Martina Filjac

Martina Filjak is considered to be one of those young artists who have successfully made the path from a child prodigy to a mature musician. Her ‛magnetic stage presence' and ‛charismatic personality' regularly impress audiences and critics with a wide range of repertoire, which includes monumental pieces such as the "Hammerklavier" Sonata of L. Van Beethoven or the 2nd Piano Concerto of B. Bartók.

Martina Filjak was born in Zagreb and raised in a family of pianists. She completed her musical education in the Music Academy of Zagreb, and the Vienna Conservatory. In 2001 her studies took her to the Netherlands and Germany -the cities of Rotterdam and Karlsruhe-.

In search for further artistic development she took part in masterclasses -Moscow, Salzburg, New York- and regularly maintains contact with renowned artists as Cyprien Katsaris, Stephen Kovacevich, Jean Bernard Pommier. Currently she is pursuing her studies at the Soloist Class of the Hochschule fuer Musik und Theater in Hannover with Prof. Mi Kyung Kim.

In the academic year 2008 -2009 Martina Filjak has been attending the Como Piano Academy at Lake Como in Italy. Visiting artists and teachers of the academy include William Grant Nabore, Dmitri Bashkirov, Boris Berman, Leon Fleisher, Claude Frank, Peter Frankl, Alicia de Larrocha, Menahem Pressler, Charles Rosen, Andreas Staier and Fou Ts'ong.

Since her debut in native Croatia at the age of twelve with the renowned Zagreb Soloists playing W. A. Mozart's Concerto Kv 449, she has developed an extensive repertoire of piano concertos performing regularly in the most prominent concert cycles in her home country -with for example the Zagreb Philharmonic, the Zagreb Symphony Orchestra and the Croatian Chamber Orchestra- as well as with orchestras abroad.

She was featured in numerous important solo engagements both at home and internationally: Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Konzerthaus im Berlin, Palau de la Musica and the Auditori in Barcelona, Philharmonic Hall in Ljubljana, Salle Cortot in Paris, Palais des Congres in Strasbourg and Severance Hall in Cleveland.

The season 2005-2006 brought her over fifty appearances worldwide where she performed as a soloist with orchestras of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Croatian Symphony Orchestra, The Morocco Philharmonic, The Belgrade Philharmonic, as well as toured with Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra and Croatian Chamber Orchestra, featuring concertos of Mozart -Kv 414 and Kv 466-, S. Rachmaninov, E. Grieg and D. Schostakovitch. In the same season she held recital performances in France, Germany, Italy, Greece and Japan. Her interpretation of Beethoven's op106 in Germany's ‛Villa Musica' have earned her standing ovations and rave reviews.

In 2007-2008 she became a laureate of important international piano competitions: in the finals of the Busoni piano competition in Bolzano she received the 5th prize, and in November 2007 she won 1st prize at the 58. International Viotti Piano Competition between 122 contestants. In January 2008 she was awarded 5th Prize at the Unisa International Piano Competition in Pretoria and in May 2008 1st prize and Gold Medal at the 54 International Piano Competition Maria Canals in Barcelona. She performed with the ensembles Accademia d'archi di Bolzano, Orchestra Filarmonica di Torino, la Chamber Orchestra of South Africa, la Orquestra Simfonica del Valles, the Moscow State symphony Orchestras as well as the Orquesta Sinfónica de Barcelona under the baton of Christian Zacharias.

In July 2009 she won the 1st prize as well as additional prizes at the Cleveland Piano Competition. In the competition finals she performed the 2nd Piano Concerto by S. Rachmaninov with the renowned Cleveland Orchestra.

Shortly afterwards she was awarded the Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli prize chosen by the audience at the Appiano Festival and Academy.

Martina Filjak was twice awarded prizes that brought her the title of the most successful young Croatian musician: 1993 the prize of the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra and 1998 the prize of the Jeunesses Musicales, Croatia. In 2009 she was awarded a honorary medal by the President of Republic of Croatia for her achievements in culture.

Since childhood she was a winner of a number of international prizes that include the prize of the Boesendorfer company in Vienna, a special prize at the Okiden Competition in Japan, 1st prize at the International Competitions Johannes Brahms in Austria, M. Masin in Italy, International Keyboard Institute Competition in New York, USA and Vincenzo Bellini competition in Italy, the honorary prize on the Animato competition in Paris, the Clara Haskil scholarship of the Dutch foundation Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds as well as the Alfred Toepfer scholarship.

Projects for 2009 and 2010 include touring Spain, Argentina and China, performances with Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Simfonica di Savona, Orquesta Sinfónica de Bilbao, Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife, Orchestra Filarmonica di Torino, a performance with the Zagreb Philharmonic in the Big Hall of the Vienna Musikverein, recitals at Salle Cortot in Paris, Carnegie Hall in New York, Teatro Carlo Felice in Genova as well as Palau de la Musica in Barcelona. In 2010 she will record two cds for the Naxos label.