Viktoria Mullova studied at the Central Music School of Moscow and at the Moscow Conservatoire. Her extraordinary virtuosity captured international attention when she won first prize at the 1980 Sibelius Competition in Helsinki and the Gold Medal at the Tchaikovsky Competition in 1982.

She has appeared with most of the world's greatest orchestras and conductors, and at the major international festivals. Viktoria Mullova plays the "Jules Falk" Stradivarius (1723) and explores the full potential of her instrument with a hugely diverse repertoire - from "authentic" interpretations of Baroque and classical composers to 'new classical' interpretations of pop and jazz. With a group of like-minded musicians she formed the Mullova Chamber Ensemble, which first toured in July 1994 in Italy. In July 1995 they toured Germany and the Netherlands, exhibiting a blend of scholarship and virtuosity appreciated by audience and critics alike. Their first CD of the Bach violin concertos on Philips Classics has further demonstrated their ability to breathe life into music new and old.

Mullova's recent worldwide engagements as soloist include concerts with the Philharmonia (Salonen), Vienna Symphony (Sawallisch), Montreal Symphony (Dutoit), San Francisco (Robertson) and the Bayrische Rundfunk (Salonen). She also worked - for the first time as soloist and director - with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment on a Mozart project. The concerts were a huge success ("this was music-making at its best, with Mullova displaying innate stylistic awareness" - Amsterdam Telegraaf) and plans for future tours and recordings with the OAE are currently underway. She also gave solo Bach recitals throughout the UK, Germany and Italy to huge critical acclaim ("to hear Mullova play Bach is, simply, one of the greatest things you can experience" - The Guardian).

Viktoria Mullova recently explored a new direction with a venture into the contemporary music world, playing what she terms 'new classical': "Through the Looking Glass" features music by Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, The Beatles, Youssou N'Dour, Joe Zawinul and Jaco Pastorius among others, arranged specially for her by Matthew Barley to combine her exceptionally pure and beautiful sound, rhythmic vitality and legendary technique with a newfound spontaneity. The project, also featuring the renowned British jazz pianist, Julian Joseph. toured worldwide to coincide with the release in 2000 of a Philips album by the same name.

The 2001/2 season includes performances with the Los Angeles and Berlin philharmonic orchestras, The Philharmonia (Gergiev); tours with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe (Brüggen) and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique (John Eliot Gardiner) and to Japan with Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie (Harding), as well as recitals with Katia Labèque and chamber concerts with the Mullova Ensemble.

Viktoria Mullova records exclusively for Philips, and her debut release of Tchaikovsky and Sibelius concertos, with Ozawa and the Boston Symphony, was awarded the Grand Prix du Disque. Her recital of works by Stravinsky, Prokofiev and Ravel, with Bruno Canino, was awarded the Edison Prize, and the Mendelssohn concertos with Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields received a Diapason d'Or. She was nominated for a 1995 Grammy Award for her recording of the Bach Partitas, and she won a 1995 Echo Klassic award, a Japanese Record Academy Award and a Deutsche Schallplattenkritik prize for her recording of the Brahms concerto, recorded live in Tokyo with Claudio Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic. Her recording of the Brahms B major Trio (No 1) and Beethoven's Archduke Trio with Andre Previn and Heinrich Schiff was released in 1995, receiving a further Diapason d'Or. With Piotr Anderszewski, she has recorded two highly acclaimed recital discs, of Debussy, Janacek and Prokofiev sonatas, and the Brahms violin sonatas. Her latest recordings are the Bartok and Stravinsky concertos with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Salonen, was released in 1998, followed by Through The Looking Glass, released in 2000.