In 1987 she completed a doctoral dissertation on English music of 20th century, at the Moscow research institute of Arts of Academy of Science, USSR.

Kovnatskaya's research fields include History of Russian Music; she has written, edited and compiled books and articles on D. Shostakovich.

Shostakovich, Schoenberg, Britten, Purcell, Tippett, Arensky, Balakirev, English music, Russian-English connections, Mikhail Druskin [ru], Albert Schweitzer and the Soviet musical epoch – all these subjects were established by Prof. Kovnatskaya due to her intensive and rigorous nature as a researcher, editor and author of books, proceedings, collections and many-volume editions.

A separate field of her research and publishing activity is the ‘offering to the Teacher’, who was a famous musicologist and Professor of Leningrad Conservatoire Mikhail Druskin.

In 2009, thanks to Prof. Kovnatskaya, a two-volume collection was published, entitled “Memory to Mikhail Semenovich Druskin”, which united articles, recollections, biographical materials and correspondence.

In 2013 she published the three-volume edition Shostakovich at the Leningrad Conservatory: 1919–1930), which was awarded the title “Book of the Year - 2013” ("Musical Review" newspaper).

In 2016 she received the "RESONANCE" prize for her contribution to the development of musical and theatrical criticism (Diaghilev Festival, Perm, June 2016).