Anastasia Vorotnaya

30
Birthplace: Togliatti, Russia
Studied in: Moscow, Russia; Madrid, Spain; Como, Italy; and Kansas City, United States
Resides in: Madrid, Spain

Anastasia Vorotnaya (ah-nuh-stuh-SEE-yuh vah-ROHT-nah-yah) recalls having a wild and mischievous childhood growing up in a small city east of Moscow. She rollerbladed with abandon, played football with the boys, and loved roaring up and down a keyboard.

At eight, Anastasia and her mother moved to Moscow so she could study at the Conservatory. At 17, she moved to Madrid, alone, without speaking a word of English or Spanish.

The piano was a constant and reassuring companion.

“I love touching and caressing the piano as if it were a living being,” she says, “because, in many ways, it truly is. It feels as though I open my soul to the piano in a way I never have and never will with anyone else.”

She’s also fascinated with the world of medicine and considered it an alternative career to music. During the pandemic lockdowns, when the future of live performance was uncertain, she prepared for medical school entrance exams, studying six to seven hours a day.

But then concerts returned, borders lifted, and Anastasia found herself at a crossroads: medicine or music.

“When I imagined a life without the piano, with only a scalpel in hand, the choice was suddenly clear. Music is, and always will be, my greatest love.”

As for competitions? “They can be both rewarding and painful—but regardless of the outcome, I have never viewed these events as something that defines me or my worth as a musician. I see them as episodes, not verdicts. Art, for me, lives far beyond rankings.”