He was born in 1961 in Moscow into the family of prominent Conductor of the Mariinsky Theatre, Victor Fedotov. He gained his music education from the Central Special Music School of the Rimsky-Korsakov Leningrad State Conservatory and Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory. His main teachers were Boris Fedotov, Maxim Sergeev, Dmitry Tsyganov and Igor Bezrodnyi. He also studied in the Class of Opera and Symphony Conducting at the St Petersburg Conservatory (Class of USSR People's Artist Vladislav Chernushenko).
He is the Winner of Pagannini International Competition (Genoa, 1982), VIII Tchaikovsky International Competition (1986), the Winner of the International Violin Competition in Tokyo (1986) and Laureate of the Moscow Government Prize. The first violinist who gave a solo recital with two Paganini violins - Guarneri del Gesu and Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume (St. Petersburg, 2003). He performs at the most prestigious concert venues in Russia and abroad - "Barbican Hall" (London), "Symphony Hall" (Birmingham), "Finland Palace" (Helsinki), "Konzerthaus" (Berlin), "Gewandhaus" (Leipzig) "Gastieg" (Munich), "Alte Oper" (Frankfurt), "Auditorium" (Madrid), "Megaro" (Athens), "Musikverein" (Vienna), "Suntory Hall" (Tokyo), "Symphony Hall "(Osaka), "Verdi Concert Hall" (Milan), Cologne Philharmonic Hall, Vienna State Opera, Bolshoi and Mariinsky Theatres of Russia and many others. He played as Soloist at the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra. The foreign press call him "Russian Paganini", "Brilliant Artist and Perfect Master" ( "Frankfurter Rundschau").
He organically combines the activities of concert violinist and symphony conductor. Over the period from 1987 to 2006 he was a soloist at the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra. Over the period from 2003 to 2005 he was the Principal Conductor of the "Russian Symphony Orchestra". Over the period from 2006 to 2007 he conducted the Vienna Balls in Moscow, Russian Balls in Baden-Baden, the First Ball of Moscow in Vienna. Over the period from 2006 to 2010 he served as the Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Symphony Orchestra "Russian Philharmonia" in Moscow, which played about 100 symphonic programs, operas and gala concerts. Since 2005, he co-operates with the Zagreb Chamber Orchestra. Since 2011, Maxim Fedotov cooperates with the Prokofiev, Russian Symphony Orchestra and Tchaikovsky Foundation Symphony Orchestra. He also works with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, Baden-Baden and Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestras, as well as Vatican Chamber Orchestra. Since 2009 - he is the Artistic Director of the Aannual International Chamber Music Festival Musica Maxima (Croatia).
He is a Professor of the Moscow Conservatory. He headed the Violin and Viola Department of the Russian Academy of Music (2003-2008) and the Association of Winners of Tchaikovsky International Competition (1997-2003). In 2000, he was elected as Academician of the Petrovskaya Academy of Sciences and Arts (St. Petersburg). Since 2015 - Head of Department of Stringed Instruments of the Schnittke Moscow State Institute.
Maxim Fedotov pays particular attention to cooperation with the St. Petersburg Music House, wherein he performs with young musicians as a conductor, and gives the master classes.
