Lora Markova

Lora Markova (b. 2003, Sofia) is an internationally active violinist recognized for her tonal refinement, artistic maturity, and commanding stage presence. Following her performance of Max Bruch’s G minor Violin Concerto in 2025 at the Stadthaus Winterthur, critic Herbert Büttiker wrote: “The way she mastered Max Bruch’s highly virtuosic G minor violin concerto with sovereign clarity and plasticity in detail, seemingly effortlessly, and the way she shaped the lyrical line with radiant sound and intimacy, made for a truly delightful listening experience.”

International recognition came after winning First Prize at the Leonid Kogan International Violin Competition in 2020. In 2021, she became the First Prize winner of the Tibor Varga Junior Violin Competition in Switzerland—an achievement that opened doors for a series of solo concerts with orchestra in Switzerland and Italy, as well as solo recitals presented by the Swiss artist management agency AMG “Rising Stars.”

That same year, she was awarded the special scholarship of the Leonidas Kavakos Masterclass, marking the beginning of her ongoing artistic collaboration with the renowned violinist.

International orchestral appearances include a 2019 performance at the Rudolfinum in Prague with the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Marek Šedivý.  In 2024, she appeared as soloist at the Sion Violon Festival, performing with orchestra in the 60th anniversary concert, co-organized by Pavel Vernikov and Janine Jansen.

Multiple engagements as soloist with the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra further define her presence on the Bulgarian stage. Additional appearances include concerts with orchestra in Winterthur (Switzerland), Venice, Grado, Treviso, Turin and San Vito al Tagliamento (Italy), in Oeiras (Portugal) , as well as collaborations with the Pleven Philharmonic, Classic FM Radio Orchestra, Varna State Opera, Vidin Philharmonic and Shumen Symphony Orchestra.

An important influence in her artistic development has been the ongoing collaboration with the distinguished violinist and pedagogue Boris Garlitsky.

Her musical foundation was laid at the National School of Music “Lyubomir Pipkov” in Sofia in the class of Blagorodna Taneva, with whom she began studying the violin at the age of five. She later continued her studies at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin in the class of Prof. Kolja Blacher. Since 2025, she continues her education at the Basel Music Academy, where she is among a select group admitted to the first regular class of Leonidas Kavakos.