Katja Zakotnik
was born in Slovenia. She completed her cello studies at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media with Tilmann Wick. Following a longing for southern flair, she simultaneously applied to the Stauffer Academy in Cremona near Milan, where she attended monthly master classes with Rocco Filippini from 2003 to 2005. After graduating in Hanover in 2005 with the highest grade, she accepted the invitation of famous cellist Bernard Greenhouse (Beaux Arts Trio) to study on the US East Coast.

In addition to the intensity of her playing, Katja Zakotnik is characterized by her innovative and modern thinking. She is a trained concert educator, certified cultural manager, and studied cultural marketing. Her particular passions include themed concerts and new concert formats.

Naila Alvarenga-Lahmann says of her duo partner, who was born in Slovenia in 1979: ”Although she is constantly on a quest for perfection, Katja has a certain spirit of lightheartedness. It is obvious that she was introduced to her instrument very early and with great pleasure, and that she always connects with the audience as soon as she steps onto the stage. It is understandable that she not only often won first prize in competitions, but also the audience prize, such as at the IBLA Grand Prize World Music Competitions in Ibla, Sicily in 2009. She strives to understand the music completely, which results in very intensive work. This is something which I enjoy a great deal. I assume that the places where she studied were responsible for the contrasting qualities of determination and lightheartedness she possesses. She studied at the University of Music, Drama and Media Hanover and simultaneously completed a three-year master class at the Accademia Walter Stauffer in Cremona, Italy. After graduating she spent six months as a student of Bernard Greenhouse in the United States. She says that she learned her indispensable range of tonal colors there, which I appreciate as much as I do her precision. In rehearsals I sometimes have the feeling that we are an orchestra or an opera. Every voice exists for a reason and tells a story. This is then communicated to the audience not only musically but also verbally and visually. How Katja talks about the works we perform at our theme recitals fascinates me over and over again. Sometimes she uses Powerpoint and a beamer, then a flipchart, actors pop up, or artists from other genres. Her ideas for making the music even more understandable for the audience are inexhaustible. She is now known for her unusual concert formats – this year she created an event for an audience in deckchairs. I am certain that many more surprises of this kind await me. And yet: it never becomes complicated. Despite all her creativity she is simply too practical for that.” Katja Zakotnik studied with Prof. Tilmann Wick, Prof. Rocco Filippini and subsequently with Bernard Greenhouse. She travels the world as a soloist, chamber music partner and also in orchestras led by conductors such as Claudio Abbado. Her playing is described as “musical song.”

Naila Alvarenga-Lahmann
hails from Brazil and attended master classes from an early age with famous pianists such as Eduardo Hubert, Peter Kairoff, and Luiz de Moura Castro. Her long-time teacher Celina Szrvinsk eventually provided the decisive inspiration. In 1998, Naila Alvarenga Lahmann won the International “Magda Tagliaferro” Piano Competition in São Paulo, which included a scholarship to study in Germany. There she studied chamber music and pursued the concert exam program with Michael Uhde, completing both with distinction.

Since then, she has been energetically involved with Brazilian music: for a recording for the SWR, she combined works by Ronaldo Miranda and by Claude Debussy. Naila Alvarenga Lahmann is a sought-after chamber music partner and soloist, performs internationally, and resides in the Karlsruhe area.

Katja Zakotnik says about her chamber music partner: “What I appreciate about Naila is her composedand straightforward manner. Despite our two different temperaments our rehearsals are actually very quiet. You can tell that she has played at very many competitions including winning the Magdalena Tagliaferro International Piano Competition in São Paulo in 1998. After that she came to Germany and completed a double major in soloand chamber music performance at the Karlsruhe’s University of Music, completing both degrees with distinction. I think saying she is ‘stress resistant’ captures her nature quite well. She worked as a performance coach in a trumpet solo master class for three years. That definitely had an impact in her becoming an unbelievably good chamber music partner: she has a good sense of my breathing. I can recall many performances when we neither made eye contact nor even moved very much. She simply breathed with me and we worked together. We have a shared passion for Brahms but have not yet had the opportunity to give it expression on the recital stage. Naila has often dedicated herself musically to her homeland, for example in 2005, when she performed works by the Brazilian composer Ronaldo Miranda and recorded them as well. She has also performed a program of works by Ronaldo Miranda and Claude Debussy on Germany’s SWR radio/television station. Three years later she made a concert tour of Brazil with her piano quartet and played works by German composers there – sometimes under hair-raising conditions on ‘pianos that no pianist here would play on,’ as she herself said. But she has never complained about such things. Naila would never complain about an instrument. She coaxes the most beautiful colors out of any piano or concert grand.She makes music – who is interested in minor matters then.” Naila Alvarenga-Lahmann initially studied under Prof. Celina Szrvinsk (chamber music partner of the cellist Antonio Meneses, Bern), then later under among others Prof. Michael Uhde. She performs both in Germany and internationally and has won prizes at many international competitions. Concert reviews refer to her playing as being “as sensitive as it is virtuoso.”