| Martina Filjak | |
| Background: | non_vocal_instrumentalist |
| Birth Date: | [1] |
| Birth Place: | Zagreb, Croatia |
| Occupation: | Pianist |
| Instrument: | Piano |
| Years Active: | 1990 – present |
| Label: | Tutico, Naxos Records, Sony Classical |
Martina Filjak (born 1978 in Zagreb) is a Croatian concert pianist.
Martina Filjak started playing piano at the age of 5 and held her first public performance aged 6. She completed her studies at the Music Academy in Zagreb, the Vienna Conservatoire, the Hochschule für Musik in Hannover and additionally at the Como Piano Academy.
Filjak was awarded the 2007 Concorso Busoni's 5th prize, and subsequently won the 2007 Viotti and 2008 Maria Canals competitions. In addition, she won the Bösendorfer Prize. In 2009 she won the first prize at the 2009 Cleveland International Piano Competition.[2]
Martina Filjak has performed with esteemed orchestras of her home country and abroad, including The Cleveland Orchestra; the Zagreb, Strasbourg, Morocco, Belgrade and Torino Philharmonics; the Barcelona, Bilbao, Chautauqua, Tenerife, Chile and Moscow Symphony Orchestras; the Georgian Chamber Orchestra of Ingolstadt, Croatian Chamber Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of South Africa under such esteemed conductors as Jahja Ling, Christian Zacharias, Heinrich Schiff, Theodor Guschlbauer and Stefan Sanderling. As a recitalist as well as concerto soloist, Ms. Filjak has performed in such major venues as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Konzerthaus Berlin, L'Auditori and Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, Carnegie Hall in New York City, Palais de la musique et des congrès in Strasbourg, Musikverein in Vienna, Shanghai Oriental Art Center and the Severance Hall in Cleveland.
Her New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall in December 2009 received excellent reviews by the New York Times critic Anthony Tommasini praising her 'resourcefulness of her technique and the naturalness of her musicality' and declaring her 'a pianist to watch'.[3] In October 2009 she was additionally awarded an Honorary Medal by the President of the Republic of Croatia for her artistic achievements.
In the 2010 and 2011 she performs with the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie and Christoph Poppen, at the Al Bustan Festival in Lebanon, the Granada Symphony Orchestra and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta and as a recitalist at the Munich Residenz and at the Palau de la Musica in Barcelona. Future performances include appearances with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, The Florida Orchestra, the Boston Philharmonic, the Madrid Symphony Orchestra, the Staatskapelle Weimar and the Granada Symphony Orchestra.
Miss Filjak is a Croatian and Italian nationality and speaks 7 languages.