Mara Dobresco, Piano

Biography

Mara Dobresco was born in Romania, where she started studying music at the age of six. After graduating from the George Enesco Music Conservatory in Bucharest, she was granted a scholarship by the French government in 1996, which enabled her to attend Gerard Fremy's piano class at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique in Paris, where she obtained three first prizes (in piano, chamber music and vocal accompanying). She completed her studies there by earning a Masters degree magna cum laude in music.

She furthered her skills studying with such eminent artists as Martha Argerich, and participating in master-classes at the Academie Ravel, Academie de Villecroze, Academie of the Aix-en-Provence Festival and Mozarteum Salzburg. Ms. Dobresco became more involved in contemporary repertoire after meeting Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Gyorgy Kurtag, and attending a post-graduate course at the Conservatoire National Superieur in Geneva, where she also received high honors upon its completion in June 2004.

Mara Dobresco is a prize-winner of numerous international competitions, such as the Sydney, Epinal, Rachmaninoff, Cantu, and Aria Canals International Piano Competitions. She has also been awarded grants by the Yamaha, Meyer and Tarazzi Foundations. More recently she was awarded a grant by The Nadia and Lili Boulanger Foundation.

She regularly performs recitals and concerts in Europe, Asia, South America and Australia and plays as a soloist with philharmonic orchestras in Europe. She was invited to record for Romanian National Television and Radio, for Radio Swiss-Romande and for Radio France. Her first recording dedicated to the works of Clara and Robert Schumann was released in 2003 and unanimously acclaimed by the critics (Le Monde de la Musique, Classics, Répertoire,)

Alongside her solo career, Mara Dobresco is also very interested in projects relating theatre, literature and music. Since 2001 she has collaborated regularly with the Ecla Theatre Company. She was invited to perform a staged version of Brahms' Liebeslieder Walzer under the direction of Jean-Claude Pennetier and V.Vitoz.

Among her recent engagements are a residence at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, recitals in the Chopin Festival and Nohant Festival, a concert of the Clara Schumann Piano Concerto in Hungary under conductor Janos Furst, a recording of the 4th Concerto by Beethoven conducted by Claire Levacher, and a performance of the Grieg Piano Concerto with the Bucarest Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Horia Andreescu.