6 Cello Suites: Alfia Nakipbekova

Alfia Nakipbekova was born in Karaganda, a mining town in Central Kazakhstan. At the age of seven, she began her cello studies with exiled cellist and Gulag survivor Roman Mazanov. She was accepted by the Moscow Central Music School for gifted children, and three years later entered the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatoire to study with Mstislav Rostropovich, as well as receiving an extensive series of master classes from Soviet cello legend Daniel Shafran. In 1981 Alfia defected to the UK, where she realized her dream to study with Jacqueline Du Pr. She soon established herself as a leading soloist and chamber musician (with the Bekova Trio), and has appeared at major festivals and concert halls throughout the U.S., Europe, Middle East, Canada and Australia.