Aljosa Jurinic

ALJOŠA JURINIĆ, PIANO

Hailed as “a startlingly subtle and visionary pianist” with “a rare blend of charm and mastery,” Aljoša Jurinić has established himself on the international stage at preeminent piano competitions. Best known for winning the 2012 International Robert Schumann Competition in the composer’s hometown of Zwickau, he was also a laureate at the 2016 Queen Elisabeth Piano Competition and the 2018 Leeds International Piano Competition, as well as a finalist at the 2015 International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition. In 2019, the president of Croatia awarded him the Order of the Morning Star for outstanding achievements in culture and the international promotion of his country.

Aljoša Jurinić has appeared as a soloist and with orchestras at prominent venues, such as the Carnegie Hall, Wiener Musikverein, Salle Cortot (Paris), Gasteig (Münich), Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall, Osaka Symphony Hall, La Sala Verdi (Milan), BOZAR (Brussels), Lisinski Concert Hall (Zagreb) and Kolarac (Belgrade), as well as important festivals, including Serate Musicali (Milan), Chopin and His Europe (Warsaw), Chopin Festival (Nohant), From Easter to the Ascension (Tbilisi), Kiev Summer Music Evenings, Chopin Festival (Mariánské Lázně), International Keyboard Institute Festival (New York), Dubrovnik Summer Festival, Split Summer Festival and others. During 2018, he gave a series of concerts in China and the next year concert tours in both China and Japan.

His orchestral performances include collaborations with the Warsaw Philharmonic, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, National Orchestra of Belgium, Royal Flemish Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie, Plauen-Zwickau Philharmonic, Brno Philharmonic Orchestra, Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra, Kosovo Philharmonic and Symphony Orchestra of the Serbian Broadcasting Corporation, under the batons of esteemed conductors such as Marin Alsop, Jacek Kaspszyk, Ivan Repušić, Thierry Fischer, Edward Gardner, Bojan Suđić, Paul Meyer, Daniel Smith and Leoš Svárovský.

A keen chamber musician, Aljoša Jurinić performs in duos with the world-renowned musicians Petrit Çeku (guitar) and Luka Šulić (cello), the latter collaboration earning the prestigious Orlando Award at the 70th Dubrovnik Summer Festival. His discography includes a solo CD, Chopin Alive, recorded at an all- Chopin recital, a CD box ed set of highlights from the 2016 Queen Elisabeth Competition, and his performance of R. Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A-Minor, op. 54, at the 2012 Robert Schumann Competition.

Aljoša Jurinić holds a Concert Diploma (Konzertexamen) from the University of Music Franz Liszt Weimar, where he studied under Grigory Gruzman, and a Master’s Degree from the Academy of Music of the University of Zagreb, where he studied under Ruben Dalibaltayan. Other teachers who have contributed to his artistic development include Eliso Virsaladze, Noel Flores and Jasna Reba.

“A rare blend of charm and mastery. It's all in finesse, a play passionate but without overdoing
it.”
RTBF – Radio-Télévision belge de la Communauté française

“An incredibly subtle and visionary musician.”
BRF Fernsehen

“Then came the Chopin Ballade No 1 the impressiveness of which was clinched by the ensuing
Nocturne in D flat thus establishing this young master of the pianissimo, who need not thunder
to keep his listeners on the edge of their seats, as a Chopin-player beyond compare.”
My Daily

“You know you can expect the highest level of quality from Aljoša Jurinić in a live performance but the magnificence of his artistry and pianistic genius astonishes us each time. He has something truly special but is set apart from the rest by his meticulous attention to the compositional and theoretical aspects, as well as the historical context. He also devotes himself completely to the emotional aspects, without the slightest premeditation. This is his recipe for success or, better to say, for the surreal. As a listener, when you begin to absorb the music, note by note, you leave the physical realm and glory in the beauty and spiritual richness of the melody, from the first tone to the last. Only the greatest achieve this. You simply cannot think of anything else, look away for a moment or check your smartphone, as you use the time to nourish your soul with the splendor of compositions penned by Beethoven, Schumann, Mendelssohn, and Chopin.”
SoundReport

“MASTER PIANIST JURINIĆ PERFORMS MUSICAL MAGIC IN THE GELDROP CASTLE
Pianist Aljoša Jurinić (1989) from Croatia was an audience favourite at the 2016 Queen Elisabeth Competition. There he played in a fine and elegant manner the finale of Chopin’s Concerto No. 1. It was a good idea by the Strabrecht Theatre, which often gives upcoming talents a place to perform, to bring this artist in. Yesterday afternoon, Jurinić made a deep
impression in the two packed castle rooms with a large number of loyal visitors. He showed
with a very ambitious program how not to be a nut-eater, but a “musician pur sang”.
He presented his formidable technique employed by the composers to whom he could clearly make a commitment. He understood their language and spoke it in a natural and fluid way. Already in the opening measures of Beethoven’s beautiful Sonata Op. 27 No. 1 Sonata, he immediately called for a blistering tension. It was a beautiful performance with his expressive, yet sometimes whisper-soft touch and the well-built dynamics. (…)
“His brilliant take on Ravel’s “Gaspard de la nuit” was overwhelmingly fantastical and colourful. “Le Gibet”, sublime and hallucinatory in atmosphere, became a highlight with the breath. He managed to touch the hearts of his audience with an enchanting and tranquil take on the slow part of Schubert’s Piano Sonata No. 13, D 664. Throughout the Sonata, he encountered a pure and lyrical narrative. He ended with a variety of Études by Chopin, managing to prove that he is a true virtuoso in the way he brought the demanding musical content forward. He successfully accomplished this in almost everything, especially in the mature 7th Étude in Op. 25. In his encore, Debussy’s “Rêverie”, he managed to evoke an intense intimacy. He said a lot with few notes. In the future, magical master pianist Jurinić will certainly also reach the big stages.” (Eindhovens Dagblad, only in the printed edition)
“These interpretations elicit something more than the usual Romantic rubato from Chopin.
One listens to a concert by Aljoša Jurinić breathlessly, without fatigue, in constant anticipation, asking what will happen next in this individualistic approach to the canonical opus. His performance is simultaneously contemplative and dynamic, exceptionally disciplined, although there are surprising twists of a nearly rhapsodic character, historically informed but with almost a futuristic perspective of transcendental scope. The interpretation is, on the one hand, artistically rounded and complete, while, on the other, indicates an interpreter who works on himself and whose development will be followed with unabashed interest”
Klasika.hr

“At the opening of this year’s Chopin Fest in the auditorium of the City Hall, the Belgrade public had the opportunity to delight in an exceptional young pianist with a remarkable artistic aura — Aljoša Jurinić, and his contemporary treatment of the timeless wonder of the music of Frederic Chopin. His cultivated artistic temperament, meticulously studied repertoire and captivatingly sculpted sound could only amaze. Aljoša Jurinić, a dedicated student of distinguished figures in European piano pedagogy, who has just returned from a performance in New York’s Carnegie Hall, shared his erudition with us this evening but also an electrifying performance that will be long remembered.”
Danas