About Bella
Bulgarian-American violinist Bella Hristova has won international acclaim for her “expressive nuance and rich tone” (New York Times) and “impressive power and control” (Washington Post). She has distinguished herself on the world stage as a performing artist with a remarkably diverse repertoire and a bold approach to programming. A recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, she has won numerous awards, including First Prize in the Michael Hill International Violin Competition and is a Laureate of the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis.
Hristova has performed extensively as a soloist with orchestras around the US, including the Buffalo Philharmonic, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, the New York String Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, and the Hawaii, Kansas City, and Milwaukee Symphonies, as well as orchestras in Asia, Europe, Latin America, and New Zealand. Highlights of the 2025-26 season include a return to Carnegie Hall performing Dvorak’s Violin Concerto with the New York String Orchestra, conducted by Jaime Laredo; debuts with the Shenzhen and Wuxi Symphony Orchestras, and the completion of her Lineage commissioning project. In addition to her many appearances with orchestras, Hristova frequently performs with The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and has held residencies at top conservatories and summer music festival programs as a recitalist. She has performed recitals at Carnegie Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and Boston’s Isabella Gardner Museum.
A champion of music by living composers, her commissioning project Lineage showcases six new solo violin works by Dai Wei, Gloria Kravchenko, Nokuthula Ngwenyama, Eunike Tanzil, Joan Tower, and Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. In 2015, Hristova was the featured soloist of a concerto commissioned by a consortium of eight orchestras, written by her husband, acclaimed composer David Serkin Ludwig.
As a recording artist, Hristova has released a variety of albums reflecting her broad musical interests. Bella Unaccompanied, an album released on Tonegold Records, features works by John Corigliano, Kevin Puts, Astor Piazzolla, Nathan Milstein, and J.S. Bach. Her Naxos debut album features the solo violin works of Belgian composer Charles de Bériot. Following multiple tours of New Zealand with renowned pianist Michael Houstoun, she and Houstoun have recorded the complete Beethoven Sonatas, the complete Brahms Sonatas, and an album of French sonatas by Ravel, Poulenc, and Fauré. Most recently, Hristova recorded Ludwig’s violin concerto with JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.
Hristova began violin studies at the age of six in her native Bulgaria. After gaining accolades following master classes in Salzburg with Ruggiero Ricci, she studied with Ida Kavafian at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and received her Artist Diploma with Jaime Laredo at Indiana University. Hristova plays a 1655 Nicolò Amati violin, once owned by the violinist Louis Krasner and started her career with Young Concert Artists. She lives in New York City with her husband, David, and their four beloved (but poorly behaved) cats.
