Faculty

A First Prize winner of the Claude Debussy International Piano Competition in France and Italy’s International Piano Competition of Senigalia, Bulgarian pianist, Pavlina Dokovska has gained worldwide recognition touring Europe, the Far East, and the Americas, receiving enthusiastic critical acclaim. Known for her insightful and caring teaching methods which have produced many well-rounded artists, Ms. Dokovska is the Chair of the Piano Department at Mannes School of Music in New York City since 1998.

Ms. Dokovska has performed as a recitalist, soloist with orchestra, and chamber musician at some of the most prestigious halls such as David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall's Weill Hall, Frick Museum, Merkin Hall (all in New York City), National Gallery (Washington D.C.), Gardner Museum (Boston), Berlin Radio Hall, Wigmore Hall (London), Gasteig and Herkulessaal (Munich), Atheneum (Bucharest), Smetana Hall (Prague), Salle Gaveau (Paris), La Scala (Milan), Bosendorfersaal (Vienna), Luxembourg Radio Hall, National Opera Hall (Taipei), Suntory Hall (Tokyo), National Center for the Performing Arts (Beijing), and numerous concert venues in her native Bulgaria.

Festival performances and teaching affiliations include Salzburg Festival (Austria), Mai Musical Bordeaux (France), Spoleto Festival (Italy), Liszt Festival (Princeton, NJ), Prague Autumn Festival (Czech Republic), Ruhr Klavierfestival (Germany), International Apolonia Festival (Bulgaria), International Music Festival “Sofia Musical Weeks” (Bulgaria), Festival at the Seoul National University (Korea), Shanghai Pianofest (China), Beijing International Music Festival and Academy (China), International Keyboard Institute and Festival (New York), PianoArts International Music Festival (Milwaukee, Wisconsin), Music Fest Perugia (Italy), Tel-Hai Masterclasses (Israel). Ms. Dokovska has adjudicated many competitions including Hilton Head Piano Competition, Cleveland International Piano Competition, William Kapell International Competition, Iowa Piano Competition, PianoArts North American Competition (Wisconsin), International Institute for Young Musicians International Competition (Kansas), Rosalyn Tureck International Bach Competition (New York), Xinghai National Competition (Beijing), and others.

An avid chamber musician, she has collaborated in recitals with the great Bulgarian basso Nicolai Ghiaurov, sopranos Stefka Evstatieva and Krassimira Stoyanova, basso Mikhail Svetlov, violinist Robert McDuffy, and cellist Nathaniel Rosen. As a recording artist, she can be heard on GegaNew, RCA, Koch International, Naxos, Arcadia, Elan, Labor Records. Ms. Dokovska’s affinity for French music is evident in many of her recordings, including a CD dedicated to Les Six (Koch Schwann), which was listed as a New York Times “Critic's Choice.”

Pavlina Dokovska received her initial music education in Bulgaria where she was a student of Lydia Kuteva at the Music High School in Sofia. She obtained her Bachelor of Music degree from the National Academy of Music in Sofia, working with Julia and Konstantin Ganev (students of the legendary Heinrich Neuhaus). As a recipient of the French Government scholarship, she spent summers studying with Yvonne Lefébure in Paris. Ms. Dokovska earned her Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School, as a Fulbright Scholar and a student of Beveridge Webster. Pavlina Dokovska is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Mannes Sounds Festival and Southwest Virginia Festival for the Arts.