Born in 1990 in Tbilisi, Georgia, violist Georgy Kovalev studied at the Kronberg Academy with Nobuko Imai before completing his studies with Tabea Zimmermann at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin.
He is a prizewinner and finalist at numerous international competitions, including the Yuri Bashmet International Viola Competition in Moscow and the Tokyo International Viola Competition, and was awarded the Neva Foundation Prize at the Verbier Festival in 2011.
As a soloist, Georgy has performed with leading orchestras including Kremerata Baltica, the Munich Chamber Orchestra, the Moscow Soloists Chamber Orchestra and the New Japan Philharmonic, among many others. As a recitalist and chamber musician, he has appeared throughout Europe, Russia, Asia and the United States.
His chamber music partners include Martha Argerich, Gidon Kremer, Christian Tetzlaff, Steven Isserlis, Yuri Bashmet, Fazıl Say, Emanuel Ax and Jörg Widmann. He has performed at many of the world’s leading festivals, including the Schubertiade, Verbier Festival, Ravinia Festival, Heidelberger Frühling, Delft Chamber Music Festival, West Cork Chamber Music Festival, the Robeco Summer Concert Series at the Concertgebouw, the Rheingau Musik Festival and the Kronberg Academy Festival. He is Principal Viola of the Amsterdam Sinfonietta.
In 2018, Georgy recorded Johann Sebastian Bach’s The Art of Fugue with the Delian Quartett for German Radio. The recording was nominated for the Opus Klassik Award in the category Best Chamber Music Recording.
In 2022, together with the Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim under the direction of Johannes Moesus, he recorded Johannes X. Schachtner’s Viola Concerto and Johannes Speger’s Triple Concerto for Viola, Flute and Double Bass for the CPO label, alongside double bassist Roman Patkoló and flautist Kathrin Christians.
Alongside his performing career, Georgy is a dedicated teacher and regularly gives masterclasses at festivals including Gioie Musicali (Asolo, Italy), Mit Musik – Miteinander (Kronberg Academy, Germany), Lauter Project (Ferrara, Italy) and the Ortus Chamber Music Festival (Ireland).
Georgy Kovalev performs on a rare viola by Antonio Mariani (Pesaro, c. 1670), generously loaned by the Stretton Society.