Irina Vaterl

The pianist Irina Vaterl, born in Graz, leads a piano class at the J. J. Fux Conservatory in Graz as well as a preparatory and talented class at the Graz Art University. She is also a regular member of the jury at national and international music competitions. Irina Vaterl received her first piano lessons from Gerlinde Hörmann at the Köflach Music School. At the age of 12 she moved to the highly gifted class of Loudmila and Alexandr Satz at the University of Fine Arts Graz. 

After graduating from the Musikgymnasium Dreihackengasse, she studied with Milana Chernyavska at the KUG, where she completed her bachelor's and master's degree in piano as well as a bachelor's degree in piano pedagogy with distinction. Her bachelor thesis on the French composer Louise Farrenc was awarded the Gender Prize of the Graz University of the Arts. Irina Vaterl also studied flute with Harald Fripertinger and with Nils Thilo Krämer at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, where she graduated with distinction with a bachelor's degree in concert and with a degree in pedagogy for flute. She has also won prizes at numerous competitions as a flutist. Further studies abroad were crowned in 2018/19 with the acquisition of the Artist Diploma at the renowned Royal College of Music in London in the class of Vanessa Latarche and Dmitri Alexeev. In addition to the performance scholarship as William Mealing's scholar, she received grants from the George Thornton Award. As a student Irina Vaterl won the Martha Debelli Scholarship and the Hildegard Maschmann Scholarship for young pianists in Austria, and as a graduate she was awarded the Würdigungspreis 2017 for special achievements by the Graz University of Art.

As a scholarship holder of the International Academy of Music in the Principality of Liechtenstein, she regularly takes part in intensive weeks and various activities and helps to shape them. Irina Vaterl also received important musical impulses at master classes with renowned professors, including J. Rouvier, S. Pochekin, B. Glemser, M. Voskresensky, F. Gottlieb, B. Berezovsky, R. Dalibaltayan and M. Beroff. In the meantime she has become a sought-after lecturer for Masterclasses at home and abroad. Irina Vaterl has won numerous national and international solo and chamber music competitions in Austria, Italy, Croatia, Serbia, Spain, France, Norway, Sweden and the Czech Republic. Already from the age of 7 she won first prizes in all Austrian state and national competitions of the youth music competition Prima la Musica as a soloist as well as in the category chamber music for more than 10 years. As a soloist, chamber musician and piano duo with sister Silvia, Irina Vaterl performs at renowned international festivals in Switzerland, Italy, Spain, France and, of course, Austria: Arsonore, Steirisches Kammermusikfestival, Eggenberger Schlosskonzerte, Deutschlandsberger Klavierfrühling. As a soloist she has worked with the orchestras I Virtuosi Italiani, Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto and Sinfonietta dell'Arte Niederösterreich. In 2015 she was presented with the Living Culture Art Award, a cultural award of the magazine Living Culture for special merits in the field of art.