BIOGRAPHY

A standout artist, uniting dazzling skill, emotional resonance, and a uniquely genre-crossing voice.

Asya Fateyeva is one of today’s most exciting classical saxophonists, celebrated for her artistry, versatility, and fresh approach to the instrument. Born in Crimea, she captivates audiences with programs that span centuries and genres—from Baroque and Classical to Romantic and contemporary music, jazz, and world music. Her playing combines technical brilliance, emotional depth, and a distinctive, instantly recognizable sound.

She first drew international attention in 2014, making history as the first woman to reach the finals of the prestigious International Adolphe Sax Competition in Belgium, where she won third prize. Since then, she has been a trailblazer in establishing the saxophone as a prominent voice in the classical world.

Her career has taken her to some of the world’s most prestigious stages and festivals. She has appeared with orchestras such as the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Vienna Symphony, SWR Symphony Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonic, Beethoven Orchestra Bonn, Ensemble Resonanz, Kammerakademie Potsdam, Munich Symphonics, and MDR Symphony Orchestra. She has collaborated with renowned conductors including Robin Ticciati, Bar Avni, Nil Venditti, Vladimir Spivakov, Joseph Bastian, Dirk Kaftan, and Michael Sanderling, performing in iconic venues like the Vienna Musikverein and at major festivals including Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lucerne.

Highlights of the 2025/26 season include her return to the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and debuts with the Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna at the Brucknerhaus Linz, the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, and the Staatsorchester Darmstadt. She continues her collaboration with Lautten Compagney Berlin, with whom she released her second CD, Dancing Queen, featuring music by ABBA and Rameau, awarded the Opus Klassik in 2025. Her upcoming CD, Nutcracker Unwrapped—a new take on Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker arranged by Wolf Kerschek—will be released in autumn 2025. She also returns to the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, where she was a resident artist in 2024.

Alongside her solo work, Fateyeva is deeply committed to chamber music. She creates inventive programs, including arrangements of Bach’s Goldberg Variations for cello, accordion, and saxophone, music of the 1920s, and cross-genre projects blending jazz and world music. Her wide-ranging curiosity and openness make her a truly cosmopolitan artist, integrating diverse influences into her music.

Fateyeva began her studies as a young student at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln with Professor Daniel Gauthier and further honed her craft in France with Claude Delangle (Paris) and Jean-Denis Michat (Lyon). She completed an advanced chamber music program at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg.

Today, she shares her expertise as a professor of classical saxophone at both the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg and the Musikhochschule Lübeck.

PRESS QUOTES

“The young Asya Fateyeva plays the alto saxophone so elegantly and confidently that the beauty of the sound she conjures up captivates everyone.” Süddeutsche Zeitung

“The first half of the concert showcased the spellbinding qualities of the saxophone, elevated by the brilliant virtuosity of soloist Asya Fateyeva (…) From the opening notes of Alexander Glazunov’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Strings, Asya Fateyeva held the audience in her grasp. Her alto saxophone sounded remarkably warm and full-bodied, gliding with striking ease between romantic lyricism and dazzling virtuosity.” Classicnews