Model Virtuoso

In 1993, Russian virtuoso Nina Kotova was stuck in Manhattanwithout money, an apartment or a cello. “I was desperate,” said Kotova, whowill perform Jewish music from her new CD March 16, 2 p.m. at the Los AngelesMuseum of the Holocaust. So she dabbed on some makeup for the first time in herlife and strode into the Ford Modeling Agency, where her resemblance to iconssuch as Paulina Porizkova caused a stir.

Within days, she was posing for French Glamour, althoughmusic continued to pull at her heartstrings. Kotova struggled for three yearsto make her professional debut at London’s Wigmore Hall, when she successfullytraded the catwalk for the concert stage.

Life hasn’t always been so harmonious for Kotova, 33. At 15,a month after she won the prestigious “Concertino Praha” InternationalCompetition, her father, a famed bassist hounded for his political views, dieddue to alleged medical neglect. Thereafter, Kotova fled to the West, secured aYale scholarship but was penniless by 1992. When an acquaintance suggestedmodeling, “at first I didn’t take it seriously,” she said.

Kotova wasn’t thrilled about sashaying down runways inVersace, but her first paycheck allowed her to purchase a cheap cello, “whichwas like a treasure,” she said. Observers have noted that her supermodel looksmay have helped her switch back to music, as record companies hype the sexappeal of classical stars to combat dwindling sales.

A decade after her desperate New York years, the acclaimedcellist prefers to focus on her art. She’s now touring Jewish museums topromote her new CD, “Nina Kotova: Bloch, Bruch, Kotova,” featuring Bloch’s”Prayer, From Jewish Life” and Bruch’s “Kol Nidrei.” The non-Jewish Kotova saidthe album is a wedding gift to her husband, a Jewish businessman: “Judaism hasbrought so much beauty to my life,” she said.

For information about the museum benefit concert, call (323)761-8170.