Vira Zhuk

Soloist

Vienna-based violinist Vira Zhuk carries forward the great tradition of the Ukrainian violin school, passed on to her indirectly, through her mentors in Ukraine and Austria, from David Oistrakh. In her playing she combines the virtuosity and characteristically melancholic tone of this school with the tonal refinement of the Viennese musical tradition.

Vira Zhuk began performing publicly at a very young age: at the age of seven she appeared in the Great Hall of the National Philharmonic, and at ten she made her solo debut with a violin concerto by Johann Sebastian Bach. She trained in Kyiv and Vienna, studying among others with Pavel Vernikov, and received artistic guidance from Mauricio Fuks, Alfred Brendel and Menahem Pressler. As a soloist and chamber musician, she has since performed in more than thirty countries on five continents, in halls including the Vienna Musikverein, the Vienna Konzerthaus, Flagey Brussels, the ORF RadioKulturhaus, the Auditorio Nacional in Madrid, and the Royal Danish Opera.

Vira Zhuk is a founding member of the multi-award-winning ensemble Immersio Vienna and has received honours including the Brivio Sforza Award from Le Dimore del Quartetto, the New Sound of Austrian Music Award from the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs, and the Bank Austria Art Prize. Alongside her international concert career, she serves as a jury member – for instance at the Shenzhen International String Competition – and teaches masterclasses at festivals in Chile, Spain and Mexico. As a soloist with the Camerata Classica, Vira Zhuk brings this exceptional stylistic and intercultural breadth to the ensemble's artistic profile.