Žanina Bilić, piano

Family

Born in 1975 in Zagreb, into a working class family of deaf parents. Both parents are retired now, her father was a fine mechanic, her mother a leather shoe industry worker. Both parents have natural talent for arts - her father is a gifted sketcher and wood sculptor, her mother a playful ornamentator in a special technique of burned wood with colouring added later on, based on abstract symetrical forms from the Bulgarian folk tradition. Žanina's origin is 'binational' or international, her father is from Croatia, her mother from Bulgaria. Since 2004 Zanina is happily married, and bearing her husband's surname : Bilic.

Grandmother

Her grandmother, Cvetanka Balabanova Popova, on mother's side, was a distinctive and the most influential person in Žanina's life. The grandmother, who moved from Bulgaria to Croatia to live with the grandchild's family and help raising it, was a very strong, emancipated woman. In her professional career she was a director of amateur arts events organizing municipality sector in a district in Sofia, Bulgaria. Her work has led her to travel all over Bulgaria and Europe, which was at those days of 'eastern' socialism in Bulgaria, not a common thing. Very organized, very dedicated, very independant, with very high criteria and high moral ideals, she passed on these qualities to her grandchild. The most important impact of the grandmother was the constant support in Žanina's musical education and development as a musician, a pianist. Hasn't it been for the grandmother, Žanina would most likely not have become a pianist. Žanina did not get to know either of her grandfathers. On father's side, the grandfather was killed during World War 2, on mother's side, grandfather was divorced, re-married, refused to meet his grandchild.

Her grandmother has spontaneously taught Žanina Bulgarian language, from an early age on, and has kept it alive and spoken in the household. Therefore, Bulgarian and Croatian are both mother tongues for Žanina. Grandmother has also planted deep appreciation and love for Bulgarian folk arts tradition and arts in general. Grandmother has died in 2001, after a year of struggle with cancer. She is barried in Zagreb.

Education

Žanina began with piano lessons at the age of 4 in Bulgaria, during a summer vacation. She entered a primary music school in Zagreb, then secondary music school, and finally Music academy within the University of Zagreb. The educational system in Croatia requires attendance of 'normal' schools, regardless of the artistic or other developments of a child, therefore, the education has from the very beginning included 2 schools in parallel all along. 2 primary schools, 2 secondary schools.

As Žanina was admitted to the Music Academy as early as at the age of 16, she has graduated from high school in parallel, by the end of her second year of study at the Music Academy. This duality has developed strong organizational, time management and multitasking skills in Žanina.

Teachers

The first ever music teacher (piano and basics of musical theory) was a Bulgarian teacher Prof. Liliana Petkova. There were 3 piano teacher personalities in Zagreb, which influenced Žanina's musical development. Prof. Maja Careva, who at that time taught at the 'Zlatko Baloković' primary music school. Prof. Olga Detiček, who at that time taught at the primary and secondary music school 'Vatroslav Lisinski'. Prof. Marija Gvozdić-Horvat, who teaches at the Music Academy in Zagreb. Another 2 strong teacher personalities who influenced Žanina were Prof. Vera Gornostaeva, world famous Russian pianist and pedagogue, whose 1-month seminar in France Žanina attended in 1993, and Prof. Karl-Hermann Mrongovius with whom she studied for 2 yaears at the München Musikhochschule, Europe famous German pianist and pedagogue, particularly recognized for his contribution to piano-duo performances and recordings with his wife, the Spanish pianist, Begonia Uriarte.

Awards

Žanina has won two Croatian national piano competition awards - 2nd prize in 1987 and 1st prize in 1992. She has also been awarded Music Academy Dean's Award in 1994, for the performance of Grieg: Piano concerto with the Zagreb Philharmonics in Vatroslav Lisinski Hall. Žanina has twice been awarded the University of Zagreb Rektor's prize - in 1994 and 1995, for a series of concerts in Japan and a series of concerts in Croatia.

Concerts

Public performances are an unseparable part of a pianist' education. Žanina has performed in public from an early age on. In adulthood, Žanina has performed, besides Croatia and Bulgaria, in Poland, France, Japan, Germany, the Czech Republic.

Postgraduate studies

Graduating form the Music Academy in Zagreb at the age of 20 with excellence, 2 post-graduate studies have played a decisive role in Žanina's further development as a musician. Both post-graduate studies were financed with scolarships. The first was in Poland, in duration of 6 months, at the international European Mozart Academy, supported by the Academy's own scolarship programme, with focus on chamber music and contemporary music. The second was in Germany, in duration of 2 years, at the Musikhochschule in München, supported by a DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst) scolarship, with focus on piano solo study.

Return to Croatia

In 1998, upon return to Croatia, Žanina was faced with two basic questions: how does she earn a living and how does she proceed her pianist career?

The structure of concert booking agencies or a network of support for young, emerging artists was (is) not developed in Croatia. The market for classical music in Croatia is very limited, as both audience and venues are very limited, whereas there is a vast number of artists. Quite some artists have moved to live and work abroad. A general economic struggle of Croatia over the last few decades has also left a deep impact on how much arts and culture one needs, or, how much can one afford, in terms of purchase power and/or interest. Although it appears that the number of music festivals has risen in the last 10 years, no real impact has been achieved on the general situation. Systematic 'general audience education' or 'nourishment of interest in arts and culture' still prooves to be a challenge ahead of us. A series of individual attempts by Žanina herself to create a supportive enviroment for regular concert activities has temporarily ceased in 2003.

New initiative

Organizational skills, computer skills, constant acquiring of new knowledge, flexibility, dedication and excellent command of 4 foreign languages has enabled Žanina to work in a variety of businesses. After a number of full-time jobs more or less linked to music and arts which earn(ed) her a living, Žanina has launched a piano school project named 'FLORENS PIANO SCHOOL', honouring her grandmother Cvetanka (rough translation of the name would be Florabella, Florence or alike, whereas 'florens' in Latin stands for 'flourishing, prosperous') in January 2006.

Florens Piano School Project

The piano school project is still in its market research phase. The number of students is growing steadily. The Florens Piano School offers piano education to children and adults, regardless of their musical background. It aims to promote the benefits of learning and playing piano as a hobby. It aims to grow into a recognizable school and to extend its activities to concert organizing and arts management, acting as a booking agent for pianists, both internally and externally, providing those services to clients.

Florens Arts Management

Currently Zanina acts as her own manager, organizing her own concerts and caring about the logistics of those.
Long term Florens Piano aims to organize or contribute to set up or develop graduate and post-graduate arts management education in Croatia. In its plans to grow and develop, Florens Piano plans to employ piano teachers and pianists, as well as persons of other profiles, thus contributing to improvement of employment opportunities within their own profession, for professional musicians, pianists in particular, in Croatia.

IIf you are an arts supporter or would like to become one, or if you simply want to share your view on any related topic, do not hesitate to contact Žanina. Equally, if you know a person who wants to learn piano, be so kind as to pass on my contact details.
Ongoing concerts
One of Zanina's main goals is to revive her concert appearances. They are vital to the pianist' own development and are an important source of joie de vivre. About her 'Waltzes of Return' programme Zanina says:
'Waltzes for piano solo from the romantic and late romantic period are considered the most beautiful piano miniatures. The festive, but also intimate character of the waltzes; joyful, dancing, but also melancholic resonance have kept me inspired during the last six months of study. In the music of these waltzes one hears hope, but also ruined dreams; enthusiasm, but also melancholy; love exhilaration, but also bitterness of broken love relationships. A wide spectrum of emotions from a wide spectrum of situations from a composer's life or his imagination. My choice of waltzes for this concert is a bit off the beaten track - some of these waltzes are not performed often or have been forgotten. I love tracking 'hidden pearls', study and prepare pieces which are 'non-standard'. The popular pieces however cannot be made unpopular, therefore I like giving them a new meaning, my own personal interpretation. '

Waltzes of Return and Waltzes of Inspiration in the 2006/2007 concert season

Three successfull concerts with the programme title 'Waltzes of return' have been held on 27th September 2006, 11th october 2006 and 15th November 2006. Further concerts will be held every 1 - 2 weeks throughout the season. The concerts are held in the pleasant venue of the National Association of Bulgarians in the Republic of Croatia premises, Kneza Mislava street 13, 1st floor, in Zagreb.The revenue will be invested in the maintenance of the piano. The piano on which the concerts are held is over 100 years old. It was fabricated by the company Friedrich Ehrbar, Vienna. Zanina has purchased it, second hand, in 1994. The piano has a beautiful, warm, antique sound, but it requires demanding maintenance. From January 2007 a new, upgraded programme with the title 'Waltzes of Inspiration' will be played.

Žanina on the effect of music upon the audience

'I believe that music should have a relaxing effect on my audience, it should touch them, move them and release the tensions off of them. To clear the path to one's own peace of mind has always been a challenge. Music serves this purpose in a fantastic way. I always manage to renew my belief in the deep truth of the catharsis effect. I enjoy it tremendously to see smiling faces by the end of the concert. Red Auerbach's saying is concise: Music washes away the dust of everyday life from the soul.'.