Irina Zahharenkova piano / harpsichord / fortepiano

Fellowship Winner 2007

Irina Zahharenkova is one of the most outstanding keyboard performers of her generation to emerge from Estonia today. She has won first prizes in such major international piano competitions such as the Leipzig's Johann Sebastian Bach Competition (2006), Italy's Alessandro Casagrande Competition (2006) and Romania's Georges Enesco Competition (2005). Born in Kaliningrad, Russia, Irina Zahharenkova began her musical studies with her mother at age four. At 13, she moved with her family to Tallinn, Estonia, where she graduated later from the G. Ots Music College and the Estonian Academy of Music (Master of Music, 2003). Her piano teachers were Professors Mare Ots and Lilian Semper. She entered the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki as an exchange student in 2002, and then as a degree student in 2003, studying in piano class of Dr. Hui-Ying Liu-Tawaststjerna. Irina has also played in the master classes of András Schiff, Victor Merzhanov, Steven Bishop Kovacevich, and Angela Hewett. In addition to the piano, she has pursued advanced courses in harpsichord (degree in EAMT, Prof. Maris Valk-Falk), fortepiano, organ, chemistry, as well as Estonian and Finnish philology. Irina Zahharenkova has also been a laureate in the Prague Spring competition in Czech Republic (2005) as a harpsichordist and in the Festival van Vlaanderen competition in Belgium (2004) as fortepianist. An extremely versatile musician, Irina Zahharenkova frequently performs on the piano and harpsichord in solo recitals, chamber music concerts, and as soloist with orchestras. Her repertoire encompasses a wide range of musical styles from baroque to contemporary. 2007 appearances in concerts in France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Romania, Latvia and the Czech Republic. Her programes include Bach Goldberg Variations, Brahms-Handel Variations and Poulenc Harpsichord Concerto and Concerto for two pianos, to name just a few examples.

Photograph taken by Benjamin Ealovega