Kira Kraftzoff, leader and founder of Rastrelli Cello Quartet, Russian Quattro and Rastrelli Chamber Orchestra was born in 1971 in Leningrad, USSR (now St. Petersburg, Russia).
Aged six, he started his studies at “The Special Music School for Highly Talented Children” of St. Petersburg State Conservatory, under tutorship of Prof. Mark Reisenstock. He had his public debut at the age of 14 with the Orchestra of St. Petersburg Radio performing The Cello Concerto by A. Khatchaturian in The Grand Concert Hall of St. Petersburg Philharmonic.
In 1987, he took part in the “All-Russia Cello Competition”, and granted a diploma there. In 1988, he was the youngest finalist ever in the “All-USSR Cello Competition”, winning a diploma and a special award for a “most brilliant perspective”.
He continued his studies with the class tutored by Prof. Anatoly Nikitin at St. Petersburg State Conservatory named after Rimsky-Korsakov, which he graduated with honors in 1994. On graduating, he was the assistant teacher of Prof. Nikitin's class for four years, as well as being a student of the legendary performer Daniel Schafran.
In 1993, he received the high distinction of representing St. Petersburg Conservatory in Mstislav Rostropovichґs first master-class in Russia after his long exile. As a partaker of a student exchange, he came to Stuttgart, completing his studies with Prof. Peter Buck (Cellist of the "Melos-Quartet") and graduating as a student laureate.
Kira Kraftzoff won prizes in the following international competitions:
1990 Murcia (Spain): First Prize
1992 Pretoria (South Africa) Third prize in "UNISA String Competition"
1994 Trapani (Italy): Second prize in "Chamber music Competition"(1. Prize was not awarded)
1995 Munich (Germany) Third prize in "Konzertgesellschaft Wettbewerb"
1997 Vienna (Austria ): First prize in "Vienna International Competition"
He performed as a soloist in many of the great concert halls.
Among these are : The Grand Hall of Moscow Conservatory, The Grand Hall of St. Petersburg Philharmonic, The Philharmonie Berlin, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Herkulessaal und Gasteig Munich, Tonhalle Zurich, Concertgebow Amsterdam, Laiszhalle Hamburg, Stefaniesaal Graz, Mozarteum Salzburg, Grand Park Chicago, Taegue Philharmonic South Korea and many others.
Kira was invited to perform in numerous festivals all over the world, such as “Davos Music Festival”, ”Schwetzingen Festspiele”, “Beethoven Festival in Bonn”, “Freiburger Zeltwunder Festival”, "Colorado Music Festival”, “Savonlinna Festival Finland”, “Musical Olympus St. Petersburg”, working with artists like Gidon Kremer, Krzysztof Penderecki, Gilles Apap, Giora Feidman and Justus Frantz.
Kraftzoff appeared in countless radio and television broadcasts, like the NBC, BR, SWR, HR, NDR, NHK & the Russia 1, which broadcasted a forty-minute film about his life and career in 1993.
He was invited to play the Daniel Schafran Memorial Concert, playing the Saint-Saens Cello Concerto for the late grandmaster of Cello in 1997.
Before he invented Rastrelli Cello Quartet, he was the principal Cellist in the ensemble "St. Petersburg Soloists" (1991-1994), and from 1998 until 2005, - the Principal Cellist of the "Wurttembergisches Kammerorchester" (Germany).
Creation of “Rastrelli Cello Quartet” (2002) made him world-famous; he started his career as a conductor in 2010 and founded “Rastrelli Chamber Orchestra”. In 2012 he invented “Russian Quattro”, a first string quartet with two violins and two cellos.