Katarina Krpan

Katarina Krpan graduated and obtained her Master’s degree from the Music Academy in Zagreb under Professor Vladimir Krpan, and later pursued advanced studies and completed her Master’s degree at the Conservatoire de Musique in Lausanne, Switzerland, under Professor Jean-François Antonioli.
Having given numerous acclaimed recitals, concerto performances with symphony and chamber orchestras, and chamber music evenings, Katarina Krpan soon established herself as one of Croatia’s leading concert artists. Her significant international reputation is reflected in invitations from renowned festivals and numerous concerts held in major musical centers across Europe, North and South America, Australia, Africa, and Asia.
Her most recent performances include concerts in the United Arab Emirates, among them one at Steinway Hall Dubai.

In addition to her appearances with the Zagreb Soloists, the Zagreb Philharmonic, and the Croatian Radiotelevision Symphony Orchestra, she has also performed with numerous foreign orchestras, including the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, Ural Philharmonic, Orchestra Sinfonica di Sanremo, National Philharmonic of Ukraine, Macedonian Philharmonic, Orchestra Sinfonica de Rio de Janeiro, Niš Symphony Orchestra, Sofia Philharmonic, Perth Symphony Orchestra, Tirana Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Banatul Philharmonic Timișoara, among others.
She has performed under the baton of Croatia’s most distinguished conductors and collaborated internationally with prominent maestros.

Her extensive sound archive includes numerous studio recordings for major Croatian, Swiss, Australian, Italian, and UAE radio and television stations, as well as several compact discs released by domestic and international record labels. Her albums have received multiple discographic awards.

Alongside her intense performing career in Croatia and abroad, Katarina Krpan has also developed a distinguished pedagogical career, demonstrating exceptional talent for nurturing young musicians and paying special attention to their comprehensive artistic development. Her students have won numerous national and international awards, and their careers have led them to perform on prestigious stages, seasons, and festivals both in Croatia and worldwide.

Katarina Krpan has shown a particular artistic interest in 20th-century music, to which she devotes significant attention—especially Croatian contemporary music. She systematically promotes new Croatian piano literature and has confidently premiered and recorded an impressive number of recent piano works, many of which were dedicated to her by both emerging talents and established Croatian composers such as Milko Kelemen, Željko Brkanović, Adalbert Marković, Berislav Šipuš, Mladen Tarbuk, Frano Đurović, Davor Bobić and Ivan Josip Skender.

She is the only pianist in Croatian history to have performed the complete cycle of György Ligeti’s Études, Samuel Barber’s Piano Concerto, and numerous other works of world contemporary music.

Her belief in the importance of promoting national musical creativity is something she also instills in her students. In 2010, she founded the HR PROJECT, which brings together music school pupils and academy students from various departments with the aim of studying and performing works by Croatian composers in concerts throughout Croatia and abroad. With the same goal, she has strengthened her collaboration with Jeunesses Musicales Croatia.

The awards she has received affirm the significance of her artistic and educational work. These include:
the Rector’s Award, the Croatian Music Institute Award (1992), the Ivo Vuljević Award of Jeunesses Musicales Croatia (1992), the University Teachers’ Club Award (2001), the Mai Musical Festival Award (Tergnier, 2003), the Vatroslav Lisinski Award of the Croatian Composers’ Society (2013), the Milka Trnina Award of the Croatian Music Artists Association (2013), the Neven Award of the St. Mark’s Festival (2014), and the Plaque of the City of Zagreb (2014).