The 2009 Cleveland International Piano Winner:

Martina Filjak

Sunday, December 6, 2009
3:30 p.m.

The 2009 Cleveland International Piano winner, 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.

Filjak is the fifth woman to win the Cleveland International Piano Competition, which this year encompassed 32 pianists from 14 countries. As champion, she claims an award package including $50,000, a recital at Carnegie Hall, two years of artist management, and a string of concert appearances worth an estimated $100,000.

Since her debut in native Croatia at the age of 12, she has developed an extensive repertoire of piano concertos performing regularly in the most prominent concerts in her home country as well as with orchestras abroad. She has also appeared in numerous important solo engagements at such venues as the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam; Hotel de Ville, Bruxelles; Philharmonic Hall, Ljubljana; Salle Cortot, Paris; Palais des Congres, Strasbourg; National Palace of Culture, Sofia; Boesendorfer Saal, Vienna; and Steinway Hall, New York.

In November 2007 she beat 122 contestants to win first prize at the Viotti International Music Competition. In May 2008 she won first prize and the Gold Medal at the International Piano Competition Maria Canals in Barcelona. As a child she won the prize of the Boesendorfer company in Vienna, a special prize at the Okiden Competition in Japan, and first prize at the International Competitions Johannes Brahms in Austria.

Projects for 2009 and 2010 include touring Spain, Argentina and China, and a performance with Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, as a debut recording for the 'Naxos' label.