Biography
The Pianist Biljana Urban comes from a family with a rich musical tradition. Her Czech-born grandfather, Jan Urban, was a composer and conductor. His piano works played by his granddaughter were released to great acclaim on CD in 2010 by Naxos.
Biljana Urban received the Master of Music and Musical Arts in piano performance, summa cum laude, from the Academy of Music in Zagreb. She also studied at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague and at the École Normal de Paris. The musicianship of Urban has been strongly influenced by Elisso Virssaladze, Tatjana Nikolaeva and Eugene Indjic. In her former country she received the most important prizes.
She regularly performs in Europe and the United States: the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Théâtre de la Monnaie Brussels, the Vredenburg Utrecht, the Fondation Lili et Nadia Boulanger Paris, the Cité des Arts Paris and has been invited to a number of music festivals, such as the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, the Festival of Flanders and the Orlando Festival in Holland.
Last season (2012) she gave a highly-praised recital in the fortieth anniversary season of The Philip Lorentz Memorial Concert Series in California.
As a chamber musician she performed with soloists of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Monnaie Orchestra Brussels and the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.
Her recitals have been broadcasted by Radio 4 - The Netherlands, Radio Klara - Belgium, Croatian radio and television, Slovenian radio, and Valley Public Radio – United States.
In addition to her concert work, her commitment to music and the teaching of piano have made her a much sought-after teacher having more than 30 years of experience. In Paris, she taught at the École Supérieure César Franck and at the Conservatoire de Neuilly, and she was also a member of the jury of the Centre Musical Edgar-Varèse, Paris, France. Her students have taken part in, and won, many international and national competitions, such as the Concours International de Musique de Chimay, the Concours Claude Kahn Paris, and the Young Pianist Foundation Holland).
She appears regularly and has given master classes with the members of Julliard Quartet, Menahem Pressler, and Dora Schwarzberg.
In the summer of 2011 she established (direction and organization) her own her own Summer Music Academy ‘FraMozart’ where, next to her, lessons were held by Dora Schwarzberg and Dmitri Ferschtman.
In April, 2012, she was invited to become “Artist in Residence” and to give concerts and lectures at The California State University, Fresno.
"From the very first note, Biljana Urban revealed her immense potential as a pianist... The capacity audience at the Concert Hall... was enthralled by a superbly executed performance"
(Zagreb Press)
"An exceptional sensibility and maturity... Playing of a particularly refined nature... She possesses a rich tonal palette, encompassing the most subtile 'pianissimo' to an explosiveness of sound at the opposite extreme..."
(Quotidien)
"...It is not easy to define the origin of the artist Urban, but what is clear is that she dwells in the Land of Music.
In her performance of Beethoven's Sonata in d minor, op. 31, it was evident from the outset that Urban had her own unique and refreshing interpretation... she took us by surprise... Her performance of Debussy was pure magic. She brought us in contact with Debussy himself through her vivid personal rendering. Technically proficient performers abound but seldom do we come across someone of Urban's calibre who has the ability to touch through the evocative power of her Music, coming as it does from her soul..."
(Ultima Hora,Pedro A. Echarte, Spain)
"The music of Biljana and Jan Urban makes our town become The Town.."
(Academic and poet dr. Goran Rem in ‘’Vijenac’’ Zagreb, May, 2011)
"Fascinating, inspiring. I could listen her for hours. I’ll remember her lessons all my life!"
(Stephen Zimmerman, student of State University of California, Fresno, April2012)
