Jury of the Tartini 2024 competition
Jury for Violin
Žiga Brank (SLO)
Slovenian violinist and pedagogue Žiga Brank currently holds a teaching position at the Academy of Music Ljubljana and at the Conservatory of Music and Ballet Ljubljana. Numerous critics regard his playing as technically brilliant, also emphasising his refined feeling for interpretation and his convincing conveyance of the music to listeners. In this season he is preparing the release of two CDs - Beethoven's violin concerto and 2 romances (with the RTV Slovenia Orchestra under the baton of S. Kulenovic) and release of the sonatas for violin and piano by J. Brahms with slovenian pianist R. Palčič. His other releases for the Slovenian national label ZKP include E. Ysaye's Solo violin sonatas and the Paganini's 24 Capricci, both reviewed with excellent critics. Žiga Brank was born in Ljubljana, Slovenia, where he started learning the violin at the age of six. He studied with M. Kosi, later at the College of Music and Theatre Rostock with C. Hutcap. In 2000 he continued his studies with prof. J. Rissin at the Karlsruhe College of Music, where he graduated in 2005. He was later a member of the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, a member of the Zagreb Soloists and concertmaster of the SNG Opera and Ballet Maribor. Among the most important performances with orchestras is the 2017 first performance of then newly discovered L. M. Škerjanc's violin concerto with the RTV Slovenia orchestra at the Festival Ljubljana with conductor S. Krečič. As a soloist he performed also with Sarajevo Philharmonic, Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra of Košice, Slovenian Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra. His recent chamber music projects include numerous concerts with pianist Petar Milić, cellist Milan Hudnik, at the most important slovenian festivals (Festival Maribor, Festival Radovljica, Festival Tartini, Narodni dom Maribor, Ljubljana Drama) Žiga Brank plays on violin by C. F. Landolfi, made in 1750 in Milan, previously played by one of the most prominent Slovenian violinists, Dejan Bravničar, between 1957 - 2018.
Fabrizio Ficiur (I)
Italian conductor Fabrizio Ficiur graduated in violin and percussions from the Trieste Conservatory. In 1991 he studied with Bulgarian Maestro Ludmill Descev and attained the Diploma in Conducting. In 1991 and 1992 he attended the intensive master classes for conductors by State Conservatory Rimskij-Korsakov in St. Petersburg under the direction of Michail Gheorghievich Kukushkin, and graduated in Opera and Symphony Conducting, deserving a special mention for his interpretation of 1900 Italian symphonic music. In 1991 Fabrizio Ficiur founded Camerata Strumentale Italiana, a chamber orchestra he conducts to this day. Choosing a typical 1900 repertory, he has performed in Italy and many countries such as Austria, Hungary, Russia, Serbia and on a regular basis in Croatia and Slovenia. Since 1992 he has been a regular guest in Venice at the Vivaldi Church Concert Season and has appeared at the head of the Trieste Opera House Chamber Orchestra in a number of productions. Fabrizio Ficiur has taken part in many important national and international festivals such as the Mittelfest in Cividale Italy, the Festival Internacional de Música y Arte in Palma de Mallorca, Ciclo Grandes Directores in Badajoz, in Seville and Valencia in Spain. Repeatedly invited to the USA as guest conductor of the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra and of the Fairfield Concert Orchestra, to Austria at the head of the Wiener Sinfonietta, and to Spain to lead the Municipal de Sevilla, Social Music Orquesta de Valencia and Muinicipal of Badajoz; in Italy he is the principal conductor of the Venice Chamber Orchestra and has been guest conductor of the Orchestra Cantelli in Milan and Orchestra Bruno Maderna in Ravenna where he led artists of international stature such as David Garret and Stephan Milenkovich and soloists of La Scala in Milan. For the Trieste Opera House he conducted Strawinsky’s “The Soldier’s Tale” and Prokofieff’s Peter and the Wolf” while in San Francisco he also conducted Leoncavallo’s opera “I Pagliacci”. Invited to conduct the Belgrade Strings Orchestra in Serbia and engaged on tours in Mexico and Cuba, here he has been repeatedly invited to lead the Orquesta Sinfόnica Nacional in the capital’s main Opera Houses. At the head of his orchestra Camerata Strumentale Italiana from 2013 he has been on tour in Russia, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Ukraine and Estonia. In 2017 he was appointed “official artistic ambassador” of the Institut International d’Etudes des Droits de l’Homme - Membre du Comitè des Hautes Institutions Scientifiques et Culturelles de l’Acadèmie Europèenne des Sciences, des Arts et des Lettres Statut Consultatif du Conseil de l’Europe et de l’UNESCO. He has recorded for HMS France, RTV Slovenia and SONY Austria.
Sonja Horvat (SLO)
Sonja Horvat was born in Koper. She studied the violin at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana under Prof. V. Meljnikov, where she also graduated. She has always wanted to teach younger children, so in 2005, she enrolled at the Suzuki Talent Center Torino Academy, where she successfully graduated in 2007 under the renowned Prof. L. Mosca. She became the first person in Slovenia to obtain a license to teach preschool children using the Suzuki method. In 1994, she began teaching at the Music School Koper – branch Izola, and since 2008, she has also been teaching at the artistic high school in Koper. She furthered her education through violin masterclasses and seminars with renowned professors such as Prof. C. Hutcap, Prof. I. Ozim, Prof. S. Milenkovich, Prof. A. Sešek, Prof. G. Košuta, and Prof. L. Sorokow. Her students regularly participate in national and international competitions, achieving outstanding results, including many first places and absolute awards. For further musical education at home (Academy of Music Ljubljana) and abroad (Kunstuniversität Graz, Royal College of Music London), she has prepared 15 students so far. Under her guidance, students have been accepted as members of prestigious orchestras (Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Verbier Youth Orchestra, Jugendorchester Alpen Adria) and have performed on major stages in Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Belgium, and the United Kingdom. Many of her students have received the Golden Violin Key, the highest recognition of the Music School Koper. For several years, Sonja Horvat has been leading and organizing professional training and workshops for young violinists. From 2005 to 2015, she was the artistic director of the international summer school Godalko, where she collaborated with renowned violinists and introduced many young musicians to the world of music.
Helen Kriegl (A)
Helen Kriegl was born in the district capital Deutschlandsberg in Styria (Austria), near the border with Slovenia. She spent her studies in Oberschützen (Burgenland), Graz and Vienna. She completed her studies with the teaching qualification, the concert diploma and the supplementary studies for the Magisterium. During her studies Helen Kriegl took part in numerous chamber music- and master-courses. She gained further valuable experience in decades of orchestral activity in the Graz Symphonic Orchestra and, above all, as a permanent temporary assistant in the Graz Philharmonic Orchestra (Graz Opera). Numerous performances in various ensembles and chamber music formations such as the Alea Quartet expanded the scope of her work. Since autumn 1992, Helen Kriegl has been leading her own violin class at the Johann Joseph Fux Conservatory in Graz. She has also been there head of the string department since the school year 2015. Many of her students won prizes at Prima la musica (A) and Ars Nova Trieste (I).
Jury for Piano
Sijavush Gadjiev (ITA, RUS)
The pianist Siavush Gadjiev completed his musical education at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow as a student of famous teachers such as Bella Davidovich and Boris Zemliansky. At the Moscow Conservatory he also obtained the Master of Music degree (“Course of Interpretation”) and was invited to teach in the prestigious Central Special Music School of the Moscow Conservatory, intended to train the most musically gifted pupils from the ex Soviet Union as well as from Japan, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Romania, Korea, United States. He taught many highly talented pupils, amongst whom there were winners of the Tchaikovsky competition, Axa Dublin, Schumann, Casagrande and other competitions. Gadjiev develops an educational activity running master classes, seminars and thematic lectures-concerts in Russia, Slovenia, Croatia, Germany, Italy, with particular emphasize on the interpretation of Mozart, Beethoven, Rachmaninov and Prokofiev. He also leads special classes for future pedagogues. Siavush Gadjiev has held recitals in many cities of the ex Soviet Union, Germany, Slovenia, Croatia, Yugoslavia, Italy and the USA. He has also performed with major orchestras and in chamber music ensembles with distinguished European musicians. He is a member of the “Ljubljana Piano Trio”. He was jury member of many international piano competitions, amongst them: “Ferenc Liszt” in Budapest, “Hummel” in Bratislava, “Città di Cantù” and many others. Siavush Gadjiev has held many master classes and keeps having them all over Italy, Slovenia, Germany and the United States. He lives in Italy and teaches at the Conservatory for Music and Ballet in Ljubljana (Slovenia) and in Gorizia, in a private school for young talents, in which he has many students from different parts of Italy and Slovenia. Currently he is also giving master classes and lectures for Master Degree students at the “Giuseppe Tartini” Conservatory in Triest. Gadjiev is the Artistic Director of the “Giuliano Pecar” International Piano Competition and the “Estate di Gorizia” summer festival. He is the recipient of the Slovenian Fran Gerbič Award for his lifetime work and outstanding achievements in the pedagogical and organizational field, in the promotion of music education.
Irina Vaterl (A)
Austrian-born pianist Irina Vaterl is a graduate from the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz where she studied under the guidance of Lioudmilla and Alexandr Satz and with Milana Chernyavska. She finished her Master Degree in June 2017 with the
highest grades and with unanimous distinction. Following to that, she was doing her Artist Diploma at the Royal College of Music with Vanessa Latarche and Dmitri Alexeev, where she was a William Mealings Scholar, supported by the George Thornton Award. Irina Vaterl has also concluded her Masters studies for piano in music education at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. Furthermore Irina Vaterl held a scholarship for studying at the International Musicacademy in Liechtenstein and she is the winner of the Martha Debelli Scholarship Graz as well as the winner of a scholarship of the Hildegard Maschmann Stiftung Austria.
For her outstanding bachelor thesis about the French woman composer Louise Farrenc, she was awarded the Gender-prize of the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz and in December 2017 she was selected for winning the Würdigungspreis of the universityan award of excellence going to the best graduates. Irina Vaterl is the winner of many prizes in national and international piano competitions in Austria, Italy, Czech Republic, Spain, Serbia, Croatia, Norway, Sweden and France. She is performing on stage as a soloist as well as a musician in various chamber music groups in national and international music festivals, among them Nei suoni dei luoghi (Italy), Festival Internacional de Música de Cámara Joaquín Turina a Sevilla (Spain), Piano Festival Saint Savin
(France), Next Generation Bad Ragaz (Switzerland), International Piano Festival Treviso (Italy), Steirisches Kammermusikfestival, Deutschlandsberger Klavierfrühling, Eggenberger Schlosskonzerte, Arsonore (Austria). Recent appearances as a soloist with orchestra include collaborations with the orchestras I Virtuosi Italiani, Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto and Sinfonietta dell´ arte. Irina Vaterl is a piano teacher at the University of music Graz and at the Johann – Joseph- Fux Konservatorium Graz, where she is also the head of piano department. She is regularly invited to give international masterclasses in Austria, Italy and Shanghai and to be in jury of national and international music competitions.
Dragomir Bratić (SRB)
Dragomir Bratić graduated from the piano department under the guidance of Professor Ninoslav Živković and completed his master's degree in chamber music, specializing in piano duo under the guidance of Professor Zorica Ćetković at the Faculty of Music Art in Belgrade – FMU. He further honed his skills in master classes with professors Arbo Valdma, Igor Lazko, Pavlo Nersesjan, and Natalija Trul. Currently, he teaches at the Davorin Jenko Music School in Belgrade. Since 2005, he has been a member of the Association of Musical Artists of Serbia. From 2011 to 2020, he served as the director of the Republic Competition of Music and Ballet Schools in Serbia and, from 2015, as the president of the piano section in Belgrade. As a lecturer at seminars, he is active in many European countries, including Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Croatia, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, the United Kingdom, and Russia. His approach to working with children places him among talented piano educators. He has received numerous awards for his pedagogical work in Serbia and abroad. Additionally, he is the author of numerous lectures emphasizing an individual approach to solving performance practice problems. Students of Professor Bratić have performed in prestigious venues in Serbia and internationally, including Carnegie Hall in New York, the Musikverein in Vienna, Hamburg, Dresden, Tbilisi, Prague, Bologna, Stockholm, Moscow, and elsewhere. Prof. Bratić's students have received over 720 first and special prizes in domestic and international competitions in Slovenia, Italy, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Sweden, France, Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Austria, Germany, Russia, and the United States. He frequently serves as a jury member at nearly all domestic competitions and numerous competitions in Slovenia, Italy, France, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Georgia, Austria, Germany, Russia, Poland, Hungary, and Russia. He actively performs in piano duets with Marija Gođevac, with whom he has won first prizes in competitions in Vienna, Budapest, and Moscow. Prof. Bratić is an official collaborator – piano accompanist for the Kolibri children's choir of Radio Television of Serbia. Upon the invitation of the Ministry of Education and the Institute for Education, he participated in the development of new curricula for piano in lower and upper music schools. He is the author of the textbook "Music Culture for the First Grade of Primary School," published by BIGZ. Since 2018, he has been a member of the sectoral department for arts and humanities at the Agency for National Qualifications in Serbia. The publishing house KLET has included him in the list of the 1000 most successful Serbian creators in the field of pre-university education.
Istvàn Szèkely (ESP, H)
István I. Székely is a professor at the Katarina Gurska Conservatory in Madrid and the Franz Liszt Center for Young Talents in La Nucia, Spain. He has received education at various European institutions such as the Royal Conservatory in Brussels, Rubin Academy in Jerusalem, Kodály Institute in Kecskemét, Conservatory of Music in Subotica, and the Music School in Sombor. His mentors include Aleksandar Madžar, Daniel Blumenthal, Orsolya Szabó, Benjamin Oren, Michael Boguslavski, Mátyás Molcer, Valéria Utasi, and Milica Dunđerov. He is a concert pianist and internationally recognized teacher. He has been invited as a lecturer to the Bartók Béla Faculty of Arts in Szeged, Ádám Jenő Conservatory in Budapest, Kunstuniversität in Graz, Gustav Mahler University in Klagenfurt (Austria), Tel Aviv Conservatory, and Hassadna Conservatory in Jerusalem. Székely has also given lectures at the "World Teachers" conference in Novi Sad, Katarina Gurska Conservatory in Madrid, Musikae Forum in Madrid, UIS International Piano Festival in Bucaramanga, and in Manizales, Colombia. Additionally, he has taught at music schools in Apatin, Sombor, Senta, Bačka Topola, and the Alicante Conservatory in Spain. He is a frequent member of international competition juries, including the Franz Liszt Competition in Rome, Giulio Rospigliosi Competition in Italy, Takács Competition in Oberschütz, Bartók Béla Competition in Graz, Scherzo International Piano Competition in Tel Aviv, Israel's Ashdod National Competition, Orbetello International Piano Competition, Bucaramanga Competition in Colombia, Valencia IMFV Competition, Ibiza International Competition, and Villa de Xabia International Competition in Spain. Székely has won numerous awards in national and international competitions. Since the age of 15, he has performed concerts in Europe, the United States, South America, and Asia, collaborating with various symphony orchestras. He has presented recitals at the Göteborg Piano Festival in Sweden, Piano Festivals on Reunion Island, Liszt Institute in Zagreb and Ljubljana, Collegium Hungaricum in Belgrade, Hungarian Academy in Rome, International Piano Festival in Bucaramanga, and International Piano Festival in Barrancabermeja, as well as in the International Season in Manizales series in Colombia. István Székely is the founder and artistic director of the Franz Liszt Center competition, the Great Piano Masters competition, the International Piano Festival in Denia, and the International Piano Competition in Alicante.
Jury for Chamber Music for strings with piano or Chamber music for strings without piano
Žiga Brank (SLO)
Slovenian violinist and pedagogue Žiga Brank currently holds a teaching position at the Academy of Music Ljubljana and at the Conservatory of Music and Ballet Ljubljana. Numerous critics regard his playing as technically brilliant, also emphasising his refined feeling for interpretation and his convincing conveyance of the music to listeners. In this season he is preparing the release of two CDs - Beethoven's violin concerto and 2 romances (with the RTV Slovenia Orchestra under the baton of S. Kulenovic) and release of the sonatas for violin and piano by J. Brahms with slovenian pianist R. Palčič. His other releases for the Slovenian national label ZKP include E. Ysaye's Solo violin sonatas and the Paganini's 24 Capricci, both reviewed with excellent critics. Žiga Brank was born in Ljubljana, Slovenia, where he started learning the violin at the age of six. He studied with M. Kosi, later at the College of Music and Theatre Rostock with C. Hutcap. In 2000 he continued his studies with prof. J. Rissin at the Karlsruhe College of Music, where he graduated in 2005. He was later a member of the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, a member of the Zagreb Soloists and concertmaster of the SNG Opera and Ballet Maribor. Among the most important performances with orchestras is the 2017 first performance of then newly discovered L. M. Škerjanc's violin concerto with the RTV Slovenia orchestra at the Festival Ljubljana with conductor S. Krečič. As a soloist he performed also with Sarajevo Philharmonic, Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra of Košice, Slovenian Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra. His recent chamber music projects include numerous concerts with pianist Petar Milić, cellist Milan Hudnik, at the most important slovenian festivals (Festival Maribor, Festival Radovljica, Festival Tartini, Narodni dom Maribor, Ljubljana Drama) Žiga Brank plays on violin by C. F. Landolfi, made in 1750 in Milan, previously played by one of the most prominent Slovenian violinists, Dejan Bravničar, between 1957 - 2018.
Helen Kriegl (A)
Helen Kriegl was born in the district capital Deutschlandsberg in Styria (Austria), near the border with Slovenia. She spent her studies in Oberschützen (Burgenland), Graz and Vienna. She completed her studies with the teaching qualification, the concert diploma and the supplementary studies for the Magisterium. During her studies Helen Kriegl took part in numerous chamber music- and master-courses. She gained further valuable experience in decades of orchestral activity in the Graz Symphonic Orchestra and, above all, as a permanent temporary assistant in the Graz Philharmonic Orchestra (Graz Opera). Numerous performances in various ensembles and chamber music formations such as the Alea Quartet expanded the scope of her work. Since autumn 1992, Helen Kriegl has been leading her own violin class at the Johann Joseph Fux Conservatory in Graz. She has also been there head of the string department since the school year 2015. Many of her students won prizes at Prima la musica (A) and Ars Nova Trieste (I).
Martin Sikur (SLO)
Martin Sikur studied cello with Ciril Škerjanc at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, with Enrico Bronzi and Giovanni Gnocchi at the Fondazione Musicale Santa Cecilia in Portogruaro, and chamber music with Chia Chou at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz. He has received several awards and recognitions for his musical work. He studied cello and chamber music with renowned professors (H. E. Deckert, B. Gmelin, W.-S. Yang, M. Ostertag, E. Schoenfeld, T. Brandis, G. Gnocchi). From 2001 to 2005 he was a member of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra. He performs as a soloist or chamber musician at home and abroad. He plays in the Ars Musica Piano Trio and the M.ARS String Quartet. Martin Sikur is a member of the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra.
Jury for Violin Žiga Brank (SLO) Slovenian violinist and pedagogue Žiga Brank currently holds a teaching position at the Academy of Music Ljubljana and at the Conservatory of Music and Ballet Ljubljana. Numerous critics regard his playing as technically brilliant, also emphasising his refined feeling for interpretation and his convincing conveyance of the music to listeners. In this season he is preparing the release of two CDs - Beethoven's violin concerto and 2 romances (with the RTV Slovenia Orchestra under the baton of S. Kulenovic) and release of the sonatas for violin and piano by J. Brahms with slovenian pianist R. Palčič. His other releases for the Slovenian national label ZKP include E. Ysaye's Solo violin sonatas and the Paganini's 24 Capricci, both reviewed with excellent critics. Žiga Brank was born in Ljubljana, Slovenia, where he started learning the violin at the age of six. He studied with M. Kosi, later at the College of Music and Theatre Rostock with C. Hutcap. In 2000 he continued his studies with prof. J. Rissin at the Karlsruhe College of Music, where he graduated in 2005. He was later a member of the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, a member of the Zagreb Soloists and concertmaster of the SNG Opera and Ballet Maribor. Among the most important performances with orchestras is the 2017 first performance of then newly discovered L. M. Škerjanc's violin concerto with the RTV Slovenia orchestra at the Festival Ljubljana with conductor S. Krečič. As a soloist he performed also with Sarajevo Philharmonic, Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra of Košice, Slovenian Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra. His recent chamber music projects include numerous concerts with pianist Petar Milić, cellist Milan Hudnik, at the most important slovenian festivals (Festival Maribor, Festival Radovljica, Festival Tartini, Narodni dom Maribor, Ljubljana Drama) Žiga Brank plays on violin by C. F. Landolfi, made in 1750 in Milan, previously played by one of the most prominent Slovenian violinists, Dejan Bravničar, between 1957 - 2018. Fabrizio Ficiur (I) Italian conductor Fabrizio Ficiur graduated in violin and percussions from the Trieste Conservatory. In 1991 he studied with Bulgarian Maestro Ludmill Descev and attained the Diploma in Conducting. In 1991 and 1992 he attended the intensive master classes for conductors by State Conservatory Rimskij-Korsakov in St. Petersburg under the direction of Michail Gheorghievich Kukushkin, and graduated in Opera and Symphony Conducting, deserving a special mention for his interpretation of 1900 Italian symphonic music. In 1991 Fabrizio Ficiur founded Camerata Strumentale Italiana, a chamber orchestra he conducts to this day. Choosing a typical 1900 repertory, he has performed in Italy and many countries such as Austria, Hungary, Russia, Serbia and on a regular basis in Croatia and Slovenia. Since 1992 he has been a regular guest in Venice at the Vivaldi Church Concert Season and has appeared at the head of the Trieste Opera House Chamber Orchestra in a number of productions. Fabrizio Ficiur has taken part in many important national and international festivals such as the Mittelfest in Cividale Italy, the Festival Internacional de Música y Arte in Palma de Mallorca, Ciclo Grandes Directores in Badajoz, in Seville and Valencia in Spain. Repeatedly invited to the USA as guest conductor of the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra and of the Fairfield Concert Orchestra, to Austria at the head of the Wiener Sinfonietta, and to Spain to lead the Municipal de Sevilla, Social Music Orquesta de Valencia and Muinicipal of Badajoz; in Italy he is the principal conductor of the Venice Chamber Orchestra and has been guest conductor of the Orchestra Cantelli in Milan and Orchestra Bruno Maderna in Ravenna where he led artists of international stature such as David Garret and Stephan Milenkovich and soloists of La Scala in Milan. For the Trieste Opera House he conducted Strawinsky’s “The Soldier’s Tale” and Prokofieff’s Peter and the Wolf” while in San Francisco he also conducted Leoncavallo’s opera “I Pagliacci”. Invited to conduct the Belgrade Strings Orchestra in Serbia and engaged on tours in Mexico and Cuba, here he has been repeatedly invited to lead the Orquesta Sinfόnica Nacional in the capital’s main Opera Houses. At the head of his orchestra Camerata Strumentale Italiana from 2013 he has been on tour in Russia, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Ukraine and Estonia. In 2017 he was appointed “official artistic ambassador” of the Institut International d’Etudes des Droits de l’Homme - Membre du Comitè des Hautes Institutions Scientifiques et Culturelles de l’Acadèmie Europèenne des Sciences, des Arts et des Lettres Statut Consultatif du Conseil de l’Europe et de l’UNESCO. He has recorded for HMS France, RTV Slovenia and SONY Austria. Sonja Horvat (SLO) Sonja Horvat was born in Koper. She studied the violin at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana under Prof. V. Meljnikov, where she also graduated. She has always wanted to teach younger children, so in 2005, she enrolled at the Suzuki Talent Center Torino Academy, where she successfully graduated in 2007 under the renowned Prof. L. Mosca. She became the first person in Slovenia to obtain a license to teach preschool children using the Suzuki method. In 1994, she began teaching at the Music School Koper – branch Izola, and since 2008, she has also been teaching at the artistic high school in Koper. She furthered her education through violin masterclasses and seminars with renowned professors such as Prof. C. Hutcap, Prof. I. Ozim, Prof. S. Milenkovich, Prof. A. Sešek, Prof. G. Košuta, and Prof. L. Sorokow. Her students regularly participate in national and international competitions, achieving outstanding results, including many first places and absolute awards. For further musical education at home (Academy of Music Ljubljana) and abroad (Kunstuniversität Graz, Royal College of Music London), she has prepared 15 students so far. Under her guidance, students have been accepted as members of prestigious orchestras (Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Verbier Youth Orchestra, Jugendorchester Alpen Adria) and have performed on major stages in Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Belgium, and the United Kingdom. Many of her students have received the Golden Violin Key, the highest recognition of the Music School Koper. For several years, Sonja Horvat has been leading and organizing professional training and workshops for young violinists. From 2005 to 2015, she was the artistic director of the international summer school Godalko, where she collaborated with renowned violinists and introduced many young musicians to the world of music. Helen Kriegl (A) Helen Kriegl was born in the district capital Deutschlandsberg in Styria (Austria), near the border with Slovenia. She spent her studies in Oberschützen (Burgenland), Graz and Vienna. She completed her studies with the teaching qualification, the concert diploma and the supplementary studies for the Magisterium. During her studies Helen Kriegl took part in numerous chamber music- and master-courses. She gained further valuable experience in decades of orchestral activity in the Graz Symphonic Orchestra and, above all, as a permanent temporary assistant in the Graz Philharmonic Orchestra (Graz Opera). Numerous performances in various ensembles and chamber music formations such as the Alea Quartet expanded the scope of her work. Since autumn 1992, Helen Kriegl has been leading her own violin class at the Johann Joseph Fux Conservatory in Graz. She has also been there head of the string department since the school year 2015. Many of her students won prizes at Prima la musica (A) and Ars Nova Trieste (I). Jury for Piano Sijavush Gadjiev (ITA, RUS) The pianist Siavush Gadjiev completed his musical education at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow as a student of famous teachers such as Bella Davidovich and Boris Zemliansky. At the Moscow Conservatory he also obtained the Master of Music degree (“Course of Interpretation”) and was invited to teach in the prestigious Central Special Music School of the Moscow Conservatory, intended to train the most musically gifted pupils from the ex Soviet Union as well as from Japan, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Romania, Korea, United States. He taught many highly talented pupils, amongst whom there were winners of the Tchaikovsky competition, Axa Dublin, Schumann, Casagrande and other competitions. Gadjiev develops an educational activity running master classes, seminars and thematic lectures-concerts in Russia, Slovenia, Croatia, Germany, Italy, with particular emphasize on the interpretation of Mozart, Beethoven, Rachmaninov and Prokofiev. He also leads special classes for future pedagogues. Siavush Gadjiev has held recitals in many cities of the ex Soviet Union, Germany, Slovenia, Croatia, Yugoslavia, Italy and the USA. He has also performed with major orchestras and in chamber music ensembles with distinguished European musicians. He is a member of the “Ljubljana Piano Trio”. He was jury member of many international piano competitions, amongst them: “Ferenc Liszt” in Budapest, “Hummel” in Bratislava, “Città di Cantù” and many others. Siavush Gadjiev has held many master classes and keeps having them all over Italy, Slovenia, Germany and the United States. He lives in Italy and teaches at the Conservatory for Music and Ballet in Ljubljana (Slovenia) and in Gorizia, in a private school for young talents, in which he has many students from different parts of Italy and Slovenia. Currently he is also giving master classes and lectures for Master Degree students at the “Giuseppe Tartini” Conservatory in Triest. Gadjiev is the Artistic Director of the “Giuliano Pecar” International Piano Competition and the “Estate di Gorizia” summer festival. He is the recipient of the Slovenian Fran Gerbič Award for his lifetime work and outstanding achievements in the pedagogical and organizational field, in the promotion of music education. Irina Vaterl (A) Austrian-born pianist Irina Vaterl is a graduate from the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz where she studied under the guidance of Lioudmilla and Alexandr Satz and with Milana Chernyavska. She finished her Master Degree in June 2017 with thehighest grades and with unanimous distinction. Following to that, she was doing her Artist Diploma at the Royal College of Music with Vanessa Latarche and Dmitri Alexeev, where she was a William Mealings Scholar, supported by the George Thornton Award. Irina Vaterl has also concluded her Masters studies for piano in music education at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. Furthermore Irina Vaterl held a scholarship for studying at the International Musicacademy in Liechtenstein and she is the winner of the Martha Debelli Scholarship Graz as well as the winner of a scholarship of the Hildegard Maschmann Stiftung Austria.
For her outstanding bachelor thesis about the French woman composer Louise Farrenc, she was awarded the Gender-prize of the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz and in December 2017 she was selected for winning the Würdigungspreis of the universityan award of excellence going to the best graduates. Irina Vaterl is the winner of many prizes in national and international piano competitions in Austria, Italy, Czech Republic, Spain, Serbia, Croatia, Norway, Sweden and France. She is performing on stage as a soloist as well as a musician in various chamber music groups in national and international music festivals, among them Nei suoni dei luoghi (Italy), Festival Internacional de Música de Cámara Joaquín Turina a Sevilla (Spain), Piano Festival Saint Savin
(France), Next Generation Bad Ragaz (Switzerland), International Piano Festival Treviso (Italy), Steirisches Kammermusikfestival, Deutschlandsberger Klavierfrühling, Eggenberger Schlosskonzerte, Arsonore (Austria). Recent appearances as a soloist with orchestra include collaborations with the orchestras I Virtuosi Italiani, Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto and Sinfonietta dell´ arte. Irina Vaterl is a piano teacher at the University of music Graz and at the Johann – Joseph- Fux Konservatorium Graz, where she is also the head of piano department. She is regularly invited to give international masterclasses in Austria, Italy and Shanghai and to be in jury of national and international music competitions.
Dragomir Bratić (SRB) Dragomir Bratić graduated from the piano department under the guidance of Professor Ninoslav Živković and completed his master's degree in chamber music, specializing in piano duo under the guidance of Professor Zorica Ćetković at the Faculty of Music Art in Belgrade – FMU. He further honed his skills in master classes with professors Arbo Valdma, Igor Lazko, Pavlo Nersesjan, and Natalija Trul. Currently, he teaches at the Davorin Jenko Music School in Belgrade. Since 2005, he has been a member of the Association of Musical Artists of Serbia. From 2011 to 2020, he served as the director of the Republic Competition of Music and Ballet Schools in Serbia and, from 2015, as the president of the piano section in Belgrade. As a lecturer at seminars, he is active in many European countries, including Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Croatia, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, the United Kingdom, and Russia. His approach to working with children places him among talented piano educators. He has received numerous awards for his pedagogical work in Serbia and abroad. Additionally, he is the author of numerous lectures emphasizing an individual approach to solving performance practice problems. Students of Professor Bratić have performed in prestigious venues in Serbia and internationally, including Carnegie Hall in New York, the Musikverein in Vienna, Hamburg, Dresden, Tbilisi, Prague, Bologna, Stockholm, Moscow, and elsewhere. Prof. Bratić's students have received over 720 first and special prizes in domestic and international competitions in Slovenia, Italy, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Sweden, France, Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Austria, Germany, Russia, and the United States. He frequently serves as a jury member at nearly all domestic competitions and numerous competitions in Slovenia, Italy, France, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Georgia, Austria, Germany, Russia, Poland, Hungary, and Russia. He actively performs in piano duets with Marija Gođevac, with whom he has won first prizes in competitions in Vienna, Budapest, and Moscow. Prof. Bratić is an official collaborator – piano accompanist for the Kolibri children's choir of Radio Television of Serbia. Upon the invitation of the Ministry of Education and the Institute for Education, he participated in the development of new curricula for piano in lower and upper music schools. He is the author of the textbook "Music Culture for the First Grade of Primary School," published by BIGZ. Since 2018, he has been a member of the sectoral department for arts and humanities at the Agency for National Qualifications in Serbia. The publishing house KLET has included him in the list of the 1000 most successful Serbian creators in the field of pre-university education. Istvàn Szèkely (ESP, H) István I. Székely is a professor at the Katarina Gurska Conservatory in Madrid and the Franz Liszt Center for Young Talents in La Nucia, Spain. He has received education at various European institutions such as the Royal Conservatory in Brussels, Rubin Academy in Jerusalem, Kodály Institute in Kecskemét, Conservatory of Music in Subotica, and the Music School in Sombor. His mentors include Aleksandar Madžar, Daniel Blumenthal, Orsolya Szabó, Benjamin Oren, Michael Boguslavski, Mátyás Molcer, Valéria Utasi, and Milica Dunđerov. He is a concert pianist and internationally recognized teacher. He has been invited as a lecturer to the Bartók Béla Faculty of Arts in Szeged, Ádám Jenő Conservatory in Budapest, Kunstuniversität in Graz, Gustav Mahler University in Klagenfurt (Austria), Tel Aviv Conservatory, and Hassadna Conservatory in Jerusalem. Székely has also given lectures at the "World Teachers" conference in Novi Sad, Katarina Gurska Conservatory in Madrid, Musikae Forum in Madrid, UIS International Piano Festival in Bucaramanga, and in Manizales, Colombia. Additionally, he has taught at music schools in Apatin, Sombor, Senta, Bačka Topola, and the Alicante Conservatory in Spain. He is a frequent member of international competition juries, including the Franz Liszt Competition in Rome, Giulio Rospigliosi Competition in Italy, Takács Competition in Oberschütz, Bartók Béla Competition in Graz, Scherzo International Piano Competition in Tel Aviv, Israel's Ashdod National Competition, Orbetello International Piano Competition, Bucaramanga Competition in Colombia, Valencia IMFV Competition, Ibiza International Competition, and Villa de Xabia International Competition in Spain. Székely has won numerous awards in national and international competitions. Since the age of 15, he has performed concerts in Europe, the United States, South America, and Asia, collaborating with various symphony orchestras. He has presented recitals at the Göteborg Piano Festival in Sweden, Piano Festivals on Reunion Island, Liszt Institute in Zagreb and Ljubljana, Collegium Hungaricum in Belgrade, Hungarian Academy in Rome, International Piano Festival in Bucaramanga, and International Piano Festival in Barrancabermeja, as well as in the International Season in Manizales series in Colombia. István Székely is the founder and artistic director of the Franz Liszt Center competition, the Great Piano Masters competition, the International Piano Festival in Denia, and the International Piano Competition in Alicante. Jury for Chamber Music for strings with piano or Chamber music for strings without piano Žiga Brank (SLO) Slovenian violinist and pedagogue Žiga Brank currently holds a teaching position at the Academy of Music Ljubljana and at the Conservatory of Music and Ballet Ljubljana. Numerous critics regard his playing as technically brilliant, also emphasising his refined feeling for interpretation and his convincing conveyance of the music to listeners. In this season he is preparing the release of two CDs - Beethoven's violin concerto and 2 romances (with the RTV Slovenia Orchestra under the baton of S. Kulenovic) and release of the sonatas for violin and piano by J. Brahms with slovenian pianist R. Palčič. His other releases for the Slovenian national label ZKP include E. Ysaye's Solo violin sonatas and the Paganini's 24 Capricci, both reviewed with excellent critics. Žiga Brank was born in Ljubljana, Slovenia, where he started learning the violin at the age of six. He studied with M. Kosi, later at the College of Music and Theatre Rostock with C. Hutcap. In 2000 he continued his studies with prof. J. Rissin at the Karlsruhe College of Music, where he graduated in 2005. He was later a member of the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, a member of the Zagreb Soloists and concertmaster of the SNG Opera and Ballet Maribor. Among the most important performances with orchestras is the 2017 first performance of then newly discovered L. M. Škerjanc's violin concerto with the RTV Slovenia orchestra at the Festival Ljubljana with conductor S. Krečič. As a soloist he performed also with Sarajevo Philharmonic, Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra of Košice, Slovenian Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra. His recent chamber music projects include numerous concerts with pianist Petar Milić, cellist Milan Hudnik, at the most important slovenian festivals (Festival Maribor, Festival Radovljica, Festival Tartini, Narodni dom Maribor, Ljubljana Drama) Žiga Brank plays on violin by C. F. Landolfi, made in 1750 in Milan, previously played by one of the most prominent Slovenian violinists, Dejan Bravničar, between 1957 - 2018. Helen Kriegl (A) Helen Kriegl was born in the district capital Deutschlandsberg in Styria (Austria), near the border with Slovenia. She spent her studies in Oberschützen (Burgenland), Graz and Vienna. She completed her studies with the teaching qualification, the concert diploma and the supplementary studies for the Magisterium. During her studies Helen Kriegl took part in numerous chamber music- and master-courses. She gained further valuable experience in decades of orchestral activity in the Graz Symphonic Orchestra and, above all, as a permanent temporary assistant in the Graz Philharmonic Orchestra (Graz Opera). Numerous performances in various ensembles and chamber music formations such as the Alea Quartet expanded the scope of her work. Since autumn 1992, Helen Kriegl has been leading her own violin class at the Johann Joseph Fux Conservatory in Graz. She has also been there head of the string department since the school year 2015. Many of her students won prizes at Prima la musica (A) and Ars Nova Trieste (I). Martin Sikur (SLO) Martin Sikur studied cello with Ciril Škerjanc at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, with Enrico Bronzi and Giovanni Gnocchi at the Fondazione Musicale Santa Cecilia in Portogruaro, and chamber music with Chia Chou at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz. He has received several awards and recognitions for his musical work. He studied cello and chamber music with renowned professors (H. E. Deckert, B. Gmelin, W.-S. Yang, M. Ostertag, E. Schoenfeld, T. Brandis, G. Gnocchi). From 2001 to 2005 he was a member of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra. He performs as a soloist or chamber musician at home and abroad. He plays in the Ars Musica Piano Trio and the M.ARS String Quartet. Martin Sikur is a member of the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra.
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Italy
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Koper Music School, Gallusova 2, 6000 Koper, Slovenia