Grafenauer, Irena

Irena Grafenauer is the most renown Slovenian flutist. Born in Ljubljana, she initially studied flute with Boris Čampa at Ljubljana Academy of Music, and continued studies with Karlheinz Zöller and Aurèle Nicolet.
After winning three international competitions: Belgrade (1974), Geneva (1978) and ARD (1979) she was appointed Principal flute of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Rafael Kubelik and Sir Colin Davis. Ten years later she decided to pursue a solo career, appearing as a soloist with the most prominent orchestras and conductors and has made over 30 recordings, including Complete Mozart Edition for Philips label.
In 1987 she was appointed Professor of Flute at the Salzburg Mozarteum where she taught until 2016.