Biography
Montenegro
Mladen Dabizljevic is a pianist and composer based in Switzerland. He was born in Nikšić, Montenegro, and had his first lessons there, at the “Dara Čokorilo” music school and the “Akord” music association.
Italy
At thirteen he moved to Italy, and the Conservatorio F. A. Bonporti in Trento became his musical home: piano, chamber music, composition and conducting. He took his piano diploma in 2009 with full marks and honours, and his chamber music diploma in 2013 with full marks, honours and a special mention. First prizes followed at international competitions, among them the Castelvecchio Prize in 2011 and the Roberto Melini Prize in 2015, and he has played as a soloist and with orchestra at the Mantova Chamber Music Festival, the Leipziger Chopin-Tage and Piné Musica.
Dance became the second thread of his career. From 2014 to 2018 he was a pianist and assistant conductor at Teatro alla Scala in Milan and at the Arena di Verona. He has worked with dancers, choreographers and ballet masters including Roberto Bolle, Colleen Neary, Julie Kent, Monique Loudières, Mauro Bigonzetti and Massimo Murru, has been a guest pianist with companies such as Ballet du Rhin and Béjart Ballet Lausanne, and for many years has played for the examinations of the Royal Academy of Dance.
Switzerland
He has lived in Switzerland since 2018. At Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) he is a répétiteur and the pianist for the Bachelor in Contemporary Dance, and he plays for the ballet classes of the Musikschule Freienbach. As a music pedagogue he teaches at the Conservatoire de Fribourg and at the Migros Klubschule.
He is managed by enScène in Zurich, and together they launched The Ballet Pianist, a recording project whose eleven albums are played by thousands around the world. He composes for the concert stage and for dance, and performs as a soloist and chamber musician.
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