BIOGRAPHY

From the land of Liszt and Bartók. Zita Tschirk, born in Györ, Hungary, came in touch with classical music at the age of five. After having finished her studies of piano and harmony at the Conservatory in Györ, she moved to the Liszt Ferenc University of Music in Budapest, where she was student of Rita Wagner and Ferenc Rados and acquired the concert piano master diploma with the highest possible grade. Following master classes with Rudolf Kehrer, Imre Rohmann, Tibor Hazai, György Cziffra, and Zoltan Kocsis, Zita completed Lied accompaniment at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. Being employed there since 2001, she has been in close cooperation with Marjana Lipovsek, Rotraud Hansmann, Robert Holl, and Charles Spencer. In 2006, she played  a workshop with Thomas Hampson.

Awards from the beginning. At the age of nine - and then five more times - Zita won the Young Musicians Contest in Györ. Also as a soloist, she was awarded at the Hungarian National Contest, the Liszt Ferenc Contest in Budapest, the Concertino in Prag, and the Hummel Contest in Bratislava. As an accompanist, she performed with the winner Genia Kühmeier at the International Mozart Competition 2002 in Salzburg, and, in 2005, with Martin Achrainer when he won the Gradus ad Parnassum.

On stage. Both as a soloist and an accompanist, Zita Tschirk has appeared on stage in many countries. She disposes of outstanding reputation as a Lied accompanist focusing on Art Nouveau and 20th century music as represented by Debussy, Berg, Marx and Richard Strauss, and on the timeless art of Schubert, Dvorák, and Brahms. She loves excursions to Rossini, Bartók, or Montsalvatge, and has successfully transferred the noblesse of Lied accompaniment to aria recital.