Ms Elizabeth Wilson

Elizabeth Wilson was born in London, and studied cello at the Moscow Conservatoire with Mstislav Rostropovich between 1964–1971, also becoming fluent in Russian. On her return to London she embarked on a performing, teaching and writing career. Since 1990 she has lived in Italy where she co-founded the EstOvest music festival and the much acclaimed Xenia International summer course for string players, both held in Piemonte. Her books include Shostakovich: A Life Remembered (1994, 2006) and musical biographies of Jacqueline du Pré and Rostropovich. She edited the first ever anthology of Shostakovich’s letters, published in Italy by Saggiatore (2006). Playing with Fire, her biography of the legendary Russian pianist Maria Yudina, was published by Yale in 2024.