Matea Leko

Matea Leko is one of the most talented young Croatian pianists and has already over 200 performances on Croatian and European stages.
She is engaged as well in performing music, both solo and chamber music, as well as educating in her Piano studios in Zagreb and Vienna, since her passion is giving and sharing the gifts of music - positive energy and emotions that enrich us.
Matea began her musical education in her hometown in the class of appreciated Professor Ivanka Kordic, whose students won over 250 awards at numerous piano competitions. As a high school student she won substantial awards at national competitions, out of which the most noted were “The award for the best performed composition by a Croatian composer“ and “Mira Sakač Award.” At the age of 17 she was admitted to the Music Academy in Zagreb as a first-placed candidate with the maximum number of points from the jury.
During her studies in the class of Professor Dalibor Cikojević at the Music Academy in Zagreb (2003 to 2008), she held numerous solo performances in Croatian cities and abroad.
As an outstanding music student she was a City of Zagreb scholarship holder, which enabled her additional training courses held by eminent pianists and piano pedagogues of international standing (Peter Feuchtwanger, Pavel Gililov, Konstantin Bogino, Arbo Valdma, Eugen Indjić, Alexei Kornienko, Andrzej Jasinsky, Roger Muraro, Michel Beroff, On Mitani).
Her performance of Ravel: Second piano concerto with the Zagreb Philharmonic (June 2006) won enthusiastic approval from both the audience and critics.
She has recorded for Croatian National TV & Radio Broadcasting Company (HRT). Furthermore, she has performed with leading Croatian orchestras and collaborated with esteemed conductors: Martin Sieghart, Tomislav Fačini, Aleksandar Kalajdžić, Alun Francis and Ante Milić.
She was the artistic director of the concert series “Virtuoso” in Zagreb from 2005 to 2007.
After successful graduation concert in the packed hall of the Croatian Music Institute in Zagreb (January 2008), Matea continued her education and artistic development in Austria and Italy in the classes of world respected pedagogues: Professor Noel Flores and Professor Marialene Fernandes at “Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst” in Vienna and Professor Konstantin Bogino at the “Accademia Santa Cecilia” in Bergamo.
First foreign recognition came in February 2007, when she received an invitation to present works by Croatian composers at recital in Barcelona. Subsequently, she held many successful performances at festivals in Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, Austria, Sweden, Italy and Israel.
She has worked with Professor Vlatka Oršanić and Kristina Beck at Opera singing seminars in France and Slovenia (in 2007, 2008 and 2009).
In November 2011 she was employed at the Music Academy in Zagreb as an artistic associate. Besides gaining experience in pedagogical work, she had an honor to work with respected Croatian opera artist Dunja Vejzovic at her “Lied” seminars.
Alongside numerous solo performances, she is actively involved in chamber music and has recently shared the stage with big European names on the music scene:
Konstantin Bogino (piano), Alissa Margulis and Yury Revich (violin), Boris Andrianov and Camille Thomas (cello), Aleksandar Milošev and Peter Langgarten (viola) and singer Daniel Serafin.
Her performance with Yury Revich in August 2012 at “Summer Music Festival“ in Bohinj/Slovenia got a standing ovation and will be repeated at the same festival in 2014 at the request of the audience.
November 2012 was rather substantial to Matea Leko due to successful concerts at Aurora Chamber Music Festival in Sweden, where she had the honor to share the stage with the greats of classical music: Garry Hoffman, Alexander Zemtsov, Peter Donohoe, Alexander Schultz...
Moreover, her performance of Tchaikovsky Trio with Alissa Margulis and Per Nystrom at the opening of a concert made the audience stood as one for prolonged applause.
The world premiere of the song "Café Music" at the “Diapason” festival held in Zagreb on November 25th, 2012 received a great support from the audience and critics alike, and was subsequently recorded for the needs of a cultural show on the HRT3 TV program.
In December 2012 she performed at “Vip Christmas concert” at Croatian National Theatre . The concert was broadcasted on a Christmas day on HRT1.
Duo partners she regularly collaborates with are young Russian violinist Yury Revich and an Austrian baritone Daniel Serafin, with whom she is preparing a Lied program called "Forbidden and Banned", which is set to launch in Spring 2013 in Vienna, Bratislava, Berlin and Tel Aviv.