Lola Astanova

Astanova was born in 1982 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Her mother taught piano and her father was a mechanical engineer.[1] At age six, Astanova entered the V. Uspensky Specialized School of Music for Gifted Children, studying under professor Tamara Popovich. She later traveled to Moscow to take lessons from Lev Naumov at the Moscow Conservatory.[3]

Astanova began touring at the age of 8 and at 10 became a laureate of the International Chopin Competition.[4] At 12, she was featured in the UNESCO documentary Prodigies of the 20th Century. She moved to Houston, where her brother lived, when she was 17, and studied for her master's degree at Shepherd School of Music at Rice University.[1]

Astanova was featured in the 2007 Classical Superstars Fantasy Concert hosted by ABC's television host Regis Philbin. The concert was featured in the 100th anniversary issue of the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book and offered for $1.6 million.[5][6] In August 2008, The National September 11 Memorial & Museum announced Astanova's performance on the famed Steinway concert piano of Vladimir Horowitz at the "Notes of Hope" benefit hosted by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Senator Hillary Clinton. The performance raised funds for the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York City.[2]

On 19 January 2012 Astanova made her Carnegie Hall debut,[7] with the New York Times noting that "her taste for drama and her extreme physical abandon end up emphasizing that there isn't a great deal of emotion in her playing".[2][8] Horowitz's student, American pianist Byron Janis, was among the concert's attendees.[9] All proceeds from the performance were donated to the American Cancer Society. In March 2012, Astanova appeared on the cover of Palm Beach Society magazine ahead of her performance with Jahja Ling at the Kravis Center.[10] On 30 May 2012 she performed a duet with Byron Janis during his Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.[11]

Astanova's performance of Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" with Gerard Schwarz and the All-Star Orchestra,[12] was featured in the "Visions of New York" television special on PBS and received the 2016 Emmy Award for Special Event Coverage (Other than News or Sports).[13]

In 2018, Astanova appeared in The Journey to the Theater of Silence, a documentary about her collaboration with Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. The film also featured interviews with producer and composer David Foster.[14] During the same year, Astanova's collaboration with Stjepan Hauser of the band 2Cellos came out under the name "Lola and Hauser". The duo released 7 tracks together including the Moonlight Sonata,[15] "Love Story"[16] and QUEEN's We Are the Champions.[17]

Astanova played piano and keyboards on the track El Trato from the El Disco album by Alejandro Sanz.[18] El Disco won the 2020 Grammy for Best Latin Pop Album.[19]

In May 2020, Sony Music released Astanova's original electronic crossover track titled "Elise Was Here".[20] Her video clips are strongly imbued with the prosaic erotic charge, i.e. erotic capital, that mostly seeks to seduce post-patriarchal listeners.[21]

Astanova has received attention for her performance style and appearance, often wearing extremely high-heels and tiny mini skirts. She has expressed her love for fashion stating that "some extraordinary artists" work in this field.[22] In June 2012, she was named among Top 10 Style Icons in Classical Music by Limelight magazine.[23]

In 2014 Astanova performed at the New York Ball honoring editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia Franca Sozzani, with Donald Trump, Valentino Garavani, Baz Luhrmann, Steven Klein, Zac Posen, Coco Rocha, and Peter Dundas attending the event and Kris Jenner introducing Astanova on stage.[24]