Kathryn Stott began playing piano at age five and by age eight was studying at a boarding school for young musicians, the Yehudi Menuhin School. During her studies there, she was heavily influenced by two occasional visitors to the school: the composer and pedagogue Nadia Boulanger and pianist Vlado Perlmuter. From them, her great passion for French music was ignited, and Gabriel Fauré in particular has remained the musical love of her life.

Further studies at the Royal College of Music in London led to the life of a professional musician, via the Leeds International Piano Competition. She met Yo-Yo Ma in 1978, and since 1985, they have enjoyed a collaboration which has taken them around the world and led to musical adventures with musicians from many traditions.

Ms. Stott serves as artistic director of the Australian Festival of Chamber Music and teaches at the Academy of Music in Oslo. She is a proponent of new music, and has enjoyed a particularly close collaboration with composer Graham Fitkin.