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Maksim MrvicaMaksim Mrvica (pronounced Mravitsa) (born May 3, 1975) is a popular young piano player from Croatia. Mrvica was born in Šibenik, a town on the Adriatic coast in Croatia. He started taking up piano lessons at the age of nine from Marija Sesko and gave his first public performance in the same year. Just three years later he gave his first concert performance of Haydns Piano Concerto in C major. When war broke out in 1990, both Maksim and his professor were determined that this should not disrupt his music studies. In spite of the war and surrounding turbulence, in 1993 Maksim entered and won his first major competition in Zagreb. Maksim went on to study at the Music Academy in Zagreb where he spent five years under Professor Vladimir Krpan, who himself was a pupil of Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli. He then spent a year at the Franz Liszt Conservatoire in Budapest and during this year he won first prize at the Nicolai Rubinstein International Piano Competition. In 2000, he moved to Paris to study with Igor Lazko and there, in 2001 he gained first prize in the Pontoise Piano Competition. When he returned to Croatia he found himself to be the focus of intense media interest and he made frequent television appearances as well as giving a great number of interviews. He soon found himself recording his first CD, 'Gestures', an album of contemporary Croatian piano pieces. 'Gestures' became one of the fastest-selling classical recordings to be released in Croatia, and Maksim was even invited to officiate the Porin award ceremony an honour not usually granted to a classical artiste. Soon after this launch Maksim was spotted by the musician, author and manager Tonči Huljić, who composed several tracks for the crossover string quartet, Bond and it was Tonči who put Maksim in touch with British impresario Mel Bush. Mel had, by chance, been looking for an exciting new pianist for some time and he immediately recognised Maksim's potential to appeal to a wide range of audiences. EMI Classics was just as excited by the young pianist and soon a new album was underway. This album was 'The Piano Player', which gave a new spin to Handel and Chopin tunes. Since its release in 2003 it has been a great success, particularly in Asia, where it has achieved Gold status in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and China, Platinum in Taiwan and Croatia and Double Platinum in Hong Kong. It was also in the number 1 slot in the HMV international pop chart in Hong Kong for twelve consecutive weeks! Maksim has performed in a couple of international beauty pageants and MTV awards. His image and charisma has also attracted the interest of global brands such as American Express, who sponsored him in Singapore, and automobile giants Chevrolet and BMW, for whom he performed at their respective Colombian and Malaysian car launches. Discography Gestures The Piano Player Variations Part I & II External link
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