A portrait of a luminous artist who lives through sound, breathes through creation, and connects to the world through music. There are artists who simply perform, and then there are those who become the very essence of what they create. Anna Litvinenko is a Cuban-Ukrainian cellist raised in the warmth and rhythm of Miami. She embodies music; not just as a career, not just as sound, but as an intimate, transformative force that flows through everything she touches. She is a storyteller, a seeker of beauty, and above all; a human being in love with the power of connection. Photo: Carlos A. Diez

Music has a big impact on her

“I come from a musical family,” Anna shares, “both my parents are musicians. I travel a lot, and I love to be challenged. I love to improvise, and I just love to keep learning.” There’s a quiet fire in her voice when she speaks about music; not one of perfectionism, but one of deep-rooted purpose. Her journey is not only about playing the right notes, but about discovering what lies beneath them. “Music is a part of me. Artistically, I love to create things; it’s just part of who I am. And I think it’s a huge part of so many people’s lives too.”

It is this openness, this generosity of spirit, that makes Anna’s presence so compelling, both on and off stage. Her performances are infused with warmth and imagination, but even beyond the spotlight, whether she’s speaking here in an interview sharing her thoughts online or improvising in an intimate rehearsal, Anna shines with authenticity, kindness, and quiet strength. She creates a space around her where people feel something. Something real, human, and deeply moving.

And yet, her relationship with music has not been without questions. “There were times I asked myself if music would really be the main thing in my life,” she reflects honestly. “Working as a musician can be difficult. You have to make a living with the thing you love most.” After years of intense study and criticism, it can be hard to hold onto the original spark. “But lately, my goal has simply been to keep loving it. So I’m focusing my energy on the things I want to be doing, not the things I don’t, so I can continue that relationship with music.”

Photo: Giuseppe Manganini

Connect music to her own experiences

That kind of clarity is rare. And so is her ability to turn every experience, even the difficult ones, into growth. It’s what makes her such an extraordinary artist. Because for Anna, music is not about escaping life. It is about living it fully, through sound, feeling, and imagination.

She speaks often about the importance of spontaneity and creative freedom in her artistic journey. “One of the most valuable things I learned from my teachers,” she recalls, “was to connect music to my own experiences. To realize that music is so much more than just sound. It’s a way of storytelling. If you can imagine a feeling (gentleness, sharpness, softness) then you can begin to create that sound. Through imagination, you find the texture. That’s where the magic is.”

Her first experience with improvisation was, in her words, a turning point. “During my undergraduate years, pianist Noam Sivan started a course for chamber musicians to improvise together. It opened up a whole other realm of music making for me. Because when you spend thousands of hours practicing… it is easy to lose sight of the meaning of the notes written on the page. When you have to improvise, it has to come from within. It taught me that I can create things, not just interpret.”

This lesson changed everything. She began to feel music not just as a craft to master, but as a language of connection; with others and with herself. “In classical music, we’re not always taught to compose or improvise. But in the past, musicians did that much more. It’s still part of jazz, folk, and other genres. I feel incredibly grateful that I was able to explore that freedom.”

Music is a very powerful tool

And it’s in this exploration that Anna finds her deepest joy. “Some of the most powerful moments I’ve had didn’t happen on stage,” she admits. “They happened in rehearsals, with ensembles like my trio Chekhov. When we’re diving into a piece together, dedicating time to something that feels essential, that’s when I feel: ‘this is what I’m meant to do’. Or during improvisation, when I connect so deeply with another person that we enter a magical zone where our sounds become conversation. It’s so powerful, I could do that forever!”

Still, the stage holds its own kind of magic. When asked how she prepares for those big moments, Anna smiles. “I love yoga. I always take 10 to 20 minutes to stretch and reconnect to my body. It calms my system, brings me back to the present moment. The mind likes to go a million miles an hour, and that can cause insecurities. So I try to create a quiet space before I perform, one where I feel safe. Music is a very powerful tool.”

When asked about the importance of following your dreams, Anna speaks straight from the heart. “If you don’t pay attention to your passion, it will keep calling you,” she says gently. “Even though you have gone down a different path, your heart will keep knocking. You’ll hear it. So yes, try all the things you dream of, even if you fail. Because it’s not failure. I’ve failed so many times in my music making, but it kept me going because it’s where my heart is.”