber music interpretations continues to be applauded at many
of the world’s leading venues and festivals which include the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam,
Muziekgebouw Amsterdam, Tonhalle Dusseldorf, Salle Pleyel, Salle Gaveau and Amphitheatre
Sorbonne Paris, Palais des Congres Nantes, Prinzregententheater Munich, the Festival de Radio
France et Montpellier, Kuhmo Festival, Beauvais Cello Festival, Festival du Perigord Noir, Giverny
Festival, European Festival of Young Talents in Paris, Plaisir de Musiques Annecy, Arcachon
Festival, Classiques d’avenir Biarritz, Folles journees in Nantes, Roque d’Antheron, Zeist Festival in
Holland and Amsterdamse Cello Biennale.
Among her exceptionally wide repertoire, Ms. Bogdanovic dedicates a special place as a
champion of contemporary music. She has premiered works of Krzysztof Penderecki, Sofia
Gubaidulina, Philip Sawyers, Nicolas Bacri, Eric Tanguy, Benjamin Yusupov, Ivan Jevtic and others.
Most notably, her collaboration with Krzysztof Penderecki began in France, with the Orchestre
National des Pays de la Loire, and continued with the Belgrade Philharmonic, Slovenian
Philharmonic and the Tonhalle Orchester Zurich. Among a select group of world’s leading artists
that have included Lorin Maazel, Anne-Sophie Mutter and others, Maja was invited to give a
special performance in Warsaw for the occasion of the composer’s 80th birthday, collaborating
with Yuri Bashmet, Julian Rachlin and Barry Douglas.
Continuing her work as a prolific recording artist, Ms. Bogdanovic produced several
internationally released CD recordings for the French label Lyrinx, as well as the Nimbus label
recording of the Concerto for Cello and Orchestra dedicated to her by the English composer
Philip Sawyers.
Laureate of leading international competitions, Maja Bogdanovic won the First Prize at the Aldo
Parisot Cello Competition, received the Second Prize and the Special Audience Award at the
Gaspar Cassado International Competition, was awarded the special prize at the Concours
Rostropovich in Paris and, in the same year, she also became a multiple laureate of the
International Jeunesses Musicales Competition in Belgrade, as the recipient of the Third and two
special awards. In 2008, the Safran Foundation for Music presented her the prize for
achievements, and was the winner of the UMUS Artist of the Year Award in 2011.
Maja graduated with the First Prize at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Paris,
where she completed her postgraduate course with Michel Strauss in addition to studying
chamber music with Itamar Golan and Pierre-Laurent Aimard. Following her studies in Paris, she
pursued further training at the UDK Berlin with Prof. Jens Peter Maintz, as well as with Bernard
Greenhouse, Alban Gerhardt, Young-Chang Cho and Heinrich Schiff. Maja’s music education
begun at a very early age with Prof. Nada Jovanovic at the Kosta Manojlovic Music School in
Zemun, during which time she won the highest awards at national and international competitions
in the Czech Republic, Austria, France and Italy.
Maja Bogdanovic plays a violoncello custom made for her by the renowned French luthier Frank
Ravatin.