Biography

Martin Draušnik, born in 1981 in Zagreb, is a versatile musician whose career includes solo performances, recitals, appearances with numerous chamber ensembles, and serving as concertmaster for various orchestras. Since 2010, he has been teaching at the Zagreb Academy of Music.

Martin Draušnik initially studied at the Zagreb Academy of Music under Maja Dešpalj-Begovic. He continued his education as a scholarship recipient of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg, where he completed his postgraduate studies in the class of Latica Honda-Rosenberg. Further postgraduate studies followed at the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart, where he completed his soloist studies under the renowned violinist Ingolf Turban. He later expanded his education with viola studies at the Zagreb Academy of Music in the class of Aleksandar Milošev.

Martin Draušnik has won numerous Croatian awards and recognitions, including the "Darko Lukic" competition (2001 and 2010), the "Ivo Vuljevic" Award, and the "Stjepan Šulek" Award.

During his studies in Germany, he performed with the SWR Symphony Orchestra Baden-Baden and Freiburg. Immediately after completing his studies, he won the audition for the position of deputy concertmaster with the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra and became its concertmaster in 2011. Since 2005, he has also been the concertmaster of "I Virtuosi di Paganini" in Munich, under the artistic direction of Ingolf Turban, with whom he performs regularly.

After a long hiatus, Martin Draušnik revived the Zagreb Philharmonic Chamber Studio in 2012, where he serves as concertmaster and artistic director. Additionally, he is a guest concertmaster with the Zagreb Soloists, the Rijeka Opera Orchestra, the Cantus Ensemble for contemporary music, and the Liechtenstein Symphony Orchestra. He is also one of the founders of the Porin String Quartet and established the Zagreb Piano Trio in 2010. Since 2016, he has been the first violinist of the Croatian String Quartet, which released the CD *My Childhood* in 2018, featuring the complete string quartet works of Stjepan Šulek.

Performances and tours with various orchestras and ensembles have taken him to Argentina, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Kuwait, Liechtenstein, Oman, Poland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, Hungary, the USA, and other countries. He has performed in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Musikverein in Vienna, and the Salzburg Festival Hall. He has also appeared at festivals including the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, the Music Biennale Zagreb, the Warsaw Autumn, the Osor Musical Evenings, and the Trieste Prima Festival.

As a soloist, Martin Draušnik has performed with the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, the Croatian Radiotelevision Symphony Orchestra (HRT), the Rijeka Opera Orchestra, the Cappella Istriana, the Cantus Ensemble, the Croatian Chamber Orchestra, and the Zadar Chamber Orchestra. In 2010, he performed the Croatian premiere of György Ligeti's Violin Concerto with the Cantus Ensemble to great acclaim. A recording of this concert was released on CD. In 2013, he performed Papandopulo’s Violin and Cello Concerto for the first time in Austria with the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra in the Golden Hall of the Vienna Musikverein.

Martin Draušnik plays a violin by Fabrice Girardin.