Martina Filjak was very busy and enjoyed a successful series of engagements in November. She made her debut at the Auditorio Nacional in Madrid, Spain and appeared with the Boston Philharmonic with conductor Benjamin Zander. Performing as a soloist with the Staatskapelle Weimar, Stephan Solyom conducting, Martina closed the Music Days in Kassel (“Kasseler Musiktage”), one of the oldest and most respected music festivals in Europe. On each of these occasions she performed Brahms’ Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15 to enthusiastic audience approval.
Critics were equally enthusiastic. Following her performance with the Boston Philharmonic, the Boston Globe wrote “ Filjak, who’s been compared with Martha Argerich, gave it power but also thought, as in the way she built the first movement’s big F major theme to a climax instead of swooping right in.... She drenched the entire work in rueful melancholy “.
In late November Martina presented two performances of Manuel de Falla’s “Nights in the Gardens of Spain” with the Granada Symphony Orchestra. Immediately afterwards she stepped in on very short notice to replace another soloist for two performances of Tchaikovsky’s first piano concerto with the orchestra of Staatstheater Regensburg in Germany.
In August 2011 Naxos released Martina Filjak's first CD containing the first 15 sonatas by Antonio Soler in the order proposed by Rubio’s catalogue. The CD is available internationally as well as on Amazon and through the Naxos Library .
On the 8th of July, Martina Filjak held her Hong Kong debut. On that occasion she performed the 2nd Piano Concerto by Rachmaninov accompanied by the Hong Kong Sinfonietta and the conductor Sebastian Lang-Lessing .
Martina's recital at the Palau de la Musica in Barcelona, where she performed works of Soler, Berio, Bartok, Prokofiev and Balakiriew earned her a warm reaction of the audience.The reviewer afterwards stated that ' The elegant and light but sophisticated technique shows a prodigious pianist and an overwhelming force .... fortunately it is not a phenomenon displayed too often because the pianist endows it with such extreme sensitivity and expression of musicality and communication, something that is difficult to enjoy in many today's artists, including those promoted by major record companies.
Her recital in Hannover held for the Chopin Society on June 26th brought her equally warm and positive feedback .