Aurelia Visovan

The Romanian pianist, harpsichordist and fortepianist Aurelia Vişovan was born in 1990 in Sighetu Marmaţiei. She started to study piano at the age of 5, in her birth town, under the guidance of Monica Chifor and continued her music studies in Cluj-Napoca with Gerda Türk and Adriana Bera. In June 2011 she was accepted at the University for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, in the piano performance class of Martin Hughes, which she graduated with highest marks in 2017. A very important role in her development as a musician played her encounter with the pianist and musicologist Robert D.Levin, who inspired her to look into the historically informed performance practice and the historical keyboard instruments. Therefore, between 2013 and 2017 Vișovan was also a student in the solo harpsichord class of Gordon Murray at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and started learning about, and performing on all types of different stringed keyboard instruments.

Aurelia Vişovan already performed her first concert as a soloist with an orchestra at the age of 12 and is now regularly invited to play concerts and recitals in important venues of Romania, Austria, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Turkey and Japan, in halls such as the Brucknerhaus Linz, Die Glocke Bremen, Romanian Atheneum Bucharest, Casa da Musica Porto, Musikverein – Gläsener Saal and Bösendorfer Saal Vienna, among others. In May 2012 Aurelia Vișovan performed the Opening Concert of the Sächsisches Mozartfest in Chemnitz, Germany, together with the Philharmonisches Kammerorchester Dresden, conducted by Wolfgang Hentrich. In January 2013, Vișovan made her debut in the Grand Hall of the Philharmonie in Berlin, playing Tchaikovsky’s Second Piano Concerto, together with Das Sinfonie Orchester Berlin conducted by Stanley Dodds.

She has also collaborated as a soloist with many Romanian orchestras, such as the Chamber Radio Orchestra in Bucharest, the Romanian Youth Orchestra, and the Philharmonic Orchestras of Cluj-Napoca, Satu-Mare, Arad and Sibiu, conducted by Mihail Agafița, Horia Andreescu, Cristian Brâncuși, Gheorghe Victor Dumănescu, Cristian Mandeal or Petre Sbârcea. In 2015, Vișovan performed W.A.Mozart’s Concerto in A major, K.414, on an original fortepiano, together with the Diletto Musicale Chamber Orchestra, within the Sighișoara Music Academy and Festival. In 2017, the pianist has performed the world premiere of the Piano Concerto by George Enescu, together with the Antonin Ciolan Orchestra and the conductor Gabriel Bebeșelea.
On period instruments, Vișovan has performed in the Tagliavini Collection in Bologna, in the Geelvinck Fortepiano Festival in the Netherlands, in the Bach Woche Festival in Vienna and in 2015 she has won the 2nd prize in the Paola Bernardi International Harpsichord Competition in Bologna. As a continuo player, she is regularly collaborating with the Orchestra 1756 baroque ensemble.
Aurelia Vişovan’s most recent competition prizes include, in 2015, the 1st Prize in the Santa Cecilia International Piano Competition in Porto, in 2017, the Special Prize for the best interpretation of the commissioned work in the Premio Jaén International Piano Competition and in 2018, the 5th Prize in the 4th Takamatsu International Piano Competition.
As a passionate chamber musician, Aurelia Vișovan has performed in important festivals, such as the Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, SoNoRo Bucharest or Mozart Cluj-Napoca festivals, and has recorded in 2016 a CD for the Berlin Classics label, together with the clarinetist Vera Karner and the double bassist Dominik Wagner.
Aurelia Vişovan is currently teaching piano and chamber music at the Nuremberg University of Music and holding a Teaching Assistant position in the piano department of the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. In the same time, she is pursuing PhD studies at the Music Academy in Cluj-Napoca.

“Great energy and effervescence” –  Wiener Chopin-Blätter 

“Aurelia Visovan interpreted Mozart with ludic artistry, fitted to the particular character of historical instruments” – Elena Maria Sorban on www.cimec.ro 

“A mature performer, appreciated for the novelty of her choice of programmes” – Romania Muzical