Mia Pečnik

Recognized as one of Croatia's most accomplished young pianists, Mia Pečnik has gained international acclaim for her exceptional talent and captivating performances. Born in 2000 in Zagreb, Mia is currently a student at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln under the guidance of Professor Andreas Frölich. She is also studying at the Talent Music Master Courses at the University of Music in Brescia since 2017. In September 2025, she will commence her studies in the Artist Diploma program at the Royal College of Music in London and in the Konzertexamen program at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln.

She is the winner of the leading awards for young musicians in Croatia like the Young Musician of the Year chosen by the Zagreb Philharmonic, Ivo Vuljević Award for the biggest musical achievement of young musicians in 2020; as part of the 45th Samobor musical autumn, she won the City of Samobor Award and the award of the Croatian Society of Composers; in 2022 she was the winner of the 11th edition of The series of young musicians' concerts mo. Vinko Lesić awarded by Juenesses Musicales Croatia. Several times at state competitions as a soloist and chamber musician, she was awarded with the "Oscar of knowledge" prizes, awarded by the Ministry of science and education of the Republic of Croatia to Croatian's best students. She is also the winner of the prize given by the city Sveta Nedelja for special musical contributions and the "Prof. Baltazar"prize given by City of Zagreb for the absolute prize on the Croatian National Piano Competition.

She has been awarded the Werner Richard – Dr. Carl Dörken Stiftung and has been chosen to take part in the promotion program of the Jens G.Becker Agency Dortmund as part of the concert series "Best of NRW" with 11 concerts in the season 2022/23. This year, Mia was awarded the Deutschlandstipendium for the 2024/2025 academic year.

In international competitions around the world she has won more than 80 first and special prizes (Absolute prize winner at Piano Talents Competition Milan, first prize at Ciudad de Leganes, Madrid, winner at the César Franck International Piano Competition, Bruxelles, first prize at the "Debut International Piano Competition New York, winner of "Danubia talenets" in Budapest etc.) She took part in Cleveland Piano Competition, Telekom Beethoven Competition and Paderewski Competition. This year she was chosen to participate in Busoni Piano Competition and was a semifinalist in Liszt Utrecht Competition. In 2025, Mia was also named a finalist at the 26th Piano FVG Biennial International Piano Competition, which will grant her both a solo recital and an orchestral performance in Italy in the following year.

She has performed with an orchestra around 30 times. Her first performance with an orchestra was at the age of 11, and at the age of 15, she had her debut with the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra. She has performed with an orchestra all over Croatia, Europe and Asia, of which the following performances stand out: with Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra in Kuwait City, in Santa Cecilia Hall, Auditorium Parco della Musica, Rome, five times in Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall in Zagreb and also in the Croatian National Theatre, then with the Kraków Philharmonic Orchestra in Kraków, with Orkiestra Symfoniczna Panstwowej in Katowice, with Mihail Jora Philharmonic Orchestra of Bacau in Citta di Cantu, with Croatian National Theatre Symphonic Orchestra in Osijek, with Croatian Radio Television Symphony Orchestra, with Bazzini Concert Orchestra in Verona, with Master Orchestra in Brescia and with the Zagreb Soloists chamber orchestra with whom she has performed 3 times. In 2025, Mia had the privilege of performing Dora Pejačević's Piano Concerto twice in Bonn, collaborating with the Academisches Orchester Bonn. Additionally, in September 2025, she will perform George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with the Klangkraft Orchester in Dusiburg.

As a soloist she had recitals on many festivals like the "Notting Hill concert series" (London), "American Fine Arts Festival" (Carnegie Hall, New York), "San Francisco Piano Festival" (USA), Klavier Festival Ruhr (Germany), "Danubia talents" Budimpest, (Hungary), "Young Artists in Kraków", "Gorczycki Festiwal" in Operze Śląskiej, also at the Filharmonia Śląska in Katowice (Poland), "Epidarius festival" Cavtat, "Pianoloop festival" Split, "Zvjezdano ljeto" Karlovac, "46, Samoborske jeseni" Samobor, "Koncertna sezona 2021,/2022" Zadar, "Un fiume dio note – Musicae" Opatija, "Svetislav Stančić Pleyel" Zagreb, 10th Concert Cycle of the City of Osijek, "Chopinfest October echoes" in Belgrade (Serbia), "MuseArt" Bucharest (Romania), "Talenti in corte" Sicile, "Bresciasuona Festival" in Italy, "Marbella International Music Festival" in Spain, "Opening Concert IV Piano Competition City of Vigo" Spain, Lisianum Art Festival, etc.

At numerous masterclasses, she continues to improve with distinguished pedagogues and pianists such as Andrzej Jasiński, Piotr Paleczny, Ewa Poblocka, Dang Thai Son, Jacques Rouvier, Dmitri Alexeev, Norma Fisher, Michel Béroff, Eugen Indjic, Yurij Kot, Milana Chernyavska, Pavel Gililov, Vladimir Ovchinnikov, Natalia Trull, Konstantin Bogino, Igor Lasko, Vladimir Viardo, Lev Natochenny, Grigory Gruzman, Janina Fialkowska, Ashley Wass, Andrea Bonatta, Ruben Dalibaltayan.

In 2020 Mia was a finalist of the national Eurovision Young Musicians Competition. She has recorded for the Croatian Radio Television, Hungary TV and RTL. In March 2022 she recorded a CD with the Zagreb Philharmonic and maestro Jan Latham-Koenig containing Dora Pejačević: Concert for piano and orchestra in g-minor, op. 33 for Croatia Records. In 2025, Mia will release her debut solo CD, marking another significant milestone in her career, as well as a CD with her piano trio "Samobor Trio" which will be called "In Modo Croatico" promoting Croatian composers. Her exceptional achievements and promising future continue to position her as one of the most exciting young talents on the national and international classical music scene.