Cellist Anastasia Kobekina Featured in New Documentary, “Now or Never!”

The four-part documentary series follows Kobekina’s life and performances for over a year 

Starring the Russian cellist Anastasia Kobekina, “Now or Never!” is a documentary film by Grete Liffers that follows her journey from her first solo album to her debut at the BBC Proms in London.

The series also follows Kobekina’s stay in Zurich, where she was the guest soloist of the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich conducted by Paavo Järvi on their European tour. 

Kobekina debuted with the Tonhalle-Orchester at the Beethovenfest in Bonn and at the Prague International Music Festival performing Dvořák’s Cello Concerto.

Led by Liffers, the film team accompanied Kobekina for over a year, showing the artistic collaboration between Kobekina and Järvi in the run-up to rehearsals, and how she approaches rehearsals with the orchestra. 

The series ends with news of the release of her first album “Venice” on Sony Classical (where she is an exclusive recording artist) and her successful debut at the BBC Proms in London’s storied Royal Albert Hall. 

To watch the four-part series, click here. 

Kobekina’s upcoming concerts include those at Germany’s New University Heidelberg on March 29, 2025, and at the Nikolaisaal Potsdam on April 5, 2025, performing the Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1 and Schumann Cello Concerto, respectively. 

Currently studying baroque cello with Kristin von der Goltz in Frankfurt, Kobekina previously studied with Frans Helmerson, Jens-Peter Maintz, and Jerome Pernoo. 

As a soloist, she has performed with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Wiener Symphoniker, BBC Philharmonic, Kremerata Baltica, Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra Moscow, Wiener Kammerorchester, Symphoniker Hamburg, and more. 

Having won prizes at the Tchaikovsky and Enescu Competitions, she has been a BBC New Generation Artist, recipient of the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award, and of Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival’s Leonard Bernstein Award.

Kobekina performs on a 1698 Stradivarius cello — generously loaned by the Stradivari Stiftung Habisreutinger.