Following her recital debut at Carnegie’s Weill Hall, The Strad hailed cellist MAJA BOGDANOVIĆ for “an outstanding performance of exceptional tonal beauty.” She has since taken her place among today’s foremost cellists as a soloist, chamber musician, and educator.
An avid chamber musician, Maja Bogdanović is a frequent guest at the world’s leading chamber music festivals such as the Kuhmo Festival in Finland, Cello Biënnale Amsterdam, Festival Radio France Occitanie Montpellier, Folle Journée/Nantes, Storioni Festival, and the Stift International Chamber Music Festival in The Netherlands. In 2023, the new Arethusa Quartet was born. It brings Maja together with the like-minded spirits of violinists Daniel Rowland and Floor Le Coultre, and violist Dana Zemtsov.
Maja has released several internationally praised albums for the Lyrinx, Nimbus, DUX, and Orchid Classics labels. Her releases for Challenge Records include Pas de Deux with violinist Daniel Rowland, which features world premiere recordings of works by Penderecki, Vasks, Sollima, and Nisinman. It was described as “a magical meeting of cello and violin” by Dutch daily NRC Handelsblad.
Born in Belgrade, Serbia, Maja began playing the cello at a very early age, studying with Professor Nada Jovanovic in Zemun. She went on to graduate with a First Prize from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, where she completed her postgraduate course with Michel Strauss. While there, she also studied chamber music with Itamar Golan and Pierre-Laurent Aimard. Following her studies in Paris, she pursued further training at the Universität der Künste Berlin with Professor Jens Peter Maintz. Laureate of numerous international competitions, Maja won First Prize at the third Aldo Parisot Cello Competition in South Korea and received the Second Prize and Special Audience Award at the Gaspar Cassado International Competition in Tokyo. She was awarded the Special Prize at the Concours Rostropovich in Paris.
Maja’s instrument was custom made for her by French luthier Frank Ravatin. She lives in Amsterdam with her husband Daniel Rowland and their two daughters.