Nikita Ruzhavinskiy is a cellist based in Europe, performing as a soloist and chamber musician. He is the Grand Prix winner of the Bach International Music Competition and has received awards at festivals and academies across Europe.
Nikita has performed with orchestras including the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic, Moravian Philharmonic, the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, and many others. He appears at European festivals as both a soloist and ensemble musician.
He studied with Natalia Shakhovskaya, Josef Podhoranský and Jérôme Pernoo, and further developed his approach through masterclasses with Martti Roussi, Michaela Fukačová, Jing Zhao, Stefan Popov and others. His repertoire spans from early Baroque to contemporary music, with a particular interest in historically informed performance.
Biography
A significant part of his artistic work is dedicated to historically informed performance. His artistic development has been shaped through collaborations and projects with prominent figures of the early music world, including Amandine Beyer, Jean-Christophe Spinosi, Martina Pastuszka, Christopher Moulds, Stefano Montanari, Federico Maria Sardelli, Andreas Mustonen, Leonardo García Alarcón, and Laurence Cummings. Nikita has performed as a soloist on the Baroque cello at major European early music festivals, including the Festival de Saintes (France), Les Festivals de Wallonie (Belgium), and the Festival de Torroella de Montgrí (Spain). In 2025, he was selected for the Ambronay Academy under the direction of Amandine Beyer.
He has performed throughout Europe, including Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Russia
“Nikita Ruzhavinskiy plays every note with due care, concentration and great musical feeling … perfectly expressing the romantic character of the piece while handling technically demanding virtuoso passages with ease. His playing is full of emotion, perfectly capturing the mood of the music.”
— Filip Rabenseifner, klasikaplus.cz
“Would you care for a little more Vivaldi? With the greatest pleasure! Especially when a soloist of such caliber as Nikita Ruzhavinskiy … takes on the Concerto for Two Cellos in G minor with such relish.” — Alain Cochard, concertclassic.com
