Dalibor Cikojević , Croatia
Ruben Dalibaltayan, Croatia
Arbo Valdma , Germany
Ida Gamulin, Croatia
Hinko Haas, Slovenia
Imola Joó, Austria

Dalibor Cikojević

Dalibor Cikojević was born in Split where he started his musical education at the age of seven. He finished secondary music school under Prof. Jelka Bakašun. After that he went to Vienna where he studied piano as a student of Prof. Alexander Jenner under whom he also won his Master’s Degree. Oleg Maisenber and Carmen Graf Adnet were responsible for his further artistic development. Dalibor Cikojević has been present at the music scene since his youth and he performed at various domestic and foreign festivals like Split and Zagreb summer, Osor Music Evenings, Rab Musikfestival, George Enescu Festival and Wiener Estwochen.

He gave significant performances under the baton of conductors Nikša Bareza, Peter Burwik, George Schmöhe, Ivo Lipanović with the orchestra of the Croatian National Theatre in Split, Zagreb Symphony Orchestra and Wiener Ensemble des 20. Jhr. In the area of chamber music he cooperated with the Zagreb Soloists and numerous distinguished musicians from the Zagreb and Viennese music life. Apart from the concert activity, Dalibor Cikojević was working for years as a music pedagogue in Austria, among others at Universität für Musik in Vienna. At the moment he is an Assistant Professor at the Music Academy in Zagreb.

Ruben Dalibaltayan

The pianist Ruben Dalibaltayan, recognised as a very gifted child in his native Erevan, the capital of Armenia, already at the age of 10 held his first solo concert. Two years later the significant musical acknowledgement at the First national Babadžanyan piano competition followed, thanks to which he performed the Second Piano Concert by Beethoven, accompanied by the Armenian National Symphony Orchestra. After education and winning several awards on the national level, he continues the studies at the Music Academy “Gnesin” in Moscow where he graduated in the class of professor V. Kastelski at the Moscow National Conservatory “P.I.Čajkovski” acquiring the title of a Master.

He is the laureate of a larger number of international competitions in various countries. In 2003 he won the Second Prize of the professional jury and the Special award of the public on the 2n EPTA international piano competition Svetislav Stančić in Zagrebu (Croatia). He held a number of solo concerts and participated in various concert in Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, China, Italy, Switzerland, Kazakhstan, Moldavia, Portugal and Russia. It is important to mention that, as a soloist, he appeared with the National Symphony Orchestras of countries like Kazakhstan, Armenia, Moldavia, China, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina. As a very important fact in the career of this pianist the personal acquaintance with the legendary pianist Alexis Weissenberg has to be mentioned as well. He was awarded the international award “Alexis Weissenberg”.

Concurrently with the development of his pianist career Ruben Dalibaltayan is also active in the field of musical pedagogy. In 2000 he moved to B&H and assumed the position of the professor at the Music Academy in Sarajevo. In 2005 he assumed the position of the professor at the Music Academy in Zagreb. He held a number of seminars in Croatia and Slovenia.
During the past several years Ruben held numerous concerts in Croatia, of which the concerts with the Zagreb philharmonic orchestra in the Big Hall of the concert hall “Vatroslav Lisinski” (conductor Pavle, Dešpalj, Vjekoslav Šutej), with the Rijeka philharmonic orchestra (conductor Toshihiro Yonezu), with the Zagreb chamber orchestra, recitals in the scope of the cycle “Pianofrotissimo” and Croatian Music Institute have to be mentioned, as well as his appearances in Split, Rijeka, Dubrovnik, Pula, and so on. He also appeared in the piano duet with the wife Julia Gubajdullina, and in 2008 he established the Zagreb trio “Amadeus” with his colleagues from the Music Academy Krešimir Lazar and Leonid Sorokow.

Many praises from prominent musicians and critics can be heard regarding his art: “... The way Ruben plays is not just professional; it is always intelligent and interesting... He combines unique forms in the field of subtle interpretation and the beauty of the sound... In his performances I always hear something new, and not only new, but also exciting” (Lazar Berman).

Arbo Valdma

The Estonian pianist Arbo Valdma (born in Parnu, Estonia in 1942) since 1992, has been a Professor at the Academy of Music (Hochschule für Musik) in Cologne, Germany. He was educated in Tallinn, Estonia. He was studying under Bruno Lukk, who himself was a student of Arthur Schnabel and Paul Hindemith. He won his Master’s and Doctor’s degree at the Moscow Conservatory with Nina Emelyanova, a student of Samuel Feinber. In 1970 he was appointed as a Senior Lecturer in Piano at the State Conservatory of Tallinn and since 1979 he taught piano and piano pedagogy at the University in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia.
Since 1984 Arbo Valdma taught at the University in Belgrade, where he was a head of the Piano department from 1984 to 1992. From 1989 to 1992 he was a Dean of Piano Faculty at the Academy of Arts of the University of Novi Sad. Arbo Valda gave concert performances – recitals, chamber music and performed with the orchestra under the baton of N. Jarvi, K. Sanderling, E. Klas, A.Jansons and A. Rabinowich throughout Europe, in Australia and played for many recordings. Prof. Valdma produced numerous television broadcasts, both as a performer and a director.

He has been an author of theoretical papers on piano pedagogy. Prof. Valdma is one of the founders of EPTA (European Piano Teachers Association, 1988.). He has been an Honorary President of EPTA Serbia and EPTA Estonia. In 1991 Prof. Valdma won a title “doctor honoris causa” from the Estonian Academy of Music. His students have been the winners of the most distinguished international piano competitions (Geneva, Vienna – Beethoven, Brussels – Queen Elisabeth, Leeds, Munich – ARD, Vevey – C. Haskil, Cologne – F. Chopin, Sydney, Washington, etc.

Wanted as a lecturer at the international master workshops, Arbo Valdma has done more than 90 courses since 1984 (regularly at Guildhall School London, in Heidelberg, at Dubrovnik Summer School of EPTA, at the Estonian Music Academy in Tallinn and at the European Academy for Music and Fine Arts Montepulciano) in Moscow, Rome, Salona, Sarajevo, Zagreb, Kaushiung, Ohrid, Bad Sobernheimu, Cologne, Orlando, Las Vegas (at Conferences of the world piano pedagogy) and elsewhere.

Ida Gamulin

A distinguished interpretative ability of the leading middle-aged Croatian piano player Ida Gamulin, has been attracting the attention for 15 years of both Croatian and foreign music lovers. Having graduated from the Music Academy in Zagreb under J. Muraj, she went on further education abroad with R. Kerera in Wiemar and S. Kovacevich, J. Lill and A. Fischer in London. In 1983 she won a prize Myra Hess and made her debut in London with a great success after which she was invited to perform at Queen Elizabeth Hall in 1985 and 1987. It was the beginning of her distinguished international career; “An exceptionally talented pianist proved herself as a top interpreter of Bach and Beethoven… her crystal clear tone emanates an unusual warmth and grace…” (Daily Telegraph); “She has really been a legato master and of luxuriant sonority (The Times).
She has won the prize «Svetislav Stančić», a Special Prize of Freiburg Festival and “Milka Trnina” prize.

She performed both as a solo player and with orchestras in almost all European countries, Russia, the USA, cooperating with distinguished conductors Carl Richter, Hartmut Haenchen, Nikolaj Aleksejev, Uroš Lajovic and leading Croatian orchestras and conductors. She has also been a guest of the International festivals in Spoletto, Freiburg, Varna, Dubrovnik, Stratford, Janacek festival, etc.
She has recorded for BBC, CBS, France Musique, S.A.Radio, Bayerische Rundfunkand other radio and TV stations. She recorded her first record in London (EMI_Maya) and she recorded for Jugoton and Croatia Records. Her recording of Brahms Sonata in F sharp minor was included among the best performance of Brahms in the American Classical music directory. She prepared for publication a whole opus of piano miniatures by Dora Pejačević, whose work she has been systematically promoting. Distinguished Croatian composer’s names (Papandopulo, Kelemen, Klobučar, Kuljerić, Josipović, Šipuš) encouraged by her wrote compositions which she has successfully performed for the first time. After the concert in London, where she performed together with Martha Argerich and Stephen Kovacevich, Ida Gamulin has been more and more cooperating in chamber music projects with the famous European musicians.
She has been a jury member of the international piano competitions and the president of the Croatian EPTA. She has been a piano teacher at the Music Academy in Zagreb.

Hinko Haas

Hinko Haas (Celje, 1956) is considered to be one of the most prominent Slovenian pianists. After graduating the piano from the Academy of Music in Ljubljana in the class of Prof. Dubravka Tomšić-Srebotnjak , he continued his studies at the same Academy and received his Master's Degree. Later, he attended advanced courses with Rudolf Kehrer in Weimar and Claude Copens in Bruxelles. Granted the scholarship by the Swiss government, he also worked with Carl Engel in Bern.

He has been awarded with the Prešern award of the Academy of Music and the University of Ljubljana . In 2004 he got the Julije Betteto award of the Association of Slovenian musicians for his contribution to the Slovenian musical culture.

As a soloist and a member of numerous chamber ensembles ( the Trio Syringa, the piano duo Bertoncelj – Haas, the Trio Pro Musica Nova… ) he has performed in Slovenia, Austria, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Russia, Taiwan, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia. He has also played with Slovenian Philharmonics, RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, Taipei Chamber Orchestra, Les Percussions de Strasbourgh, Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, Celje String orchestra… He has also performed with well-known artists, such as violinist Igor Ozim, Maja Cerar and Volodja Balzalorski, violist Jeřzi Kosmal, cellist Wolfgang Panhofer, soprano Ana Pusar Jerič, flutist Cveto Kobal and many others.

Haas has recorded nineteen CDs and cassettes for the publishing houses of RTV Slovenia , Helidon and Editione Pizzicato . His piano repertoir includes the music from the classical era to the modern time, but he is interested in the chamber music as well. Some contemporary Slovenian composers have written music specifically for him to perform.

Since 1992 he has been working as a piano professor at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana.

Imola Joó

Imola Joó was born into a musicians´ family in Budapest. She studied piano at the “Béla-Bartók“ Conservatory with Kornél Zempléni. Following her graduation from Music High School and her graduation cum laude from the Conservatory, she continued her studies in Hans Graf´s Concert Class at the Vienna University of Music. She received her Concert Class Diploma as well as Pedagogy Diploma cum laude . Her thesis had the title “The Kodály - Method“ and dealt with its meaning for the pianist. She visited master classes among others with Paul Badura-Skoda. Since 1976, Imola Joó has been teaching a piano preparation class at the Vienna University of Music. Presentations, workshops and master classes in Austria and abroad (among others, Canada, Japan, Korea, Hungary) are, beside her teaching activity, milestones of her work. Several former students are already lecturing at the University and have become sought-after soloists. During the last years, Imola Joó gave concerts several times with the “Dinu Lipatti Symphonic Orchestra“ in Satu Mare (Romania). She last had a performance in the Grand Hall of the Vienna Musikverein with the K.u.K. Symphonic Orchestra. Following her postdoctoral lecture qualification, Imola Joó became a university lecturer in September 2004.