Bruno Vlahek (born 11 February 1986 in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

) is a Croatian

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

. Vlahek started his musical education at the age of nine in his hometown. Immediately recognized as a specially gifted child, he entered class of

Vladimir Krpan Vladimir Krpan () (11 January 1938 – 1 March 2025) was a Croatian pianist and piano pedagogue. Life and career Krpan was born in Sveti Ivan Zelina on 11 January 1938. He graduated from the Zagreb Academy of Music in the class of Svetislav St ...

and graduated piano at the

Zagreb Academy of Music The Academy of Music ( or MUZA) is a Croatian music school based in Zagreb. It is one of the three art academies affiliated with the University of Zagreb, along with the Academy of Dramatic Art and the Academy of Fine Arts. It is the oldest an ...

as one of the youngest students in the history of this institution. He obtained a soloist diploma at the Conservatoire de Lausanne with

Jean-François Antonioli Jean-François Antonioli (b. Lausanne, February 25, 1959) is a Switzerland, Swiss pianist, Conducting, conductor and piano pedagogue. Studied piano at Conservatoire de Lausanne and Conservatoire de Paris (with Pierre Sancan). Further studies incl ...

and received a master's degree at the

Hochschule für Musik Köln ' (, plural: ') is the generic term in German for institutions of higher education, corresponding to ''universities'' and ''colleges'' in English. The term ''Universität'' (plural: ''Universitäten'') is reserved for institutions with the right t ...

where his teachers were

Vassily Lobanov Vasily Pavlovich Lobanov (Васи́лий Па́влович Лоба́нов, born 2 January 1947) is a Russian composer and pianist. He has been a Duo-Partner of Sviatoslav Richter. Biography Vasily Pavlovich Lobanov was born in Moscow. He s ...

(piano), Tilmann Claus and

Johannes Fritsch Johannes Georg Fritsch (27 July 1941 – 29 April 2010) was a German composer. At the age of seven, Fritsch found a violin in the attic of his uncle's house in Bensheim-Auerbach, Germany, and began lessons with a village music teacher named Kna ...

(

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography * Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include ...

and

improvisation Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...

). From 2010 to 2013 he studied with

Dmitri Bashkirov Dmitri Aleksandrovich Bashkirov (; November 1, 1931 – March 7, 2021) was a Russian pianist and academic teacher. Trained in his hometown Tbilisi and Moscow, he began an international career as a soloist when he won the Marguerite Long Piano Co ...

at the

Reina Sofía School of Music The Reina Sofía School of Music (Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Spanish) is a private music school founded in Madrid, Spain, in 1991 by Paloma O'Shea. It belongs to the Albéniz Foundation, and it bears the name of its Honorary Pr ...

in Madrid.

Pianist

Vlahek's piano playing has been noted for "fantastic virtuosity" and "depth of musical thought that bewitches the audience". The critics have called him a "New Pogorelich". He regularly gives recitals and appears as a soloist with orchestras throughout Europe, in Asia, Africa, South America, Russia and Israel; in the venues such as

Palau de la Música Catalana Palau de la Música Catalana (, ) is a concert hall in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Designed in the Catalan ''modernisme, modernista'' style by the architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner, it was built between 1905 and 1908 for Orfeó Català, a ...

in Barcelona,

Franz Liszt Academy The Franz Liszt Academy of Music (, often abbreviated as ''Zeneakadémia'', "Liszt Academy") is a music university and a concert hall in Budapest, Hungary, founded on November 14, 1875. It is home to the Liszt Collection, which features several ...

in Budapest,

Dubai Opera Dubai Opera is a 2,000-seat, multi-format, performing arts centre located within The Opera District in Downtown Dubai. It was developed by Emaar Properties to host a variety of performances and events including theatre, opera, ballet, concerts, c ...

St Martin-in-the-Fields St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. Dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours, there has been a church on the site since at least the medieval pe ...

National Auditorium of Music The Auditorio Nacional de Música (''National Auditorium of Music'') is a complex of concert venues located in Madrid, Spain and the main concert hall in the Madrid metropolitan area. It comprises two main concert rooms: a symphonic hall and a cham ...

in Madrid,

Gasteig The Gasteig is a currently closed cultural center in Munich, opened in 1985, which hosts the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. The Richard Strauss Conservatory, the Volkshochschule, and the municipal library are all located in the Gasteig. Most ...

in Munich,

Mozarteum Salzburg Mozarteum University Salzburg (German: ''Universität Mozarteum Salzburg'') is one of three affiliated but separate (it is actually a state university) entities under the "Mozarteum" name in Salzburg municipality; the International Mozarteum ...

Tel Aviv Museum of Art The Tel Aviv Museum of Art ( ''Muzeon Tel Aviv Leomanut'') is an art museum in Tel Aviv, Israel. The museum is dedicated to the preservation and display of modern and contemporary art both from Israel and around the world. History The Tel Aviv ...

Shanghai Concert Hall Cadillac·Shanghai Concert Hall is located on the intersection of Yan'an Road and South Tibet Road of Huangpu District, Shanghai, Huangpu District, Shanghai. It was founded in 1930 as Nanking Theatre. In 1949, its name was changed to Beijing Cin ...

Seoul Arts Centre The Seoul Arts Center (SAC; ) is an arts complex in Seocho District, Seoul, South Korea. It consists of five main buildings: the Opera House, with three auditoriums; the Music Hall, with two concert halls; the Hangaram Art Museum; the Hangaram D ...

; and at the festivals of

Bolzano Bolzano ( ; ; or ) is the capital city of South Tyrol (officially the province of Bolzano), Northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third largest in historical Tyrol. The ...

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Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Palma de Mallorca Palma (, ; ), also known as Palma de Mallorca (officially between 1983 and 1988, 2006–2008, and 2012–2016), is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is ...

Dar-es-Salaam Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...

Verbier Verbier () is a village located in south-western Switzerland in the canton of Valais Valais ( , ; ), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederatio ...

and many others. His performances were broadcast on TV and radio stations such as

France Musique France Musique () is a French national public radio channel owned and operated by Radio France. It is devoted to the broadcasting of music, both live and recorded, with particular emphasis on classical music and jazz. History The channel was lau ...

, British

BBC3 BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

, Dutch

NPO Radio 4 NPO Klassiek is a public broadcasting, public-service radio channel in the Netherlands, broadcasting chiefly classical music. It is part of the Netherlands Public Broadcasting system, NPO. History The channel began broadcasting on 28 December ...

Catalunya Ràdio ''Catalunya Ràdio'' () is Catalonia's public radio network. With headquarters in Barcelona, it is part of the Corporació Catalana de Mitjans Audiovisuals (CCMA), owned by the Generalitat de Catalunya. Catalunya Ràdio broadcasts exclusively ...

, Australian ABC Classic Radio or

Radio Suisse Romande The Radio Suisse Romande (RSR) was an enterprise unit within public-broadcasting corporation SRG SSR. It was responsible for the production and transmission of French-language radio programmes in Switzerland. RSR's headquarters were situated in ...

, for which he recorded Saint-Saëns' Piano Concerto No. 2 with

Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne The Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne (OCL, Lausanne Chamber Orchestra) is a Swiss chamber orchestra based in Lausanne, Switzerland. The OCL is resident at the Salle Métropole in Lausanne. The OCL is an artistic partner with Lausanne Opera and reg ...

. He regularly performs with his wife Dubravka Vukalović as D&B Duo. He also appears as a

concert organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational h ...

. He is a first prize winner of the international piano competitions “Ricard Viñes” 2008 in Lérida and “

Alexander Scriabin Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin, scientific transliteration: ''Aleksandr Nikolaevič Skrjabin''; also transliterated variously as Skriabin, Skryabin, and (in French) Scriabine. The composer himselused the French spelling "Scriabine" which was a ...

” 2010 in Paris, and laureate of the 6th China Shanghai International Piano Competition and Concours International de Piano de

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

(France), received a title of the Young Musician of The Year 2010 given by

Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra The Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra (Croatian: Zagrebačka filharmonija) is a Croatian orchestra based in Zagreb. The orchestra gives its concerts principally at the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall and at the Croatian National Theatre, Zagreb. Hi ...

in Croatia, and won prizes such as Swiss Prix Paderewski,

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: People * Torakusu Yamaha, a Japanese businessman and founder of the Yamaha Corporation Companies * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese musical instrument and audio equipment manufacturer ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organi ...

Foundation's Award in Madrid, Pnina Salzman Memorial Award in Israel and Artists on Globe Award 2014. For his achievements he was awarded by the Honorary Diploma of Her Majesty

Queen Sofía of Spain Sofía (Sophia Margaret Victoria Frederica; Μαργαρίτα Βικτώρια Φρειδερίκη, romanized: ''Sofía Margaríta Bictória Freideríki''; born 2 November 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who was Queen of Spai ...

Composer

He has composed more than 60 orchestral, chamber, solo and choral works of various genres which have been performed on five continents in cities such as

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, and at the ISCM's World New Music Days 2010 in Sydney (Australia). In 2012 he won the 1st prize at the XXXIII International competition for organ works " Cristobal Halffter" in Spain. He won the

Porin (music award) Porin is a Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the ...

for the best composition of classical music in 2018 for his Sonata for Clarinet and Piano, and in 2025 for his Acumal for Guitar Trio, as well as Stjepan Šulek Award for the best composition of the year 2019 in Croatia. His works have been published in United Kingdom and USA.

Discography

* Touches - works by

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...

, Gyorgy Ligeti and

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...

(

Croatia Records Croatia Records is a record label in Croatia owned by AUTOR d.o.o., based in Zagreb. Summary Croatia Records d.d. is a joint-stock company currently led by the chief executive officer Želimir Babogredac, a sound engineer. It releases mostly (but ...

) * Rachmaninoff: Etudes-Tableaux Op. 33 & Op. 39 (PlayClassics) * Scarlatti: Complete Keyboard Sonatas Vol. 26 (

Naxos Naxos (; , ) is a Greek island belonging to the Cyclades island group. It is the largest island in the group. It was an important centre during the Bronze Age Cycladic Culture and in the Ancient Greek Archaic Period. The island is famous as ...

) * Ottava alta: Sonatas for violin and piano by Bruno Bjelinski and Stjepan Šulek (Vox primus, with violinist Goran Končar) * Scaramouche: Piano Duo works by

Alfi Kabiljo Alfons "Alfi" Kabiljo (; 22 December 1935 – 1 April 2025) was a Croatian composer and musician. He was composing for over 60 years. During that time he created an opus of more than 40 film and more than 100 episode soundtracks, eleven musicals ...

Manuel de Falla Manuel de Falla y Matheu (, 23 November 187614 November 1946) was a Spanish composer and pianist. Along with Isaac Albéniz, Francisco Tárrega, and Enrique Granados, he was one of Spain's most important musicians of the first half of the 20t ...

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (, ; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His composition ...

and

(Vox primus, as D&B Duo) In December 2020 his recording of 22 keyboard sonatas by

Domenico Scarlatti Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti (26 October 1685 – 23 July 1757) was an Italian composer. He is classified primarily as a Baroque music, Baroque composer chronologically, although his music was influential in the development of the Classical peri ...

was published on

label. Some of those sonatas come from various Italian, Spanish and Portuguese manuscripts and are presented here on the first modern piano recording. The album has been critically acclaimed, while the Belgian classical music magazine Crescendo compared it to those of

Christian Zacharias Christian Zacharias (born 27 April 1950 in Jamshedpur, India) is a German pianist and conductor. Music career Zacharias studied piano with Irene Slavin and Vlado Perlemuter in Paris. He won second prize at both the Geneva Competition in 1969 an ...

and

Vladimir Horowitz Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz (November 5, 1989) was a Russian and American pianist. Considered one of the greatest pianists of all time, he was known for his virtuoso technique, timbre, and the public excitement engendered by his playing. Life ...

References

External links

Official website of Bruno Vlahek
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vlahek, Bruno 1986 births 21st-century Croatian classical pianists Croatian composers Living people University of Zagreb alumni 21st-century classical pianists